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vertical files at Special Collections and University Archives include newspaper clippings, photocopies, ephemera, unpublished and/or informal publications, and other papers relating to a specific subject area.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

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 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 1882, and one unsigned, but dated 1902.

The John Murray Papers document the participation of John Murray, a Virginia Tech chemistry professor from 1942 to 1971, in Virginia's ornithological community. Collected materials include manuscript articles, scholarly correspondence, and bird watching logs which focus largely on Montgomery County, Virginia.

This collection contains an agent’s book for Olin and Preston Institute, five copies of reports from the Committee on Seminaries, and programs from the Alpha Literary Society and Preston Literary Society.

Ledger for a merchant operating in Montgomery County, VA. Entries date from 1881 through 1888. Goods were sold by William G. Sarvay beginning January 1, 1881. The business was sold to Sarvay's step-son, Charles Lyle on March 1, 1883.

The Ellison A. Smyth, Sr. collection contains papers including his correspondence with professional and amateur scientists, collectors, dealers and suppliers around the world concerning entomology and zoology, his publications, and field journals from his entomological work.