As part of my training in spatial history at George Mason University, I have had a chance to become acquainted with open-source programs like QGIS,…
Cassandra FarrellJanuary 18, 2023
This is an entry in our “Random Reference” series, which features interesting discoveries made and reference questions answered by our Archives & Library Reference Services…
Annie HattonNovember 23, 2020
In the late 1800s, land speculators became interested in selling islands along the Atlantic Coast to be used as summer resorts. “Parramore’s Island,” a barrier…
Louise JonesAugust 9, 2017
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in slightly altered form in the Summer 2001 issue of “Virginia Cavalcade.” Between 1928 and 1930, the federal government…
Vince BrooksMay 31, 2017
The Library of Virginia’s collections include maps of developments that were never constructed, many of which were conceived prior to the Panic of 1893. In…
Cassandra FarrellAugust 10, 2016
French’s Tavern, located in Powhatan County, was a prominent 19th century inn and ordinary that served travelers on the Old Buckingham Road, an important thoroughfare linking…
Catherine OBrionJune 8, 2016
The 2016 Alan M. and Nathalie Voorhees Lecture on the History of Cartography will be held at the Library of Virginia on Saturday, 16 April…
Cassandra FarrellApril 6, 2016
New ideas are sometimes birthed out of tragedies. In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill passed by both houses of Congress authorizing an ambitious…
Joanne PorterNovember 18, 2015
The 2015 Alan M. and Nathalie Voorhees Lecture on the History of Cartography will be held at the Library of Virginia on Saturday, 18 April. …
Cassandra FarrellApril 8, 2015
The Library of Virginia began accessioning maps in 1911. Today its collection has grown to encompass several types of maps, including town plans. One of…
Cassandra FarrellFebruary 20, 2015
This summer’s announcement that Mayo’s Island is again for sale prompted a look back at the history of of the most well-known of the James River islands.…
Cassandra FarrellNovember 14, 2014
The 2014 Alan M. and Nathalie Voorhees Lecture on the History of Cartography will be held at the Library of Virginia on Saturday, 12 April.…
Cassandra FarrellApril 4, 2014
Lura Royall was a Lunenburg County girl. Her relatives remember her as a pretty woman who never married—a retired school teacher full of life well…
Dale DulaneyFebruary 13, 2013
Here in Virginia, there are some pretty strong views on history. It isn’t merely in the past, it is occurring in the present as well. …
Sonya ColemanJanuary 22, 2013
