Since the development of photography in the mid-nineteenth century, the camera has been used as a tool of both discovery and preservation. Photographs bring alive our picture of the past and can open a floodgate of memories and nostalgia or inspire curiosity and a sense of history. Collected in this intriguing visual history are over 200 photographs which take us on a journey around the neighborhoods of Middletown Township, New Jersey. The history of Middletown Township may not be unusual, but its people and places are singular and well-portrayed here. Around the familiar landmarks of a neighborhood--homes and churches; schools and stores--we see all the elements of daily life as it was played out over a century of change.