Browse Items (33 total)

Late in the 19th century, some Virginians became interested in preserving historic buildings and landscapes that documented the state's illustrious past. White women led the effort to establish the Association for the Preservation of Virginia…

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…

The Richmond Planet was first published in 1882, seventeen years after the end of the Civil War. The thirteen founders (including James H. Hayes, James H. Johnston, E.R. Carter, Walter Fitzhugh, Henry Hucles, Albert V. Norrell, Benjamin A. Graves,…

During the 1920's, a dramatic change in communication and entertainment occurred. Radio allowed people to connect with others across the country and, eventually, across continents. The  development of new technology helped to increase production in…

In 1918, Clinton L. Williams, the leader of the local chapter of the ACCA Shriners fraternal organization, conceived an elaborate new “temple” to house the activities and growing needs of the chapter. The Shriners, as they are known, have had a…

John Mitchell Jr., was the determined and pioneering force behind the success of the Richmond Planet newspaper. Mitchell was born into slavery at Laburnum near Richmond on July 11, 1863. He was the son of John Mitchell and Rebecca Mitchell, who were…

The Atlantic hurricane season officially begins on June 1 and ends November 30, with the season’s peak occurring between August and October. During the very active hurricane season of 1933, the Chesapeake-Potomac Hurricane hit coastal Virginia on…

Touted as the largest and most magnificent exposition of all time, the New York World’s Fair opened at Flushing Meadows in April 1939. In the Court of States, one exhibition was strikingly different from the rest: the Virginia Room, “an island of…

During World War II the American government asked civilians to participate in the war effort in a variety of ways. A common means for the government to communicate with civilians was through posters hung in public places. The posters were often…

During World War II booklets were published to assist homemakers, who were mostly women at that time, provide for their families and meet the requirements of the wartime ration system created after the U.S. entered the war in December 1941. President…