New England colonists, Wood argues, brought with them a cultural predisposition toward dispersed settlements within agricultural spaces called "towns" and "villages." Rarely compact in form, these communities did, however, encourage individual landholding. By the early nineteenth century, town centers, where meetinghouses stood, began to develop into the center villages we recognize today. Just as rural New England began its economic decline, Wood shows, romantics associated these proto-urban places with idealized colonial village communities as the source of both village form and commercial success.

Pulitzer Prize Winner: “A meticulous and remarkably detailed account of the early government and social organization of the town of Sudbury, Massachusetts.” —Time In addition to drawing on local records from Sudbury, Massachusetts, the author of this classic work, which won the Pulitzer Prize in History, traced the town’s early families back to England to create an outstanding portrait of a colonial settlement in the seventeenth century. He looks at the various individuals who formed this new society; how institutions and government took shape; what changed—or didn’t—in the movement from the Old World to the New; and how those from different local cultures adjusted, adapted, competed, and cooperated to plant the seeds of what would become, in the century to follow, a commonwealth of the United States of America. “An important and interesting book . . . to the student of institutions, even to the sociologist, as well as to the historian.” —The New England Quarterly

Here are 20 patterns inspired by the Harris-ville yarns colors. (They can, of course, be made from other yarns, if preferred.) Smaller projects -- mittens and ski socks -- are perfect opportunities to use up leftover yarn.

An evocative history of a World War II German POW camp in New Hampshire, where friendships among prisoners, guards, and villagers overcame the bitter divisions of war.

The timeless fascination of its Heritage Village Collection RM has made Department 56 RM, Inc. into America's leading designer and distributor of quality giftware and collectibles. Now the nostalgic charm and colorful detail that drives the popularity of the Heritage Village Collection has been captured in an exclusive new series of cross stitch patterns, the Heritage Village Collection Cross Stitch Series. Each title includes 15 full-size patterns for a single village with a complete color key and instructions. Complementing each pattern is a beautiful color photograph of the finished project as well as a photo of the original Heritage Village building. Cross stitch lovers will certainly want to own this series, and the millions of fans and collectors of the Heritage Villages offer a ready-made market for these delightful books.

This book will appeal to anyone interested in architectural photography in general as well as those intrigued by the early history of America and the elegant simplicity of the hand-crafted structures.