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Abstract The Beulah O. Allen Collection contains a variety of materials from Allen's life. Her papers contain correspondence with a variety of friends and associates, primarily Lucy Lee Lancaster, the first female graduate from Virginia Tech. In addition, the collection also contains Virginia Tech Commencement programs, Cotillion Club Dance programs, resources related to the Virginia Tech Library, newspaper clippings about the construction of the new Newman Library, and a large collection of...

Scope and Content

In general, vertical files at Special Collections and University Archives include newspaper clippings, photocopies, ephemera, unpublished and/or informal publications, and other papers relating to a specific subject area. Files in this collection relate to individuals and families connected to the local area (Blacksburg, Montgomery County, and Southwest Virginia) and/or to Virginia Tech. Each individual/family below has at least one folder and many include cross references.

Abstract

This collection contains the papers of Ralph Minthorne Brown, Virginia Tech head librarian (1926-1947), amateur historian and naturalist. It includes materials on Virginia Tech and local history, including typed transcripts of sources gathered for an intended history of Virginia Tech. Also included are Brown's Blacksburg ornithological and weather observations, a bibliography of Matthew Fontaine Maury, and other writings.

Scope and Contents

Director of Agricultural Experiment Station at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 1917-1945; assistant director of Agricultural Experiment Station, 1945 until his retirement in 1948. Collection consists of a Daily Desk Diary, which mentions persons and events in Blacksburg and at Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

Scope and Contents

Artist and former professor of architecture at Virginia Tech. Collection consists of twenty-two sketches and drawings done by Frazer of nudes and scenes of Blacksburg, Virginia, and the southwest Virginia region. Images available online.

Abstract

The William E. Garnett Papers consist of field notes, surveys, reports, class notes, letters to the editors of Montgomery County, Virginia, newspapers, and reprints of publications.

Scope and Contents The Henry H. Hill collection consists of historical and genealogical research compiled by Hill during his lifetime in southwest Virginia. Research includes Hill biographical information (1941-50), Blacksburg history and Montgomery County (1798-1951, n.d.), VPI (1891, n.d.), Civil War history (1863-1963, n.d.), and genealogical information and biographical sketches (1821-1950, n.d.). The collection is comprised almost exclusively of photocopies and typescripts, so the dates...

Abstract

The photograph collection at Special Collections and University Archives consists primarily of historical photographs of Virginia Tech, dating back to the 1890s. The collection is also home to historic images of Blacksburg, Montgomery County, the New River Valley, and Southwest Virginia in general. A photograph collection of faculty and staff from the university is maintained separately.

Abstract Lucy Lee Lancaster was born in Blacksburg, Virginia in 1905 and lived there until she died in 1989. She was one of the first women admitted to Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute (popularly known as VPI), and after graduating in 1925, she went on to earn her MLS from Columbia University Library School. She worked at the VPI library for the rest of her career. The Lancaster papers contain biographical materials, family papers, genealogy research,...

Abstract

This collection contains the papers of Virginia Tech alumnus and agricultural information editor.It contains correspondence and notes relating to the histories Blacksburg, the Preston family, and Smithfield Plantation (including maps of the grounds and the cemetery). It also contains a few campus photographs and printed materials related to Virginia Tech.