Browse Items (44 total)

In 1801, following Gabriel's failed slave rebellion, the Virginia General Assembly decreed that county commissioners of the revenue were to return a complete list of all free Black men and women in their districts on an annual basis. The list was to…

Western Virginia's mineral-spring resorts were extremely popular in the 19th century. Travelers from throughout the United States, especially from the southern region, visited the resorts. There people would drink or bathe in the spring water, which…

During the secession crisis of 1860–1861, attitudes about leaving the United States varied widely throughout Virginia. While the majority of white men supported the secession referendum that was approved in a vote on May 23, 1861, many white…

Hiring out enslaved men, women, and children was a common business arrangement among Virginians prior to emancipation and the abolishment of slavery with the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The practice of hiring out, which occurred in…

In March 1865, before the Civil War had ended, Congress created the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands (generally known as the Freedmen’s Bureau) to supervise matters related to freed people as well as to distribute land "abandoned" by…

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…

Historically, coal has been one of Virginia’s most valuable natural resources. The first coal mines were developed after coal deposits were discovered early in the 1700s west of the falls of the James River in the area that is now Midlothian, in…

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

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…

Tobacco production has dominated Virginia commerce for more than four centuries. From the colonial period, producers created brands that made their products distinguishable from others. Early tobacco art usually took the form of the planters' brand…