This guide to Olney's past compiles many snippets of area history found in manuscripts and reference books. Chapters include: A Road from the Past to the Present; Land Speculators, Early Settlers and Village Ghosts; A Dingy Old Place; The Farmer's Greatest Gift; The Civil War: A Community Divided; Cultivating the Mind and Soul; The Golden Age of Medicine; Death of Old Olney; The Community's Foundation; and The Birth of New Olney. Photographs, a map of area land grants, recollections of longtime residents, and an index to full-names, places and subjects add to the value of this work.