Archives – Page 6 – The UncommonWealth

Archives Education & Programming Manuscripts & Special Collections

Those Who Surveyed the Commonwealth

"He lacked the polish and dazzle in some degree that is so captivating to mankind, and which is often mistaken for merit itself,” wrote one…

Cassandra FarrellDecember 18, 2024

Archives

Newly-Available Archival Accessions, July 1-September 30, 2024

The Library of Virginia maintains the most comprehensive collection of information about Virginia’s history, culture, and government. We hold more than 200 million manuscript items,…

Trenton HizerDecember 6, 2024

Archives Conservation The Stacks

Records Room Road Trips: Fall 2024

Have I mentioned that this was going to be an unusually slow travel season for me? Yes, I have.Prior to the opening of the annual…

Eddie WoodwardDecember 4, 2024

Side view, M2A2 Light Tank, Danville, VA, circa 1937

Archives

An M2A2 of the 29th Tank Company: An Interwar Period Multi-Turreted Tank of the Virginia National Guard

I am not only a reference archivist, but also a U.S. Army veteran. I served as an M1A1 Abrams and M551 Sheridan armor crewman in…

Kenneth ForestDecember 2, 2024

Archives The Stacks

Destroying Public Records: RM-3 Basics

Per the Virginia Public Records Act (VPRA), every agency, regional authority, and each branch of local government must report the destruction of their public records…

Emily JohnsonNovember 27, 2024

Archives Conservation The Stacks

Records Room Road Trips: July-August 2024

Established in 1990 and jointly sponsored by the Library of Virginia and the Virginia Court Clerks Association, the Circuit Court Records Preservation Program (CCRP) is…

Tracy HarterNovember 20, 2024

Archives Education & Programming Manuscripts & Special Collections

The Odd Couple Mapping the Commonwealth

The two cartographers responsible for the first official state map of Virginia were very different individuals. One was an older itinerant scholar who undertook many…

John DealNovember 18, 2024

Archives Education & Programming The Stacks

Records of a Paper Genocide

Editor's Note: Nora Birchett interned as part of the Library's Transforming the Future of Libraries and Archives Program in the Summer of 2024. She worked with…

Nora BirchettNovember 13, 2024

Archives Digital Projects Manuscripts & Special Collections

Building Towards Victory: The WWII Population Boom of Norfolk

The population in Norfolk, Portsmouth, and the greater Hampton Roads area greatly increased during World War II. Individuals and families moved to the area for…

Lauren CaravatiNovember 6, 2024

Archives Digital Projects

“The Coat and Breeches that I am now Wearing.”

Around the year 1826, the Virginia State Library and Archives (now Library of Virginia) began collecting transcriptions of original papers in the Public Records Office…

Amanda MorrellNovember 4, 2024

Archives Digital Projects

“Tenths of an Inch”: Examining a 19th-Century Object on the Eastern Shore

African American Genealogist Selma Stewart can remember the time she came to the Library of Virginia to view the “Free Negro Registers” in person in…

Lydia NeurothOctober 30, 2024

Archives Conservation Manuscripts & Special Collections The Stacks

One Step Up and Two Steps Back: 25 Years of Addressing the Library of Virginia’s Archival Backlog

2024 marks the 25th anniversary of the 1999 Virginia state budget amendment that funded 17 new Library of Virginia positions “to eliminate the 54-year backlog…

Roger ChristmanOctober 23, 2024

Archives

The Library Lost and Found

It isn’t every day that long-lost state government records make their way back the state archives - especially those dating from the 18th century -…

Paige NealOctober 16, 2024

Archives

Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike Authority

Recently I processed the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike Authority Records, 1954-1983 , documenting the building of the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike from 1955 to 1958. The collection is arranged…

Renee SavitsOctober 9, 2024

Archives

Commonwealth v. Witch

I I stumbled across a newspaper article in the September 18th issue of the Virginian Herald, dated September 13, 1822. Its title?I was confused. The…

Courtney ThompsonOctober 7, 2024