Wicked (The History Press)
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Ebook
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Wicked Virginia City
by Peter B. Mires
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
Perched on the side of a mountain in the Nevada desert, Virginia City existed for one reason only: to make money. The mining frenzy of the mid-nineteenth century uncovered veins of precious metals that would be expressed in billions today, attracting the enterprising madam Cad Thompson, the charismatic highwayman Nickanora and a plethora of swindlers. Miners, flush with their wages, supported a healthy economy of gambling, drinking and prostitution and even launched a few political careers. Sam Clemens, who became Mark Twain while reporting for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise, called it "the livest town that America had ever produced." Join author Peter B. Mires as he explores the seamy side of this quintessential mining boomtown.
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Wicked Bisbee
by Francine Powers
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
Nicknamed the "Queen of Copper Camps" for having the richest copper mining operations in the world, Bisbee also was the scene of dastardly crimes. From drunken shootouts in saloons to strikers clashing with mining executives, the town's past is filled with stories of vengeance and street justice. The aftermath of an 1885 lynching led directly to the establishment of the Copper Queen Library, too late to deter the infamous Bisbee Massacre of 1883. In Lowell, an argument about an alleged affair ended in murder, while the Fly-Swatting Contest of 1912 encouraged a different kind of killing. Author, journalist and historian Francine Powers uncovers the real-life dramas of Wild West Bisbee.
Ebook
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Wicked Muncie
by Keith Roysdon
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
Muncie is the classic small American city. But for much of the past two centuries, the city fell victim to murder, corruption and the bizarre. Mayor Rollin Bunch went to prison for mail fraud, while his police commissioner faced a murder rap. Viola "Babe" Swartz ran a brothel out of a truck stop that was raided by police at least a dozen times but ran for sheriff in the 1974 primary election. June Holland, of the locally famous Holland triplets, killed her neighbor for refusing to sell her house. Authors Keith Roysdon and Douglas Walker explore the notorious and unusual side of Muncie's history.
Ebook
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Wicked Charleston
The Dark Side of the Holy City
by Mark R. Jones
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
A beautiful Southern city distinguished by its opulent homes, towering church steeples and hospitality, Charleston, South Carolina, has long been associated with the genteel side of Southern living. However, beyond the outward appearances that most people associate with Charleston, there is another side that most visitors and residents would dare not believe is part of the very fabric from which the city's history was woven. Wicked Charleston: The Dark Side of the Holy City, by local resident and tour guide Mark R. Jones, opens the door to the dark alleys and seedy characters not often associated with the Charleston of today. From the sexual escapades of an original Lord Proprietor and the comings and goings of the most notorious pirates, to secret brothels and nightclubs, Jones leads the reader back to a time when "drinking, eating and whoring with more than fifty wenches" was perhaps more common in the Holy City than one may imagine.
Ebook
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Wicked Seattle
by Teresa Nordheim
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
Early Seattle enticed settlers with an abundance of natural resources, potential wealth, stunning beauty and versatile climate. It offered gainful employment for fishermen, loggers and miners, but those who rushed west quickly discovered that all that glitters is not gold. The rapidly expanding city lacked one precious resource: women. Bored men yearned for entertainment, while prostitution, gambling and illegal alcohol grew in popularity. Over the years, politicians, police officers and crime bosses accepted graft to keep vice profiting and the city growing, including bootlegger Roy Olmstead and a brothel owner known as Madame Damnable. Teresa Nordheim, author of Murder & Mayhem in Seattle, introduces the wicked side of the Emerald City's history.
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Wicked Nashville
by Elizabeth K. Goetsch
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
While known for the twang of its country music, Nashville is also home to a colorful and salacious past. The earliest settlers to lay claim to the land surrounding Nashville brought with them betrayal, murder and thievery. As the city grew, authorities unsuccessfully attempted to outlaw and remove vice. During the Civil War, the number of "soiled doves" in Nashville forced the army to legalize and regulate prostitution. The death of outspoken politician Edward Carmack triggered the state to outlaw booze for nearly thirty years, but that did not stop alcohol from flowing in the city. One local mayor even bragged about his patronage of saloons. Elizabeth Goetsch dives into Nashville's wicked past and explores some of Music City's more tantalizing history.
