$250 1.50 1.75 1.50% THE MIDDLE STATES: A Mass. HANDBOOK FOR TRAVELLERS. A GUIDE TO CHIEF CITIES AND POPULAR RESORTS OF THE MIDDLE STATES, MONTREAL; ALSO, BALTIMORE, WASHINGTON, .00 50 BOSTON: JAMES R. OSGOOD AND COMPANY, 1876. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. PREFACE. THE chief object of the Handbook for the Middle States is to supply the place of a guide in a land where professional guides cannot be found, and to assist the traveller in gaining the greatest possible amount of pleasure and information while passing through the most populous and wealthy States of the American Union. The Middle States have hitherto been but casually treated in books which cover wider sections of country; and special localities within their borders have been described with more or less fidelity in local guide-books; but the present volume is the first which has been devoted to their treatment according to the most approved principles of the European works of similar purpose and character. The Handbook is designed to enable travellers to visit any or all of the notable places in the Middle States, with economy of money, time, and temper, by giving lists of the hotels with their prices, descriptions of the various routes by land and water, and maps and plans of the principal cities. The letter-press contains epitomes of the histories of the old river and border towns, statements of the principal scenic attractions, descriptions of the art and architecture of the cities, biographical sketches in connection industries of the included States. The half-forgotten but worthy with the birthplaces of eminent men, and statistics of the chief and heroic records of the early Swedish, Dutch, French, Quaker, and Puritan colonies, and their wars and traditions, have reIceived special attention in connection with the localities made famous in those remote days; while numerous Indian legends will be found in various places. The military operations of the Wars of the Revolution, of 1812, and of the Rebellion (so far as they affected this section of the Republic) have been carefully studied and localized; and the rise of the great inland cities has been traced and recorded. The famous summer resorts among the mountains and by the lakes and sea with which the Middle States abound, and which are thronged by visitors from all parts of the country, have been described at length in these pages. The plan and structure of the book, its system of treatment and forms of abbreviation, have been derived from the European Handbooks of Karl Baedeker. The typography, binding, and system of city plans also resemble those of Baedeker, and hence the grand desiderata of compactness and portability, which have made his works the most popular in Europe, have also been attained in the present volume. Nearly all the facts concerning the routes, hotels, and scenic attractions have been framed or verified from the Editor's personal experience, after a long period of incessant travelling for this express purpose. The maps and plans of cities have been prepared with the greatest care, and are based on the system of lettered and numbered squares, with figures corresponding to similar figures attached to lists of the chief public buildings, hotels, churches, and other notable objects. The hotels indicated by asterisks are those which are believed by the Editor to be the most comfortable and elegant. Trustworthy railroad time-tables are found in the "Travellers Official Guide" (with numerous maps) published monthly at Philadelphia. Infallibility is impossible in a work of this nature, especially amid the rapid changes which are ever going on in America, and hence the Editor will be grateful for any bona fide corrections or suggestions with which travellers or residents may furnish him. He would also thankfully acknowledge his indebtedness to the gentlemen who have revised the book in advance of publication. M. F. SWEETSER, Editor of Osgood's American Handbooks, 131 Franklin St., Boston. |