ArchivesSpace Public Interface

This collection contains the papers of Virginia Tech alumnus and agricultural information editor, Rudolph Dixon Michael. 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.

The records largely document the recent history of Smithfield Plantation, ancestral home of the Preston family, focusing particularly on its restoration beginning in 1962. While much of the renovation occurred in the 1960s, many of the records detail other renovation projects done in the 1970s and 1980s. The collection also includes historical and other related documents dating from before the original Preston family's residence at Smithfield.