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Maryland Historical Trust Press is the publishing unit of the State of Maryland's Division of Historical and Cultural Programs, an agency of the Department of Housing and Community Development. Publications include newsletters and numerous books, papers, and other print resources. A variety of publications offers the public a look at Maryland's historical and cultural past through architectural survey and inventory, archeological site exploration both above ground and underwater, and oral history documentation. Other publications help to make Maryland's populace more preservation conscious and provide technical assistance for saving cultural traditions, planning and managing historic sites, and enriching museum resources. The publications program is an educational outreach to the Maryland community -- serving schools and libraries, students and teachers, preservation planners and developers, historical organizations and citizen groups, and numerous others who, in learning, become more committed to protecting Maryland's historical and cultural legacy.The railroad was a powerful and pervasive force in Hagerstown from the late nineteenth century through the middle years of the twentieth century. As the nation's economy switched from an agricultural to an industrial base, thousands of people came to town -- to factories, mills, and rail yards. This book takes a long look at the people who left the farmstead for the freight train and lets the reader experience their lives through their own words and memories.Folklorist Susan Levitas sought out and interviewed dozens of people whose lives were touched by the railroads, tape recording interviews with nineteen. Many project participantswere retired railroad workers -- brakemen, firemen, engineers, blacksmiths, detectives, and female office workers -- while others had families or businesses intertwined with the railroad industry. Other participants were local rail buffs. The resulting work, illustrated with both newly shot and historic photographs, speaks to a deeply human side of one city's experience with the railroad. As the editor puts it, The tracks may have quieted, but the ties live on.
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