"You will moreover as to be so good to see Mr. Patterson from August and inform him that I have not yet received the plat…
Cassandra FarrellMarch 17, 2025
"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
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
In the years following the War of 1812, Virginians enacted legislation to develop the Commonwealth’s “internal improvements”: its canals, turnpikes, and roads. Virginians were very…
Cassandra FarrellOctober 21, 2024
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
In February 1816, the Virginia state legislature passed “An Act to provide an accurate chart of each county and a general map of the territory…
Library of VirginiaDecember 5, 2022
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
