Since the arrival of its first settler in 1829, the story of Kalamazoo has been an interesting one. Out of the southwest Michigan wilderness, a small 19th century village quickly blossomed into a 20th century city. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a wide variety of industries made Kalamazoo a boomtown. Everything from paper, corsets, taxicabs, and pharmaceuticals allowed Kalamazoo to develop into a major center of manufacturing. At the same time, several colleges that would establish the area as a center for education were organized and expanded. Fortunately, much of KalamazooAaA(a¬AAa's development has been well-documented through photographs and other visual illustrations. These images are the subjects of this volume, which is organized to show the varied elements of KalamazooAaA(a¬AAa's history. Gathered from local archives and private collections, most of these rare photographs have never before been published.