Virginia

A collection of rare and vintage images documents the fascinating history of Russell County from 1786 to present.

Russell County was formed in 1786 from a portion of Washington County. It was named for Col. William Russell, who assisted in the drafting of the Declaration of Independence. Early settlers, who were mostly English and Scotch-Irish, endured geographic isolation as they shaped the ways of life, attitudes, products, legends, and realities that would ultimately usher Russell County into the information age of the 21st century. In 1774, Daniel Boone led the defense of the Clinch River settlements during Dunmore's War, the war between the colony of Virginia and the Shawnee and Mingo Indians. The Virginia-led attack was designed to remove the last obstacle to colonial conquest of the area. By 1858, Russell County had been reduced from 3,000 square miles to 483 square miles. Other counties formed from all or part of Russell were Lee, Tazewell, Scott, and Buchanan. A portion of what is now West Virginia was within the original boundaries of Russell County. The county seat, Lebanon, is a vibrant destination for industry and technology.

Staunton, Virgina is a town of architectural beauty, a major economic and transportation hub, and renowned state facilities.

For over a century, Staunton has been known as the ""Queen City of the Shenandoah Valley,"" not only because of its economic and geographic location in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley, but also because of the architectural beauty found in the city. Since the early 1800s, prominent architects and builders have left their mark on the hilly terrain of Staunton, resulting in a rich architectural fabric rarely found in small American towns. Once the largest community in the western part of Virginia, Staunton was located in the center of the state until the creation of West Virginia in 1862. The region was a major economic and transportation hub throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries and was home to an affluent mix of people and businesses with the resources available to build handsome buildings. Two of the earliest state facilities were built in Staunton--Western State Lunatic Asylum (later Western State Hospital) and the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind (VSDB). These find structures established a precedence in the city that the rest of the state clamored to follow.

Now for the first time, Petersburg's history is shown through the photographs of William E. Lum Jr.-the city's predominant photographer, c. 1925-1950. Lum's photography illustrates the social, business, and personal lives of Petersburg's citizens. His first published collection, these images hold crisp detail from the eras of the Great Depression and World War II, including Camp Lee, Virginia State College, the merchants on North Sycamore Street, carnivals, and football games-to name a few.

There is little argument that the twentieth century was "America's century," a time of incredible growth, innovation and prosperity across the country, despite depression and war, and the dichotomy of black and white, poverty and wealth that marked the highs and lows of Newport News' twentieth century experience.

The consistent threads that weave the Newport News story still hinge on the imagination, ambition and achievement of Collis Huntington; what he started at the end of the nineteenth century became a powerhouse in the twentieth.

Explore the geography of Rosslyn, Great Falls, Leesburg and Purcelville along the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad.

Washington & Old Dominion Railroad covered the railroad's corporate history, construction, and operation. The images within offer a look at the railroad's feed and grain business, railfan-type views of equipment and a visual record of methods used to maintain the right-of-way and place equipment back on the tracks. Additionally, this work offers a history of the conversion of the right-of-way into thevery popular Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park.

Learn about the history of mills and their place in the local economy. See how the Burro crane was a jack of all trades. Look under the hood and inside the cab to imagine what it was like to be an engineer on one of the railroad's Baldwin-Westinghouse electric freight locomotives.

Home to much more than the National Cemetery, Arlington County experienced a dramatic transformation from a rural community to a bustling urban center.

Though Arlington County's role as important backdrop in the Civil War cannot be understated, it was over the decades of the twentieth century that Arlington transformed into the complex urban landscape outside of Washington D.C. we know today, helped along by unparalled population growth, ethnic diversification, and economic development. This collection includes over 180 black-and-white photographs and takes readers on a unique visual journey through Arlington's history, exploring early villages such as Glencarlyn, Queen City, Cherrydale, and Barcroft, as well as the transitions from the nineteenth century into the twentieth and twentieth century into the twenty-first.

The Chesapeake Bay has been a multifaceted engine of American history and commerce since its first settlers touched the shore in the early 1600s.

Since English settlers first touched the shore of the new country in 1607, the Chesapeake Bay has been a multifaceted engine of American history and commerce. The body of inland tidal water between the largest bay cities, Norfolk and Baltimore, was large enough to be the setting of adventure and close enough to allow smaller towns and cities to grow up on its shores. The common community came to life with the technologies of steamboats that could cover the long distances between North and South relatively quickly. Steamers filled in the nooks and crannies of the bay's geography, and by the mid-19th century, the skies over the bay were lined with dark, waterborne contrails in all directions. Strong machines built to master rough seas while moving gently enough for small harbors, many steamers had life spans that crossed whole eras in American history.

Some were drafted into distinguished service in domestic and foreign wars. The steamers plied the bay and its rivers with a feminine grace well into the mid-20th century, when they were overtaken by the rush of modern times. The last steamer sailed into oblivion exactly 150 years after the first of them appeared in Baltimore harbor.

