Appalachia – The UncommonWealth

Hikers’ Corner at the Waynesboro Public Library

The Waynesboro Public Library is located just three miles from the Appalachian Trail, placing us in a unique position to support thru-hikers traveling the nearly…

Guest ContributorJuly 14, 2025

Education & Programming Highlights Virginia Authors

The Lost Appalachian Trail

The earliest people to hike the Appalachian Trail in Virginia did not have the same experience as those walking it today. In fact, for those…

Library of VirginiaMay 20, 2022

Virginia Authors

New Books – September 2020

The Library of Virginia is now open by appointment only. During this initial reopening phase, researchers will be able to use the collections by appointment…

Donna PletcherSeptember 28, 2020

Archives The Stacks

Hunger Amidst Plenty: Congress, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Transformation of the Food Stamp Program

Editor's Note: The Library of Virginia, in partnership with Virginia Humanities, sponsors residential fellows during the academic year to conduct in-depth research in the Library's…

Tracy RoofJuly 29, 2020

Education & Programming

What’d I Miss?: Diving Deeper into the History Behind Hamilton

While Lin Manuel Miranda’s blockbuster musical hit Hamilton takes some artistic liberties with our American Colonial past, there is a lot of history packed into…

Library of VirginiaJuly 1, 2020

Virginia Authors

New Books – May 2020

At the time of this posting, we remain closed to the public as part of the effort to contain the spread of COVID-19. However, these…

Donna PletcherMay 25, 2020

Virginia Authors

Celebrate National Poetry Month with LVA Literary Award Winners and Nominees

Poetry offers so much--thought and lyricism, nuggets of truth (both our own and the poet's) as well as a lens through which we can see…

Nan CarmackApril 10, 2020

Newspapers

“I hope to know a new and meaningful freedom”: A Crusading Newspaperman Moves On

Writing about Bruce Crawford’s 1935 departure from the newspaper industry, Louis Jaffe, the Pulitzer Prize-winning editor of Norfolk’s Virginian-Pilot, penned what amounted to a eulogy:…

Guest ContributorDecember 11, 2019

Highlights Manuscripts & Special Collections

"Nelson County in Hollywood"

The papers of Earl Hamner, Jr., creator and writer of the popular television series The Waltons, are now available for research at the Library of Virginia.…

Jim GreveNovember 12, 2014

Newspapers

Journey to the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains with the Mountain Laurel

I would like to introduce you to the Mountain Laurel, a unique paper from Meadows of Dan, Virginia. The Mountain Laurel warned readers that it would “not…

Natalie DraperMarch 29, 2013

Newspapers

The Big Stone Post

The setting for John Fox Jr.’s 1908 novel Trail of the Lonesome Pine, Big Stone Gap in Wise County is situated along the Powell River…

Kelley EwingJune 18, 2012

Newspapers

100 Years Ago — Law and Disorder

This month marks the 100th anniversary of events surrounding the Allen family and the infamous “Hillsville Massacre.” The sensational coverage and gripping photos of the characters…

Kelley EwingMarch 14, 2012