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Wicked Omaha
by Ryan Roenfeld
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
In old Omaha, the scent of opium wafted through saloon doors, while prostitutes openly solicited customers. When the St. Elmo Theater ran short of the usual entertainment, the residents could always fall back on robbing strangers. Tenants of the Burnt District squirmed under the extorting thumb of a furniture dealer dubbed the Man-Landlady. The games of chance and confidence and outright municipal graft all played a part in a wicked city where gambler Tom Dennison ran politics and Madam Anna Wilson drove philanthropy. Join Ryan Roenfeld for a stroll along the seamier side of Omaha's past.
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Wicked Asheville
by Marla Hardee Milling
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
Asheville is a wonderfully strange city, but it has a few shadows in its past. Teenager Helen Clevenger was brutally murdered at the luxurious Battery Park Hotel in 1936. William Dudley Pelley called himself "America's Hitler" and founded his Silver Legion in Asheville. He stirred up enough antiwar propaganda to go to prison. A desperado named Will Harris came into town on a cold night in November 1906 and left a trail of dead bodies and panic among Asheville citizens. Mayor Gallatin Roberts killed himself in the wake of collapsing banks. Asheville native Marla Hardee Milling delves into wicked stories of murder, sedition, corruption, arson and disease.
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Wicked Terre Haute
by Tim Crumrin
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
For more than a century, Terre Haute earned its reputation as a sin city. One of the most notorious red-light districts in the Midwest, the West End, housed sixty brothels and nearly one thousand prostitutes at its height in the 1920s. Across this sordid scene strode the stylish and indomitable Edith Brown, the city's most famous madam. When Prohibition made the city bootlegger central, violence erupted as rival gangs vied for turf. Gamblers flooded in from all corners of the country, making Terre Haute's Wire Room second only to Las Vegas. Through it all, corrupt politicians like Mayor Donn Roberts profited handsomely from grift and deception. Join local historian Tim Crumrin as he reveals the blackguards, rogues and swindlers of Terre Haute's rough and rowdy past.
Ebook
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Wicked Sacramento
by William Burg
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
In the early 1900s, Sacramento became a battleground in a statewide struggle. On one side were Progressive political reformers and suffragettes. Opposing them were bars, dance halls, brothels and powerful business interests. Caught in the middle was the city's West End, a place where Grant "Skewball" Cross hosted jazz dances that often attracted police attention and Charmion performed her infamous trapeze striptease act before becoming a movie star. It was home to the "Queen of the Sacramento Tenderloin," Cherry de Saint Maurice, who met her untimely end at the peak of her success, and Ancil Hoffman, who ingeniously got around the city's dancing laws by renting riverboats for his soirées. Historian William Burg shares the long-hidden stories of criminals and crusaders from Sacramento's past.
Ebook
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Wicked Jurupa Valley
Murder & Misdeeds in Rural Southern California
by Kim Jarrell Johnson
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
The Wineville Chicken Coop Murders a horrible 1928 national news story that inspired the 2008 movie The Changeling from director Clint Eastwood are only the most infamous despicable deeds that have bloodstained the rural countryside between Riverside City and the San Bernardino County line. Jurupa Valley has been a region of dark doings and scandalous misdeeds for generations. The city of Jurupa Valley was formed in 2011 from the area's smaller communities, including Wineville (renamed Mira Loma to escape the shame), Pedley and Rubidoux. Buried in its landscape are salacious sagas of unchecked bootlegging, payday orgies and gruesome murders. Author Kim Jarrell Johnson digs deep to disinter the unsavory stories that have traditionally marked her home city as a resting place of enduring infamy.
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Wicked Phenix City
by Faith Serafin
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
Before Las Vegas, there was Phenix City, Alabama--the original sin city. Once the sprawling capital of the Muscogee Indian Empire, the region took a sinister turn when a holy war engulfed the southern territories in 1812, leading to the murder of the infamous Chief William McIntosh. Later, atrocities continued at Fort Mitchell, the killing grounds for early Georgia politicians who fought to the death over rival politics and bitter feuds. By the 1950s, Phenix City was home to the "Dixie Mafia," and crime and corruption ruled over the little riverfront city. Take a walk with author Faith Serafin as she travels through the darkest recesses of Phenix City's past.
