Oakmont (PA) (Images of America)

Long before the Hulton Bridge, Hulton's Ferry carried locals across the Allegheny River to the road to Pittsburgh and the world beyond. The ferry helped transform a sparsely populated outpost in the early 1800s into a thriving settlement a few decades later and thus earns recognition as the first bookmark in the history of Oakmont. Others followed: the Allegheny Valley Railroad; a lake that covered part of what now is one of the town's busiest streets; Civil War and World War I army encampments; the Willows nightclub and its huge swimming pool; and boat clubs, yacht clubs, and a world-famous country club. Oakmont captures the history of these places and times-along with many others-through nearly two hundred vintage photographs.