MONMOUTH — Named in honor of Henry Dearborn and the Battle of Monmouth, the town of Monmouth has a rich history. In a new book, “Images of America: Monmouth,” local author Bobbie Bowler captures the everyday lives of the hardy and hardworking individuals who shaped that history.

To do this, Bowler, a trustee emerita and past president of Monmouth Museum Inc., uses vintage photographs obtained, in large part, from both public and private collections.

Bowler said he hopes that “this photographic history of Monmouth has something for everyone who lives in Monmouth or has a Monmouth connection.”

Among its highlights, the book shows the importance of education and religion in the town’s development and documents three of the five devastating fires in the town’s center between 1885 and 1913, as well as the creation of the town’s centerpiece, Cumston Hall.

Bowler became interested in Monmouth history after Earle Flanders gave a presentation to her eighth-grade class. She began working for Flanders as a guide for the Monmouth Museum in the summer of 1974. What began as a collection of 100 Monmouth photos has now grown, between the museum’s and her photos, to more than 2,500.

Bowler earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Franklin Pierce College in Rindge, N.H. She has 20 years experience reproducing old photos. She works as a foster home provider and is working on a book about the 7th Maine Regiment, a subject she has been researching for 20-plus years. She has volunteered at the museum for 30 years.

“Images of America: Monmouth” is available at area book stores, independent retailers and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at (888) 313-2665 or www.arcadiapublishing.com.

Book signings

Bowler will sign copies of her new book from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 25, during the Apple Fest at the Monmouth Museum, 751 Main St. She will also have a signing from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 29, at Cumston Public Library, 796 Main St.