Walking through Suncook Village can be like a walk into the past, and Allenstown author Carol Martel takes a deeper look into the historic community’s past with her book, “Images of America: Suncook Village.”

Martel was born in Manchester, but takes a great interest in the history of Allenstown, where she has lived for the past 30 years. Her interest in researching the community’s history began when she moved to Allenstown, and when she sought information about the house she was living in.

Martel was particularly interested in learning exactly how old her home was. After learning that many of the town’s records had been destroyed by a fire, her curiosity was sparked. Martel continued to do her own research and consulted with others researching the town, which eventually led to the publication of her book, “The History of East Allenstown and Bear Brook State Park” in 2003.

Martel intended to publish a follow-up book based on West Allenstown, but couldn’t separate the history of western Allenstown and the Suncook Village. The idea for the follow-up book eventually evolved into Martel’s latest book, “Images of America: Suncook Village,” released last March.

In the book’s introduction, Martel addresses the issue of exactly where Suncook begins and ends. For many, it is unclear exactly where Suncook is and how it is different from Allenstown or Pembroke. Suncook isn’t actually a town, it is a census-designated place, or a counterpart of other towns or villages. In the introduction of her book, Martel outlines Suncook’s boundaries as being the Merrimack River to the west, Route 3 to the east, Broadway to the north, and the Allenstown-Hooksett line to the south.

“Images of America: Suncook Village” brings the community’s history to life with more than 200 photos of Suncook from the 19th and 20th centuries. Martel describes it as a pictorial history of Suncook. With the help of in-depth captions, black-and-white photographs do all of the work in illustrating the history of the Suncook community. Instead of chronicling Suncook’s history in chronological order, the book is broken into nine chapters of photographs.

Each chapter’s photographs revolve around a clear theme, such as churches and schools, or the mill industry. Martel said the images of the large textile mills, and the workers who made them run were among her favorites.

“I think that they really convey a lifestyle at that point in time. In essence also (they convey) the cultural lifestyle, how people lived,” said Martel.

“Images of America: Suncook Village” offers readers photographs of buildings that are still around, such as the recognizable clock tower on Main Street. Readers will see buildings that have been modified, such as the Pembroke Village School, which has been expanded or learn about places that no longer exist, such as the Suncook ball field which was where the Suncook Wastewater Treatment Plant now sits.

As much as buildings and railroads have been vital to Suncook’s rich history, Martel acknowledges that it’s been just as much about the people living in the area. “I think there are a lot of good people in the area that have accomplished a lot of wonderful things,” said Martel.