Browse Items (47 total)

After the United States entered WW I in 1917, young men who worked in agriculture left to join the military or find better jobs working for the government and the burgeoning defense industry. The departure of them men left farms without enough people…

Virgnia has a long history of growing peanuts. In the 1700’s, people from West Africa were brought to be enslaved in the colonies. Peanuts were a common food item in their home countries and, to feed people familiar products from home. For those…

In rural areas across the state local stores, such as the Pocahontas Colliery Store in Tazewell County, were often the centers of commerce and provided gathering places for community residents. In the 19th century stores in these rural communities…

The Federal Reserve System, sponsored by Virginia State Senator Carter Glass, was signed into law on December 23, 1913 by President Woodrow Wilson. In 1914, the city of Richmond was selected to be the home to one of 12 central bank locations and was…

Salem, Virginia, is an independent city within the boundaries of Roanoke County. The first known European exploration of the area occurred in 1671. Thomas Batts and Robert Fallam gave the area its first recorded name: Totero Town, after the local…

The Seaboard Air Line (SAL) Railway was chartered from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it was merged with another railroad line, Atlantic Coast Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. The SAL Railway originated from several…

In 1716, Virginia Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood led an expedition over the Blue Ridge Mountains into the Shenandoah Valley. The land was claimed for King George I of England, eventually being divided and distributed through land grants.…

Long associated with coal mining, southwest Virginia has an impressive list of other industries including farming, salt production, timber, and the mining of lead, copper, gypsum, and iron. These industries helped the region become known as the…

James H. Dooley was a Virginia politician and businessman in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After the Civil War, he amassed a fortune by expanding railroad services. In 1869, he married Sallie May Dooley, a daughter of a prominent family who…

American society underwent changes during both WWI and WWII. The roles of women shifted from domestic roles as caretakers and home makers to working in male- dominated fields like agriculture and manufacturing in factories. Many factories shifted…