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Wicked Ulster County
Tales Of Desperadoes, Gangs & More
by A. J. Schenkman
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
Uncover Ulster County's hidden history of unsavory characters and stories of its wicked past.
Situated in the scenic Hudson Valley, Ulster County is a lovely location to make a home and raise a family, but it wasn't always so pleasant. Unsavory characters and immoral events have sullied its name. In the 1870s, the Shawangunk Mountains inspired fear rather than awe, as groups like the Lyman Freer and Shawangunk gangs robbed and terrorized locals, descending from the protection of the wooded peaks. Kingston was torched, arson blazed in Kerhonkson and even the Mohonk Mountain House was threatened by flames. In 1909, the Ashokan Slasher's bloody crimes and sensational trial captured headlines across the country. Discover these and other salacious stories buried in Ulster County's history.
Ebook
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Wicked Charlotte
The Sordid Side of the Queen City
by Stephanie Burt Williams
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
Bootleggers, swindlers, gold miners and serial killers--Charlotte has courted them all. The Queen City is renowned for its skyline, sports teams and dizzying growth, but just below its smooth, polished exterior lies a dark past full of crime and myriad misdeeds. This second history of Charlotte has been concealed and denied by those who retell the city's story, and by those who have lived it. Until now. In Wicked Charlotte, discover the tale of the Chicago gangsters who invaded the city looking to pull a heist to fund sinister maneuverings in their boss's criminal trial. Learn how a golden nugget found in a nearby creek changed Charlotte from a trading crossroads into a rough and tumble town full of fortune seekers bent on finding a quick dollar and instant riches. And read about the details of the death of one of Charlotte's most gifted writers, who met his end in a seedy hotel room in Mexico. This raucous book sheds light on these incidents and many more, revealing a side of Charlotte's history that few will recognize. The sordid events described here took place on familiar streets and in well known neighborhoods, but rarely have the stories passed beyond the circles of those who lived them. Charlotte has played host to a multitude of villainous characters, and has seen scores of unsavory deeds played out on its shadowy streets. Wicked Charlotte brings it all to the forefront, as never before.
Ebook
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Wicked Hampton County
by Michael Dewitt Jr.
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
The Darker Side of Hampton County Hampton County is a rural county in South Carolina with a long and storied history, but it has a shady side. Author Michael DeWitt details the corruption, murders and crimes that remained in the memories of locals for years.>p/>
Ebook
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Wicked Hartford
by Steve R. Thornton
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
One of the oldest cities in America, Hartford holds plenty of sinful stories. Famed inventor and industrialist Samuel Colt sold arms to both the North and South in the buildup to the Civil War. The notorious Seyms Street jail was the subject of national criticism and scandal for its deplorable conditions. Local journalist Daniel Birdsall fought to expose corruption in the powerful insurance industry and local government at the expense of his own printing presses. Tension between unions and "robber barons" such as Jay Gould spilled into the streets during the Gilded Age. Author Steve Thornton takes readers on an exciting journey through the seedy underbelly of Hartford's past.
Ebook
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Kentucky Wicked Lexington
by Fiona Young-Brown
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
Despite its illustrious beginnings as the "Athens of the west," Lexington has always had a darker side lurking just beneath its glossy sheen. It didn't take long for the first intellectual hub west of the Alleghenies to quickly morph into a city with the same scandalous inclinations as neighboring Louisville and Cincinnati. Filled with tales of infamous duels, cheating congressmen, and much more, Wicked Lexington offers the first collection the city's rowdy and ruckus history. From Belle Brezing's infamous brothel of the late 1800s, frequented by some of the city's most prominent businessmen, and once pardoned by the governor, to historic sports scandals of the 1900s, local author Fiona Young-Brown tracks Lexington's penchant for misdeeds from founding to modern times.
Ebook
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Rhode Island Scandalous Newport
by Larry Stanford
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
Newport, Rhode Island, is renowned for its stunning cliff-side vistas and the luxurious summer homes of the Gilded Age elite. Yet the opulent facades of the City by the Sea concealed the scintillating scandals, eccentric characters and unsolved mysteries of its wealthiest families. Learn how Cornelius Vanderbilt III was cut out of the family's fortune for his unapproved marriage to Grace Wilson and how John F. Kennedy's marriage to a Newport debutante helped to secure his presidency. Travel to the White Horse Tavern, where a vengeful specter still waits for his supposed murderer to return to the scene, and discover the mysterious voyage of the "Sea Bird" and its missing crew. Historian Larry Stanford searches the dark corners of Newport's past to expose these scandalous tales and more.
