Illinois Authors

The Illinois Center for the Book banner

Jim Edwards

Born: 1939
Pen Name: None

Connection to Illinois: Edwards lives in Elburn.

Biography: Jim Edwards specializes in writing about local history for Arcadia Publishing. He has coauthored books with his wife on Aurora, North Aurora, Batavia, St. Charles, Elgin and Kane County.


Awards:

Primary Audience(s): Adult readers

Email: musicritic@earthlink.net
Jim Edwards on WorldCat : http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=jim+edwards


Selected Titles

Batavia :
ISBN: 0738507954 OCLC: 860833898

Early in the year 1999, a group of citizens became interested in forming an organization to collect and preserve the unique history of the town of Batesville and the surrounding area. A series of meetings were held to determine the extent of public interest. By May 10, 1999, the groundwork had been laid, and the first meeting of the Batesville Area Historical Society was held at the Batesville Memorial Public Library. Since that humble beginning, the society has been collecting artifacts and pictures relating to the Batesville area. This book highlights many of the photographs the society has collected, illustrating memorable moments and the people of Batesville, "the best little city in Indiana."

Chicago :
ISBN: 0738531707 OCLC: 53222899

Arcadia, Chicago, Ill. : ©2003.

Chicago entertainment between the wars, 1919-1939 /
ISBN: 0738523305 OCLC: 52510259

Arcadia, Chicago, IL : ©2003.

Elgin, Illinois :
ISBN: 9781439610275 OCLC: 630550537

Arcadia, Charleston, SC : ©1999.

In 1884, the Joliet, Aurora and Northern Railroad was formed to connect the growing industrial cities of Joliet and Aurora. This system evolved into the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway. By 1893, it encircled Chicago from Waukegan, via Joliet, to Porter, Indiana. The railroad developed into a prosperous subsidiary of U.S. Steel at the beginning of the 20th century. It primarily served the steel mills and facilities of its parent company and as a bridge route between the many Chicago railroads it crossed. It has also been an industry innovator. It was one of the first Class 1 railroads to completely convert to diesel locomotive power in 1949 and the first in the world to install an automatic, electrically operated car retarder yard in 1952. Today it is the same prosperous railroad it was over 120 years ago, serving the rail transportation needs of its online customers and as an even more important bridge route for the region's railroads.

Elgin, Illinois :
ISBN: 0738502596 OCLC: 43399305

Arcadia, Charleston, SC : ©1999.

Kane County in vintage postcards /
ISBN: 0738518662 OCLC: 48059106

Arcadia, Chicago, Ill. : ©2001.

North Aurora, 1834-1940
ISBN: 9781439633144 OCLC: 677920173

Arcadia Pub., Charleston, SC : ©2006.

North Aurora: 1834-1940 is a quintessential study of what happened when settlers arrived in the Midwest in the 1830s. The village's location on the Fox River provided plentiful trees and waterpower for sawmills. Soon other mills, smelting works, a packing plant, a door-sash-blind factory, and a creamery all came to town. The village's railroad enabled its Boswell Cheese Factory to ship cream cheese to England in 1877. By 1922, North Aurora had a huge entertainment complex, a popular racetrack, and a hotel. Today the village is growing rapidly but still maintains its rural atmosphere.

North Aurora, 1834-1940 /
ISBN: 0738541087 OCLC: 76046058

Arcadia Pub., Charleston, SC : ©2006.

 

 

Accessibility