As the first of 2 volumes reporting research on the social and educational development of 10 rural school districts prior to their involvement in the Experimental Schools program, this book is concerned with the impact of history on comprehensive educational improvement. Present 6 of the 10 histories, this volume includes: Craig, Alaska; Wilcox, Arizona; Hancock County, Kentucky; Constantine, Michigan; Supervisory Union 58, New Hampshire; and a chapter titled "A Historical Perspective on Community". Although prepared in the context of a 5-year longitudinal study, these histories constitute a separate body of knowledge relative to the following objectives: to provide concise yet comprehensive histories of communities; to gain information on economic, ecological, social, cultural, political, and psychological factors shaping present-day characteristics and to determine why these communities are as they are today; to identify ways in which rural communities may differ from both urban communities and each other; to ascertain via comparative analysis whether there are development process patterns; to determine whether the developmentpatterns and/or the present-day characteristics correspond to those of rural America in general; to render history an independent variable by identifying community variations for future investment projects. (JC)