Ebook
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Wicked Lewiston
A Sinful Century
by Steven D. Branting
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
Lewiston boasts a tawdry, scandalous history. In 1872, prostitutes Carlotta Felis and Anna Ream appeared in a survey of Nez Perce County's wealthiest residents. To their horror, unsuspecting passersby discovered the bodies of two infants hidden under the old board sidewalk on South Snake River Avenue in April 1913. Headlines of 1924 publicized the conviction of Darrel Thurston for the murder of Lewiston police officer Gordon Harris. Jewell Freng murdered a man over just a few dollars before committing suicide in prison. Historian Steven Branting uncovers the proof of Lewiston's lurid legacy.
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Wicked Western Slope
Mayhem, Michief & Murder In Colorado
by D. A. Brockett
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
Early promoters of Colorado�s Western Slope would have had settlers believe the area was one of proper behavior and upstanding morality. But this was not the case. Hot tempers led to quick trigger fingers and Main Street shootouts. Drinking, gambling and thieving were popular pursuits, and law breaking of all kinds thrived in this wild land. From Charles Graham, whose jealous rampage in Grand Junction is still talked about today, and the mysterious Friday the thirteenth murder of Jeanette Morris to Abe C. Ong, the mischievous pioneer bootlegger of De Beque, and Riverside�s Mrs. Barnes and her foul crime, �History Sleuth� D.A. Brockett reveals some of the most outrageous and remarkable crimes in Western Slope history.
Ebook
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Wicked Hamtramck
Lust, Liquor And Lead
by Greg Kowalski
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
Hamtramck's population bulged to 56,000 from a mere 3,500 in the early twentieth century, a sixteen-fold increase that created the perfect environment for crime and corruption to flourish. Post-Prohibition, bars sprang up in quick order, until there were at least two hundred within this wide-open town's 2.1 square miles, giving it more bars per capita than any other city in America; even the Dodge brothers served barrels of beer to their workers. Follow local historian Greg Kowalski through the underbelly of Hamtramck, from the "painted women openly flaunting their tainted charms from undraped windows" to the nefarious plots crafted behind the walls of the International Workers Home on Yemens Street. Welcome to the height of Hamtramck's infamy, where anything could happen--for a price.
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Wicked Litchfield County
by Peter C. Vermilyea
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
Thieves, rumrunners and rapscallions all color the unsavory side of Litchfield County history. Townspeople accused women of witchcraft simply for not bearing enough children in the early days of the region. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Owen Sullivan and William Stuart took advantage of the county's isolated stretches and a currency shortage to build counterfeiting empires. In 1780, Barnett Davenport's brutal actions earned him infamy as the nation's first mass murderer. Small-time speakeasies slowly took hold, and the omnipresence of alcohol-fueled crime led to the birth of the nationwide prohibition movement. Local historian Peter C. Vermilyea explores these and other devilish tales from the seedier history of Litchfield County.
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Wicked Monmouth County
by George Joynson
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
During the early twentieth century, Monmouth County saw more than its fair share of crime, conspiracy and corruption. In the midst of the Prohibition and Great Depression Eras, Detectives Jacob Rue, William Mustoe ("the man who could make a horse talk") and Harry Crook investigated, and sometimes participated in, much illegal activity. The careers of these fascinating men included investigations of brutal murders, ruthless gangsters, an attempted cyanide poisoning, the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby and a search for a vicious escaped leopard. From burglaries and bootleggers to speakeasies and swindlers, join historian George Joynson as he uncovers some of the county's seediest stories.
