Lancaster Ohio 1800-2000: Frontier Town to Edge City

by David R. Contosta

Book Overview

In Lancaster, Ohio, 1800-2000, David R. Contosta tells the story of one American town as it has evolved over a two-hundred year period. Contosta has found that Lancaster was never the sort of idyllic community that writers once imagined for small towns; nor was it the social and cultural wasteland that social critics portrayed during most of the twentieth century.

In explaining why Lancaster has remained a small but relatively successful community for some twenty decades, Contosta looks at various factors, including location, natural resources, technology, transportation systems, local leaders, historic preservation, awareness of local history, and national as well as international events.

As the twenty-first century begins, the widespread use of the automobile, advances in technology, and Lancaster's proximity to the state capital, Columbus, are transforming the community into something new--part town, part city, and part suburb--a phenomenon that is emerging in hundreds of older communities throughout the United States. Contosta's history of the development of one small town, and the over one hundred illustrations enhancing the text, offer a microcosm of the profound changes in American life over two centuries.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0814250270
• ISBN13: 9780814250273
• Release Date: May 2000
• Publisher: Ohio State University Press
• Length: 360 Pages
• Weight: 1.18 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Surprisingly entertaining

I bought this book because of some familiarity with Lancaster, Ohio and the author (I met him many years ago). I expected it to be like a typical textbook (dull), but it absolutely isn’t. I recalled that David had a sophisticated wit, and this comes through in his writing. The level of research that went into this project is astounding, and the historical relevance of this relatively small town is enormous. It’s not just General Sherman’s home town. I think anyone from Ohio would find this to be a fascinating read, but I also think anyone with an interest in American history would learn a lot from it.