One of America’s most interesting small cities has a devoted and knowledgeable curator of its past. In time for its 325th anniversary in 2013,  New Rochelle’s City Historian, Barbara Davis, has created an annotated  collection of 200 vintage historical postcards of New Rochelle, called  “New Rochelle,” published by  Arcadia Publishing. This is Davis’ second book on New Rochelle, the first being part of Arcadia’s Images of America series published in 2009.

Settled by refugees from religious persecution, New Rochelle’s history reflects the story of American optimism and growth. From early life on Thomas Paine’s farm to Dick Van Dyke’s suburban family TV sitcom, New Rochelle seemed always iconic and fashionable– an ideal place from which to send a postcard. The black and white photos in the book  capture scenes from the waterfront, downtown and trolley, historic sites and various institutions.

Many of the postcards in the book are from the New Rochelle Public Library’s local history collection where Davis works as community relations coordinator as well as city historian. The postcards in the library’s collection were donated by Dominick Bruzzese, Karen S. Allen, and other anonymous donors.

You can order a copy online.