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Wicked New Albany
by Gregg Seidl
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
Join local historian Gregg Seidl on this deliciously wicked romp with New Albany�s most heinous�the treacherous, greedy, drunken, insane and plain unfortunate. Catch a whiff of rum and candor when Jacob Ritter sits to write one morning in 1861. His opening line: �I have killed my wife because she is a witch.� When the trains roar through this New Albany, they are quite likely meeting flesh. The men in the saloons are armed and irritated. And the murderous can be most industrious, like the man who was sentenced to death, sold his body to New Albany�s first physician, collected the cash, reneged on the contract and then tried to sell his corpse again. Millions have roamed these broad avenues during New Albany�s nearly two hundred years. Most have been honest sorts. Others, well�
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Wicked Herkimer County
by Caryl Hopson
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
From Little Falls to Frankfort, Herkimer County is no stranger to the seamier side of life. The drowning murder of Grace Brown at Big Moose Lake and the ensuing trial of Chester Gillette was the inspiration for Theodore Dreiser's famous novel An American Tragedy. Medical students from the Fairfield Medical College attempted to rob local graves for cadavers, drawing the ire of local residents, who formed a mob to meet them. Outlaw thieves faced off against New York City detectives in a gun battle at Camp Utica in Old Forge. Hotheaded shootings and Prohibition raids were rampant at the liquor-soaked lumberjack camp of Beaver River Station in Webb. Editors Caryl Hopson and Susan R. Perkins have assembled a collection of narratives that offer a glimpse into the seedy underbelly of Herkimer County's wicked past.
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Wicked Bozeman
by Kelly Suzanne Hartman
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
Wicked Bozeman delves into a dangerous and dark past
The Gallatin History Museum, housed in the old Gallatin County Jail, holds many secrets. From the house of ill repute on Mendenhall Street to the earliest jail break in 1873, the historic crimes are replete with con artists, forgers, robbers and the insane each leaving a trail of deceit and mystery. There is laughter, shock and the hard reality of a life lost to time behind bars.
Using the original jail ledgers as a jumping off point, Museum Curator Kelly Suzanne Hartman takes the reader along on an investigative journey through Bozeman's seedier past.
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Wicked Carlisle
The Dark Side Of The Cumberland Valley
by Joseph David Cress
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
With Wicked Carlisle, author Joe Cress revisits the criminal history of Cumberland County. Taking a more focused and less bloody approach, Cress will largely bring new stories of mischief to the table, though he will revisit the lighter side of two or three crimes from Murder and Mayhem in Cumberland County. From stories of college pranks gone wrong, Carlisle's own Robin Hood and the robbing and subsequent torching of a beloved local theater (the Strand where the local HS now sits ) to abuses at the Carlisle Indian School and the town's connection to the raid on Harper's Ferry, Cress scours the underbelly of the borough for mischief and misdeeds.
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Wicked Ridgefield, Connecticut
by Jack Sanders
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
Ridgefield is no stranger to life's shadier characters. The history of this idyllic community includes cunning crooks, suburban embezzlers, bungling burglars and wandering scallywags. In 1894, a group of bank robbers literally blew it in a heist at the Saving Bank--the explosion attracted witnesses to see the gang miss out on a grand haul of fifty dollars. Half a decade later, in 1940, a skeleton whose origins still befuddle experts was unearthed in a tree nursery. This look at the darker side of Ridgefield's past includes sad and tragic moments as well, such as newlyweds imprisoned in the Tombs, the Satanists of the '70s and a hermit murdered for love. Local editor Jack Sanders tells fascinating tales of two centuries of Ridgefield criminals, n'er-do-wells and even wayward do-gooders in this entertaining--and occasionally humorous--glimpse into some of the town's wickedest moments.
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Wicked Watertown
History You Weren't Supposed To Know
by W. F. Jannke III
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
Watertown is a perfect place to raise children, where criminal mischief and scandal are the rare exception to the rule. Discover over a century and a half's worth of exceptions. Travel back to the origins of Watertown, when the house next door might be a brothel and the man on the street might be a serial killer. Hear the tale of poor ninety-five-year-old Mary Kodesch, whose son left her to freeze to death in the barn, and that of the two young boys whose 1890 campaign of arson targeted everything from a church to a box factory. Then press on into the violent history of the Cleveland Street poltergeist house as Jannke delivers a thrilling combination of thoroughly researched fact and inexplicable mystery that will leave the hardiest Watertown residents torn between eagerly turning the next page and nervously looking over their shoulders.
