Laury's Island

I've written my first history book! I'm very excited because it's exactly the sort of thing I love to share with people - local history of an unusual nature. It's also exciting to me because I managed to find a subject that almost no one has tackled within the last fifty years, and mine is the only book about it.

Laury's Island: The Lehigh Valley's Forgotten Park is about an amusement park, owned and operated by the Lehigh Valley Railroad from 1891 to 1906. It was situated on an island in the Lehigh River alongside Laurys Station, a village in North Whitehall Township in my native Lehigh County. The book gives a history of the Laury family for whom the village was named, the origins of the park, its assorted attractions, its tragedies, and what led to its closing.

It was actually very popular in its day. The Allentown Band performed concerts there regularly; it had a variety of rides and other attractions; it even hosted special exhibitions of Pain's fireworks (a daily feature on Coney Island) and Edison's moving pictures. It also was the site of some terrible events, such as a double drowning in 1898 and a devastating flood in 1902. More than a hundred years after the last train pulled out of the station, the park has passed out of living memory and the majority of Lehigh Valley residents have never even heard of it.

The book is not long, and includes the only known photographs of Laury's Island which are in the public domain. There are also reproductions of newspaper clippings from the time and modern-day comparison images. Those interested in Lehigh County history, amusement parks, railroad history, Pennsylvania genealogy, and/or things which have been lost to time will - I hope! - find it worth reading. Looking for a gift idea for someone in those categories? Here you go!

Laury's Island is available on my publisher's website, through Amazon.com, or through the Barnes & Noble website. I'm pretty sure you can also go into your local brick-and-mortar store and arrange to order a copy. Or, if you prefer to get your history content digitally, I've got you covered! Buy the ebook from my publisher.

If it sounds like your cup of tea, I hope you'll check it out! And if you have any additional knowledge about the park, please let me know, as I'd like to eventually do a second volume.

Update 1/17/2021: I was interviewed on the local news about my book! (We were outside and wore masks, I assure you.) The station's resident historian Frank Whelan gave a condensed version of the park's story on their website and said some very nice things about my book, which was really sweet! You can watch the interview and read his remarks here.

Update 5/27/2021: The National Canal Museum did an article about Laury's Island and included my book as their primary source! (They even found a picture of the steamboat that I never saw.) I'm super excited about this and very flattered by the praise for my work.

Update 10/2/2021: I'll be signing copies of the book at my local Barnes & Noble in two weeks' time! If you'd like to watch me write my name a few times, come to the Lehigh Valley Mall in Whitehall, Lehigh County, between 2 and 4 p.m. on Saturday, October 16th. Details here!