Browse Items (46 total)

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…

From the time the earliest English settlers arrived in 1607 to today, corn has been a staple crop in Virginia. Farmers across the state grew vegetables like corn to eat and to feed their farm animals. As America's population increased, the demand for…

In earlier eras, books were expensive luxury items only owned by those who could afford to purchase them. The advent of the printing press made it easier to produce books; however, it was far easier to mass produce newspapers, pamphlets, and other…

Trolleys were a very popular way for people to travel across cities or towns in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Earlier versions of the trolley, or tram, were drawn by horses. By the late 1800s, however, people began riding in trolleys that…

In 2012, Governor Bob McDonnell signed Executive Order Number 55 which supported Virginians with Disabilities in the Commonwealth's Workforce. The executive order also addressed the importance of employment of Virginians with disabilities enabling…

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority announced on June 23, 2014 that the first phase of Metro’s Silver Line to provide service to Dulles International Airport would be ready to open by the end of July 2014. It was the culmination of a…

After the Great Depression, difficult economic times led to an increase in work strikes, such as the one in this image. In an effort to preserve individual employee rights in a town largely controlled by industry, Hopewell plant workers joined labor…

Waterways provided the people of the Eastern Shore and Hampton Roads regions with access to food, supplies, and transport long before English colonists arrived in 1607. As English settlements displaced and removed Indigenous people from the land near…

“Safety is better than compensation” it a sentiment which echoes—both explicitly and implicitly—through the wording of these safety posters (see link below to view additional images). In these posters, cartoon workers are eaten by machines and lose…

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…