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Wicked Fox Cities
The Dark Side Of The Valley
by Frank Anderson
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
Visit the wicked Fox Cities, full of place names like La Grand Butte des Morts ("the Big Hill of the Dead") and Winneconne ("the Place of Skulls") that date from an era when "settlement" was frequently synonymous with "slaughter." Even after the firm establishment of modern civilization, there remained an uneasy truce between lined pockets and bared knuckles that was often only brokered by heavy drinking. Stumble across the frozen Fox River and barge into local watering holes, where the only pauses in the revelry are discussions about desecrating Joe McCarthy's grave. Points of interest include the Oshkosh rat-betting scene, the Appleton "Union Street Resorts" and the Neenah tavern, where a world-champion boxer hid from the doctor who had bought his bones.
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Wicked Women of Northeast Ohio
by Jane Ann Turzillo
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
In Wicked Women of Northeast Ohio, author Jane Ann Turzillo recounts the misdeeds of ten dark-hearted women who refused to play by the rules. They unleashed their most base impulses using axes, guns, poison and more. You'll meet Perry's Velma West, a mere slip of a girl who was unfortunately too near a hammer during an argument. New Philadelphia's Ellen Athey, no lady herself, had a similar problem with an axe. Ardell Quinn, who operated the longest-running brothel in Cleveland, would simply argue that she was a good businesswoman. Grim? Often. Entertaining? Deliciously so.
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Wicked Baltimore
Charm City Sin and Scandal
by Lauren R. Silberman
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
As home to Edgar Allan Poe's body, the acerbic wit of H.L. Mencken and Fells Point's nest of pirates, Baltimore revels in the deliciously dark side of its history. From the incensed citizens of 1808 who torched a cargo of Geneva gin on Hampstead Hill to the Gilded Age socialite who allegedly poisoned four family members, the city's early history is littered with tales of raucous violence and sordid misdeeds. Local author Lauren R. Silberman leads readers through the horrors of slave pens, the chaos of the Pratt Street Riots and the backroom speakeasies of Prohibition to reveal the sinister and scintillating face of Charm City.
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Wicked Shreveport
by Bernadette J. Palombo
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
In the rough-and-tumble days of the nineteenth century, Shreveport was on the very edge of the country's western frontier. It was a city struggling to tame lawlessness, and its streets were rocked by duels, lynchings and shootouts. A new century and Prohibition only brought a fresh wave of crime and scandal. The port city became a haunt for the likes of notorious bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde and home to the influential socialite and Madam Annie McCune. From Fred Lockhart, aka the "Butterfly Man," to serial killers Nathanial Code and Danny Rolling, Shreveport played reluctant host to an even deadlier cast of characters. Their tales and more make up the devilish history of the Deep South in Wicked Shreveport.
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Wicked Greensboro
by Alice Sink
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
In a town where ladies of the evening walked the streets (but were legally bound to hide their ankles) and trouble rolled through town on the famous railways, this Piedmont city has seen its fair share of iniquity. From Frank Lucas, the drug lord whose childhood in Greensboro served as the catalyst for a life of crime, to the teacher who ruled his students with a switch and a pocketknife, the tales in Wicked Greensboro capture the shady side of the Gate City's past. Travel with local author Alice Sink down the streets of old-time Greensboro to view a city riddled with prostitution, bootlegging and all manner of unsavory and mischievous depravity.
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Wicked Decatur
by Troy Taylor
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
In 1854, Decatur was nicknamed "Hell's Half Acre."? By the 1910s and 1920s, the town was referred to as the "Second Most Corrupt City in Illinois, "? gaining notoriety as a place where murder, bootlegging, prostitution, kidnapping, gambling and political corruption were common. Members of the Decatur police force, like Troy Taylor's great-grandfather, were hard-pressed to bar the door against crime in a town that seemed determined to remain wide-open. Wicked Decatur presents a rogue's gallery of those who have slipped through the cracks of legality over the past century and a half.
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Wicked High Point
by Alice E. Sink
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
High Point, nestled in the heart of the Piedmont Triad, has long been at the forefront of progress, attracting those entrepreneurs who were "up to something out of the ordinary"?, a place where spanking leads to tragedy, ransom notes are left in mailboxes and people are railroaded through court. When Prohibition swept the nation, High Point's first saloonist stayed in business for only eighteen hours. High Point's speed-demon racecar drivers opted to smuggle liquor in their uncatchable cars, which sparked the beginning of NASCAR. Join veteran author Alice Sink as she explores these and other tales, from the cruel and comical to the mischievous and outrageous, in the story of this "international city's"? colorful past.
