"The story of Huntington, West Virginia, as told by James E. Casto, is the story of a city born of the Ohio River and the railroad and nurtured by the industrious men and women who have lived and worked there since 'The Great Persuader,' Collis P. Huntington, founded the town in 1870. It is the story of a city that has had its share of good times - the coming of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway and the industrial growth that accompanied it; the building of Marshall College and its subsequent elevation in status to Marshall University; and the development of the area's many cultural amenities, such as the Huntington Galleries and David W. Harris Riverfront Park. But the story of Huntington also has its tragic side - the floods of 1884, 1913, and 1937; the pain and suffering on the battlefields and homefront during World Wars I and II; and the shock and sorrow caused by the 1970 plane crash that killed the Marshall University football team, its coaches, and fans. Despite these tragedies, however, Huntingtonians have survived to rebuild their city and their lives. In Huntington: An Illustrated History author Casto's lively and colorful narrative is richly illustrated with over 100 historic black-and-white photographs discovered by the author in various public and private collections and with color photos commissioned exclusively for this book...."dust jacket flap