The City of Fairmont Explored in New Book

MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - April 24, 2013 - PRLog -- The newest addition to Arcadia Publishing’s popular Images of America series is Fairmont from local author Christa Lynn Greco. The book boasts more than 200 vintage images of this West Virginia city.

Situated where the West Fork and the Tygart Valley Rivers converged to form the Monongahela River, Fairmont was an attractive location for early settlers. In 1820, Fairmont, then named Middletown, was officially established as a town by the Virginia Assembly and was renamed Fairmont in 1843.

The 1800s witnessed significant advancement in community formation, commerce, transportation and education. Coal and natural gas extraction, as well as the transportation sector would fuel an increasing demand for skilled and unskilled laborers. This resulted in an influx of European workers who would further enrich the culture of Fairmont.
   
The 1900s saw the emergence of a variety of glass manufacturing companies, a packaging plant, flour mills and an electrical service company. Fairmont became the most diversified and plentiful city in the region.

The photographs included in Images of America: Fairmont document significant moments in Fairmont’s history, providing future historians with a brief understanding of the forefathers of the city. It also provides a context surrounding the environment in which they and their families have lived and worked and the impact their foresight and decisions had on future generations.

Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at (888)-313-2665 or online.  

Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States.  Our mission is to make history accessible and meaningful through the publication of books on the heritage of America’s people and places.  Have we done a book on your town?  Visit www.arcadiapublishing.com.