Images of America Ser. Archives

New Brighton, Pennsylvania, Images of America, Paperback New Brighton’s unique and rich history dates back to 1788. Its location on the Beaver River attracted industries, such as the Townsend Company, Wilson’s Mill, Sherwood Pottery, Standard Horse Nail, Dawes and Myler, and the Pittsburgh Wallpaper Company, and brought immigrants in search of employment to the thriving community. Some businesses that supported the growing town were Kenah’s Apothecary, Milo Wilson’s Butterine store, Bestwick Hardware, A.D. Gilliland Dry Goods, Ewing Brothers, and Stuart Magee’s grocery. Notable citizens included Edward Dempster Merrick, a 19th-century entrepreneur who founded the Merrick Art Gallery; author and journalist Grace Greenwood; and the famous Noss family. New Brighton opens a window to an era of bustling businesses and industries, Junction Park, school days, and yesteryear modes of transportation. It also gives a rare look inside the house known locally as the “Castle,” built in 1894 by 19th-century industrialist Frederick Merrick.

Hudson River State Hospital For 141 years, Hudson River State Hospital was home to tens of thousands of individuals suffering from mental illness.Famous architects Frederick Clark Withers and Calvert Vaux drafted the main building in 1869. The facility grew from a 208-acre parcel in 1871 with seven patients to 752 acres with five dozen separate buildings containing nearly 6,000 patients in 1954. The main building was constructed on a Kirkbride plan, a treating philosophy centered around an ornate building of equal proportions staffed by employees who integrated dignity and compassion into health care. Famous architects Frederick Clark Withers and Calvert Vaux drafted the main building in 1869. The landscape was penned by Frederick Law Olmsted, perhaps best known for the design of New York City’s Central Park.