“Fort Oglethorpe,” a book by local authors Gerry Depken and Julie Powell, is the latest installment in Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America series.

The series, which began in 1993, provides a pictorial history of various communities throughout the country. Each book captures the unique story that a town or city has to offer by celebrating the region and its people with more than 200 black-and-white photos.

With the challenge of depicting the evolution of an entire town, the authors embarked on a journey to convey the history and growth of the area that surrounds them. Through months of researching data about the area, and listen-ing to various stories told by citizens, they were able to create this account of the historical glory that has taken place in Fort Oglethorpe.

“What we wanted to do is very simple if you think about it,” Depken said. “At the end of the day, our main focus as historians is to develop preservation. You have to learn about the history, claim your heritage, and keep it pre-served.

“We had a lot of cooperation from the citizens of Fort Oglethorpe, the people at the National Archives, as well as the unconditional support of our husbands. We also had enormous amounts of help from archivists, historians, and librarians who all shared their invaluable collections with us. A lot of people opened their scrapbooks, their memo-ries, and their hearts in order to help us tell this story.

“Photographs are taken for a reason, and each one tells a story,” Depken said. “When it comes to history, it’s im-portant for people to understand that significance matters.”

Preserving the history of a town is vitally important to the heritage and identity of a community, she said.

The book covers a span of more than 100 years, beginning with the establishment of the Post in 1902, both World Wars, as well as the incorporation of the city of Fort Oglethorpe in 1949. It also provides photos of some of the county’s most prominent visitors such as Theodore Roosevelt, Bing Crosby, and Sgt. Alvin York on their visits to the community.

There is a photo and story of Col. Theodore Baldwin and the 7th Calvary accompanying President Teddy Roose-velt on his tour of the Chickamauga Battlefield. There are numerous photos of the prisoner of war camp that was built in 1918 on Van Cleve Street, where Gilbert-Stephenson City Park is now located. It also charts a timeline with photos for the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), which arrived in Fort Oglethorpe in January 1943. In July of that year, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the legislation creating the WAC, and the women were sworn into the army shortly after in August.

To say that Depken and Powell went on an adventure in order to provide readers with this collection would be an understatement.

“As a historian, it’s all about the chase, the hunt,” Depken said.

The two friends, who share a genuine interest in history as well as a love of writing, created a partnership with an objective of answering three simple questions: Where did we come from, where have we been, and where are we going?

“It was like opening treasure chests,” Depken said.

Not only from a historian’s perspective, but also as members of the community, the authors strived to preserve the heritage of Fort Oglethorpe, which is completely evident in their finished product.

“Fort Oglethorpe”

By Gerry Depken and Julie Powell.

Arcadia Publishing

Images of America series

Price: $21.99

128 pages/soft cover

Available on Dec. 7