Eden Valley — Susan Hatton McCoy

In 1821, only the strong survived the frontier....

Though Nellie Cranford was young, hardly more than a girl herself, she was determined to forge her destiny with a new husband and his motherless children. The sacrifices would be many, whether it was having to forget the man she loved or watching a baby's life slip away, and the guarantees were none. But the triumph of settling Eden Valley would be hers.

Based on the history of the settling of the Spoon River valley in Illinois, EDEN VALLEY is a valiant story of one family's friendship with the Indians, their struggle against epidemics, their efforts to protect escaped slaves along the Underground Railroad, and ultimately, their creation of a new town and a new home.