Browse Items (24 total)

As a young man Anthony Rosenstock (1833–1906) left his home in what is now Germany and sailed from Hamburg to New York City, arriving in November 1853. When he landed, he had three cents and a letter of introduction to a distant relation. He…

Early in the 20th century, thousands of European immigrants worked in the coalfields of southwestern Virginia. After the Civil War, rail companies had expanded westward as entrepreneurs and industrialists opened coal seams in the region. Beginning in…

In 1716, Virginia's royal lieutenant governor Alexander Spotswood led an expedition over the Blue Ridge Mountains into the Shenandoah Valley. The explorers located Swift Run Gap, which provided relatively easy passage over the mountains, and…

Alexander Spotswood served from 1710 to 1722 as lieutenant governor of Virginia, in the place of the royal governor who never came to the colony. During his tenure Spotswood sought to improve the colony's security and economy and relations with…

The first representative assembly in English North America met in the church at Jamestown on July 30, 1619.  Following instructions from the Virginia Company of London, the governor was empowered to call a general assembly to handle public matters…

In 1803, Congress appropriated money for an exploration of the Louisiana Purchase, the vast expanse of land the United States had purchased from France for $15 million. Americans had not yet explored much of the 828,000 square miles, and President…

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…

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…

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…

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…