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Volume 2 Wicked Charleston
Prostitutes, Politics and Prohibition
by Mark R. Jones
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
The city of Charleston, South Carolina, with its matchless Southern charm, has sparkled gem-like on the Carolina coast for more than three hundred years. The Holy City, as it is known, has been a cherished home to generations and an inviting destination for visitors from all over the world, who come to tour its celebrated historic sites and to bask in both the warm sun and the famous Southern hospitality. But below the gleaming surface of Charleston, there has always been a darker side--a second history that has been hidden and denied by those who retell the city's story, and by those who have lived it. Charleston has played host to a wide variety of unsavory characters, and has seen scores of sordid deeds played out on its cobbled streets, beneath flickering gaslights. Wicked Charleston, Volume 2: Prostitutes, Politics and Prohibition is a captivating companion to Mark Jones's hugely popular Wicked Charleston. In this new book, Jones reveals more of the city's seedy history--from drinking and prostitution to murder and crooked politics--offering a rarely seen glimpse of a sinister side of Charleston's past.
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Wicked Newport
Kentucky's Sin City
by Dr. Thomas Barker
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
Controlled by the heavy hand of the mob and fueled by government corruption, Newport evolved through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries into a notoriously robust center of criminal activity. With top political and law enforcement officials often on the take, the seedy status quo became so excessive that a May 1961 issue of Time magazine declared, "Newport has developed such a gaudy brand of gambling and prostitution that it stands today as one of the nation's most blatant sin centers." Eastern Kentucky University Professors Gary Potter and Thomas Barker, both experts on organized crime, along with Jenna Meglen, offer up a captivating chronicle of Newport's criminal development, complete with thought-provoking assessments of the possible advantages that organized crime brought to the city commonly considered to be Las Vegas's predecessor.
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Wicked Newport
Sordid Stories from the City by the Sea
by Larry Stanford
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
Founded by a small band of religious freedom seekers in 1639, Newport, Rhode Island, subsequently became a bustling colonial seaport teeming with artists, sailors, prosperous merchants and, perhaps most distinctively, the ultra-rich families of the Gilded Age. Clinging to the lavish coattails of these newly minted millionaires and robber barons was a stream of con artists and hangers-on who attempted to leech off their well-to-do neighbors. From the Vanderbilts to the Dukes, the Astors to the Kennedys, the City by the Sea has served as a sanctuary for the elite, and a hotbed of corruption. Local historian Larry Stanford pulls back the curtain on over 350 years of history, uncovering the real stories behind many of Newport's most enduring mysteries, controversial characters and scintillating scandals.
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Wicked Herkimer County
by Caryl Hopson
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
From Little Falls to Frankfort, Herkimer County is no stranger to the seamier side of life. The drowning murder of Grace Brown at Big Moose Lake and the ensuing trial of Chester Gillette was the inspiration for Theodore Dreiser's famous novel An American Tragedy. Medical students from the Fairfield Medical College attempted to rob local graves for cadavers, drawing the ire of local residents, who formed a mob to meet them. Outlaw thieves faced off against New York City detectives in a gun battle at Camp Utica in Old Forge. Hotheaded shootings and Prohibition raids were rampant at the liquor-soaked lumberjack camp of Beaver River Station in Webb. Editors Caryl Hopson and Susan R. Perkins have assembled a collection of narratives that offer a glimpse into the seedy underbelly of Herkimer County's wicked past.
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Wicked High Point
by Alice E. Sink
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
High Point, nestled in the heart of the Piedmont Triad, has long been at the forefront of progress, attracting those entrepreneurs who were "up to something out of the ordinary"?, a place where spanking leads to tragedy, ransom notes are left in mailboxes and people are railroaded through court. When Prohibition swept the nation, High Point's first saloonist stayed in business for only eighteen hours. High Point's speed-demon racecar drivers opted to smuggle liquor in their uncatchable cars, which sparked the beginning of NASCAR. Join veteran author Alice Sink as she explores these and other tales, from the cruel and comical to the mischievous and outrageous, in the story of this "international city's"? colorful past.
