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vertical files at Special Collections and University Archives include newspaper clippings, photocopies, ephemera, unpublished and/or informal publications, and other papers relating to a specific subject area.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.

This collection contains the papers and artifacts of an interrelated family prominent in Blacksburg's history. It includes the American Civil War letters of Confederate surgeon Dr. Harvey Black, the Civil War diary of hospital steward John S. Apperson, cotton books and correspondence of Germanicus Kent, nineteenth-century account books of a Blacksburg general store, 1912 European travel diary, and the political scrapbooks of State Senator and Attorney General Harvey B. Apperson.

Papers associated with William Addison "Add" Caldwell (1856-1910) of Craig County, Virginia, first student enrolled at Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College (VAMC, later Virginia Tech). Includes a letter written by Caldwell in 1910; his 1875 VAMC report card; a Caldwell family photo portrait; Caldwell's obituary; and a Bible given to Caldwell by Mrs. William C. McKemey.

Thomas Nelson Conrad (1837-1905) served in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War and as President of Virginia Tech. The collection consists of the original manuscript of The Rebel Scout: A Thrilling History of Scouting Life in the Southern Army, written by Conrad from 1891 to 1893, and published in 1904.

The Dr. W. B. Conway and Julia Ellen Thomas Correspondence contains letters exchanged between the couple from 1869 to 1870 before they were married.

The collection consists of pages from an account book, bills, notes, and correspondence relating to John T. Cowan's personal and business affairs. 

The collection consists of a letter written by Jubal A. Early to General William H. Payne of Warrenton, Virginia, about the appointment of General Lunsford Lindsay Lomax to the Presidency of Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Virginia Tech) in Blacksburg.

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.

Map shows the farm and grounds of Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College. It contains field notes and a table of areas, which defines the acreage of various plots. Two hand-written notes are also on the map, one from Blackford in 1881, and one unsigned, but dated 1902.