A collection of hidden tales that explore George Washington's home base of Northern Virginia.

Had General George Washington lived anywhere other than Mount Vernon, Virginia, Washington, D.C., might not exist. In this exciting collection of hidden tales from Northern Virginia, author Charles Mills highlights the important role that this region played in our nation's history from colonial to modern times. Read about the Rebel blockade of the Potomac River, the imprisonment of German POWs at super-secret Fort Hunt during World War II and the building of the Pentagon on the same site and in the same configuration as Civil War, era Fort Runyon. Meet Annandale's "bunny man," who inspired one of the country's wildest and scariest urban legends; learn about the slaves in Alexandria's notorious slave pens; and witness suffragists being dragged from the White House lawn and imprisoned in the Occoquan workhouse. Mills masterfully relates these and other colorful tales of the people and events that left their imprints on Northern Virginia and the nation.

The lesser-known tales of the personalities who shaped the capital's past are unearthed from the archives by Richmond Guide writer Walter S. Griggs Jr.

The course of Richmond's history as it emerged from the Civil War as a bustling economic powerhouse is well recorded. Yet there are some stories that have all but vanished from recollection. From the hushed whispers of an entire congregation as Robert E. Lee prayed with a slave at communion to the donation of over two hundred pigeons by fellow Richmonders to serve the war effort, these are lost vignettes of Richmond. Travel with Griggs to the bygone days of the twentieth century to test-drive the first successful automobile manufactured in Richmond, the Kline Kar, or witness the first airplane to fly over Richmond, the Gold Bug soaring over the Diamond. Hidden History of Richmond is a fascinating collection that reveals the city's forgotten but most remarkable histories.

Compiled for the first time in this volume, this selection of articles by Harry Kollatz Jr. sheds light Richmond's lesser-known history.

Richmond, Virginia's beautiful capital on the James River, has seen more than its fair share of history. Although it is probably best known as the site of one of the first English settlements in America and its role as the Confederate capitol in the Civil War, the city's past has much more to offer. Since 1992, Harry Kollatz Jr. has been recording the lesser-known heritage of Virginia's Holy City in his "Richmond Flashbacks" column in Richmond magazine. From the inauguration of the world's first practical electric trolley system an early Civil Rights activists, to a psychic horse and a wild ride on a sturgeon, he has covered it all.

Suffolk and Nansemond County are steeped in a rich heritage and form an extraordinary locality in southeastern Virginia.

With a history dating to pre-colonial times, Nansemond County was formed from one of the original shires established by colonists. Many of the first settlers were attracted to the abundant rivers and woods that offered a grand supply of food and sport. They learned to farm the bountiful land and established the crop that would make them famous. The peanut became the cash crop for Suffolk, and it drew the railroads and businesses needed to sculpt the city into a commercial success.

This photographic history pays tribute to a brief but important portion of the people and places that comprised what was known as Nansemond County and is now the City of Suffolk. It provides a visual story of a community that has weathered three major fires as well as the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and both World Wars. These images offer readers the chance to experience the ways in which generations of families have lived, worked, and played, and they portray many of the houses and establishments that have been transformed or are completely gone. Look back to the first Peanut Festival in 1941, see how school children dressed in the 1930s, and view Main Street when it was at its height of popularity.

Twentieth-century residents of Williamsburg have witnessed dramatic changes in their community. First, before World War II, was the re-creation of the Historic Area-the fulfillment of a vision seen by a clergyman and financed by John D. Rockefeller Jr. In recent decades there has been an ongoing burst of construction to accommodate the influx of visitors and newcomers. Once an almost forgotten, out-of-the-way place, Williamsburg has become a thriving city and one of America's most popular tourist destinations. With photographs from the archives of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and local newspapers, Williamsburg presents a record of building activity and the restoration that returned the city to the eighteenth century and made its streets into pathways to the past. Included are the transformations of the city's two principal institutions, the College of William and Mary and Eastern State Hospital, as well as a photographic curtain call for Paul Green's outdoor drama The Common Glory. The people who have participated in making Williamsburg a vibrant, modern community and the famous visitors who have celebrated its heritage are highlighted in this fitting tribute to an American landmark.

The Christmas season is a time for traditions and, in Richmond, one particular custom reigned supreme: a family outing to Miller & Rhoadsdepartment store.

A Christmas outing to Miller & Rhoadsdepartment store revealed thousands of smiling faces waiting to enter the kingdom of Santaland- an enchanted world marked by glittering snow and intricate train displays.

From visits to area hospitals to a young man who demanded only a box of raisins, former Snow QueenDonna Strother Deekens shares her touching and humorous holiday memories from her twenty years in the gown. Kids from one to ninety-two will enjoy reminiscing with characters like the elves, Bruce the Spruceand, of course, Miller & Rhoads'legendary real Santa. Discover behind-the-scenes drama and learn firsthand what it was like to partake in this unforgettable event.