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Wicked Ann Arbor
by James Thomas Mann
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
Ann Arbor is known as a center of culture and education, but that hasn't prevented various tyrants and scoundrels from sullying the sophistication with base and murderous deeds. Revisit the case of "Jacke the Hugger," a turn-of-the-century deviant who routinely accosted and squeezed the women of Ann Arbor. In an effort to lure him from hiding, young men dressed as women and walked city streets. In 1903, UM student Albert Patterson disappeared in what was compared to a dime novel manner. Was he kidnapped by the Mexican Mafia? Carried off in a flying machine? Or did he flee because he was promised to marry two women at the same time? The first panty raid is said to have been carried out at the University of Michigan in March of 1952, starting the fad of the 1950's. It even made the cover of Life magazine. This is only a hint of the wickedness to be found in the history of Ann Arbor.
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Wicked Spokane
by Deborah Cuyle
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
Spokane's early years were marked by an unchecked underworld of greed and sinister dealings.
Houses of ill-repute and homebrewed whiskey abounded, and hidden tunnels beneath the streets helped to stoke the lawlessness. Famous cowgirl Calamity Jane loved to deal faro when visiting the city and it's rumored that outlaw Butch Cassidy¬¬, after a bit of plastic surgery, chose the city to live out the rest of his life in relative peace. A corrupt police department did little to curb the influence of the wealthy and those seeking to make their fortune through bootlegging, prostitution or gambling.
Join author Deborah Cuyle as she uncovers the colorful past of the Lilac City.
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Wicked Greensboro
by Alice Sink
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
In a town where ladies of the evening walked the streets (but were legally bound to hide their ankles) and trouble rolled through town on the famous railways, this Piedmont city has seen its fair share of iniquity. From Frank Lucas, the drug lord whose childhood in Greensboro served as the catalyst for a life of crime, to the teacher who ruled his students with a switch and a pocketknife, the tales in Wicked Greensboro capture the shady side of the Gate City's past. Travel with local author Alice Sink down the streets of old-time Greensboro to view a city riddled with prostitution, bootlegging and all manner of unsavory and mischievous depravity.
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Wicked Erie
by Justin Dombrowski
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
Discover sinister stories of Erie's hidden history.
Life on the lake is not always pleasant, as these stories of scandal, robbery, murder, suicide, the mob and more reveal. Author Justin Dombrowski presents narratives of Erie's wicked past.
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Wicked Northern Illinois
The Dark Side of the Prairie State
by Troy Taylor
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
From the secrets of Joliet Penitentiary to the ferocious gunfights between the Ku Klux Klan and the Shelton Gang, Troy Taylor takes the measure of the dishonest sweat and innocent blood poured into the prairies of Northern Illinois. Meet the "fallen angels" of Decatur's red-light district, the Springfield counterfeiters who bungled stealing Lincoln's bones and the Aurora man who propped up his porch with the heads of his wife and brother-in-law. And if you dare, eavesdrop on the chilling confession of a man who left a dancer's corpse to the mercy of the railroad tracks: "So, I pat them on the cheek, call them sweet names, and kill them."
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Michigan Wicked Bay City
by Tim Younkman
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
From unscrupulous lumber barons to Hell's Half Mile, Bay City history casts a sinister shadow. Pope Leo XIII was forced to intervene when rioting Catholic immigrants seized St. Stanislaus Catholic Church and battled one another in the city's streets. The police discovered prostitute Lou Hall nearly beaten to death in the Block of Blazes. And respected publishing mogul Edwin T. Bennett's secret life led to the death of a young woman in a Bay City hotel room. Join author Tim Younkman for a wild ride into the city's wicked side.
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Wicked Boise
by Janelle M. Scheffelmaier
Part of the Wicked (The History Press) series
Corruption, scandal, and injustice take center stage in “Wicked Boise”.
Known today for its beauty, safety and livability, Idaho's capital city does harbor a few skeletons in its closet. Vigilantes lynched Ada County's first sheriff. A wealthy brothel owner was viciously murdered and found secretly living in squalor. The sensational Prohibition-era trial of a moonshine ring that included the sheriff, police chief and a prominent doctor extended a morality crusade by law enforcement. Mike Kirby was arrested and condemned to three years hard labor for sending a "most disgustingly worded letter", while others were sentenced for violating the state's infamous "crime against nature" law.
Author Janelle M. Scheffelmaier explores motive, morality, and the uncomfortable gray space between right and wrong as she unearths some of Boise's darkest moments.
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