Manakin Town, in present-day Powhatan County, was a unique community made up of Huguenot (French Protestant) refugees who settled there in 1700-1701. Although free from…
Bill BynumSeptember 15, 2021
For one semester, in the fall of 2019, I received a Virginia Humanities Fellowship, with residence at the Library of Virginia, to study the journey…
Karen ChaseSeptember 8, 2021
In 1823, Jacques Arago’s Voyage autour du Monde was published. After describing a line-crossing ceremony he had witnessed, he waxed philosophical, noting, “I have no…
Jessi BennettSeptember 1, 2021
Washington on Courage: George Washington's Formula for Courageous Living / George Washington Colonial America: Facts and Fictions / K. David Goss From Arlington to Appomattox:…
Donna PletcherAugust 30, 2021
Next month, LVA's Common Ground Virginia History Book Group meets virtually to discuss the September Weinstein Author Series title, No Common Ground: Confederate Monuments and…
Library of VirginiaAugust 27, 2021
On 30 March 1857, Joseph Elam and two other white men broke into the house of Reubenetta Dandridge, a free Black woman living in the…
Lydia NeurothAugust 25, 2021
This is a series introducing LVA employees and exploring what they do day-to-day. If you are interested in what goes on behind the scenes entries…
Vince BrooksAugust 23, 2021
Editor's Note: A version of this article first appeared in Broadside, the magazine of the Library of Virginia, Issue No. 2, 2020. As we near…
Dana PugaAugust 18, 2021
This is an entry in our “Random Reference” series, which features interesting discoveries made and reference questions answered by our Archives & Library Reference Services…
Amanda MorrellAugust 16, 2021
To what lengths would you go to prove your identity if you had no documentation? One formerly enslaved woman was able to do so 150…
Tracy HarterAugust 11, 2021
If you want to shake up your community’s perception of the public library, I strongly suggest you consider getting a giant dinosaur skeleton. An 18-foot…
Guest ContributorAugust 9, 2021
A little more than 20 years ago, the Library of Virginia performed most newspaper inventory, cataloging, and even preservation microfilming in-house. We did use online…
Kelley EwingAugust 4, 2021
The Library of Virginia's second-floor reading rooms are now open to all with no advance appointment necessary during our current hours, which recently expanded to…
Donna PletcherAugust 2, 2021
CONTENT WARNING: Materials in the Library of Virginia’s collections contain historical terms, phrases, and images that are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and…
Lydia NeurothJuly 28, 2021
