Virginia Room Digital Collection

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The Virginia Room Digital Collection includes photographs, oral histories, books, pamphlets and finding aids to items in the Virginia Room. Continue to check back for new additions.

Browse Collections (70 total)

Acorn

Acorn1968.pdf

Roanoke established its first high school, Roanoke High School, in 1891. Roanoke High School was located on the corner of 2nd Street and Church…

Bent Mountain Collection

BM382-2.jpg

This collection of photographs and documents capture the history of the Bent Mountain area of Southwest Roanoke County, including Back Creek, Cave…

Contributors: Nelson Harris, Back Creek Civic League, Isaac Sutphin, Cave Spring Baptist Church, Jane Fralin Grisso, Genevieve Henderson, Molly Koon, Lorene Preas, Mauvieleen Altis, Debra Christley, Joyce M. Turman, Walter Henry, Don Debusk, Lynne Mowles, Grandle Meador, Carole Hawkins, David Harris, Bob Stauffer, Marie Saul, Dana DeWitt, Lou Emma Richards, Mary Ann Conner, Laurel Ridge Primitive Baptist Church, Ralph Henry, Martha Brizendine, Copper Hill Church of the Brethren, Judy Reed, Kat Jacobs, Lois Reed, Lois Overstreet, Glenn Reed, Sheri Poff, Hazel Brown, Lorie Murray, Alan Fralin, Glenna Wimmer, Gladys King, Ed Frost, Sammy Holt, Cindy Windel, Laura Hall, Tim Hash, Walter Henry, and Frank Stone

City Market Photograph Collection

VRD 2.26.jpg

This collection consists of a 25 photographs that document the City Market during the 1960s. It is believed the photographs were taken as part of a…

City Planning Commission

City Planning - Insurance.pdf

Photographs in this collection were produced for the 1928 City Planning Commission, which drew upon the 1907 Remodeling Roanoke: Report to the…

Clark Studio Photography Collection

CS 101.jpg

Herman Richard Clark was a photographer with his own studio, Clark Studios, that focused on commercial and portrait photography. Ranging from the late…

Contributors: Gainsboro Branch of Roanoke Public Libraries

Colonel

Colonel1984.pdf

In 1949, William Fleming became part of the Roanoke City School System through the annexation of part of Roanoke County by the city. William Fleming…

Crusader

Crusader1988.pdf

Glenvar High School was opened in 1966 by Roanoke County public schools. Most, if not all, of the student body would previously have attended Andrew…

Eyrie

Eyrie1977.pdf

The Eyrie is the annual for Hidden Valley Middle School.

Family Histories

ConnerFamily.pdf

This collection consists of various family histories that are either in the public domain or where express permission was given to publish online.

Finding Aids and Indexes

MarstellerCollection1.pdf

Items in this collection include finding aids, indexes, inventories and guides to items not found in the online catalog. Please note that this…

Gainsboro Library Finding Aids and Indexes

Records of the Roanoke Valley Cultural Exchange.pdf

Items in this collection include finding aids, indexes, inventories and guides to items not found in the online catalog. Please note that this…

Contributors: Gainsboro Branch of Roanoke Public Libraries

Gainsboro Library Photography Collection

GB135 Rev. L. L. Downing.jpg

The Gainsboro Library Photography Collection consists of approximately 100 black-and-white and color photographic prints. The black-and-white prints…

Contributors: Gainsboro Branch of Roanoke Public Libraries

General

General1955-1956.pdf

Lee Junior High School opened in 1911 at 250 Franklin Road. After serving students for 59 years, the building was razed in 1970 and became the site…

George C. Davis Glass Lantern Slides

Davis GL 98 Pitzer Transfer.jpg

The Davis Photographic Records contain approximately 12,200 black and white images, negatives, glass plate negatives and glass lantern slides. Black…

George C. Davis Photograph Collection of Frank Ewald

FE305 Roanoke Country Club.jpg

George C. Davis Photographs in this collection are digital copies of owned and acquired by Frank Ewald. All Davis images can be dated circa 1904-1968.…

Contributors: Frank Ewald

George C. Davis Photographic Records

Davis 66.301 Memorial Bridge.jpg

The Davis Photographic Records contain approximately 12,200 black and white images, negatives, glass plate negatives and glass lantern slides. Black…

George C. Davis Photographic Records - Series 2

Davis2 48.34 Toms Potato Chips.jpg

The Davis Photographic Records contain approximately 12,200 black and white images, negatives, glass plate negatives and glass lantern slides. Black…

Historic Postcard Collection

PC 139.18n Elizabeth College.jpg

Historic postcard of a variety of scenes in the Roanoke Valley, including landmarks, buildings, and street scenes.

Jefferson Hospital School of Nursing Yearbook Collection

Lamplighter1965.pdf

In 1907, Dr. Hugh Trout founded Jefferson Hospital, a small, 40-bed hospital named in honor and memory of Thomas Jefferson.

Dr. Trout soon found…

John Will Creasy Photographic Slide Collection

Creasy47 Huff Farm.jpg

The John Will Creasy Photographic Slide Collection contains photographs of scenes and events in the Roanoke Valley taken by John Will Creasy. Creasy…

Journal of the Historical Society of Western Virginia

JHSWV_24_01_2020.pdf

The Journal of the Historical Society of Western Virginia is a periodical published by the History Museum of Western Virginia. The journal was first…

Loebl Dye Works Photograph Collection

LDW17 Loebl Dye Works.jpg

This small collection of photographs contains images of Loebl Dye Works, formerly located at 350 Salem Avenue. The company was started by Josef Loebl…

Contributors: Tina Loebl and Mary Bishop

Mayors of Roanoke Portrait Collection

HarrisCNelson.jpg

This portrait collection includes former mayors of the City of Roanoke. Not included are the portraits which remain in City Council chambers: John…

Miscellaneous Photographs

VHBC8.jpg

Neighborhood Oral History Project

TurnerAnn.mp3

Beginning in September 2006, Roanoke Public Libraries interviewed more than 100 individuals for the Oral History Initiative. The Neighborhood…

Norfolk & Western Railway Photograph Collection

HNWR202.jpg

The photographs in this collection capture the history of the Norfolk and Western Railway. Formed by more than 200 mergers between 1838 and 1982,…

Contributors: Nelson Harris; Virginia Museum of Transportation

North Star

NorthStar1971.pdf

The North Star is the annual for Northside High School. Northside High School opened in 1960.

Pamphlets

NBC1924.pdf

This collection contains pamphlets related to a number of historical and genealogical subjects.

Parker Studio Photograph Collection

PS 273 Junior Womens Club.jpg

Alton Bernard Parker went into the photography business with his father, William Carlton Parker, in the Parker Studio after graduating from Jefferson…

Patriot

Patriot1995.pdf

Patrick Henry High School was completed in 1961 as one of two general enrollment secondary schools in the City of Roanoke. Originally constructed in…

Raleigh Court Photograph Collection

RC48 Transportation Museum.jpg

Photographs in this collection document the history of the Greater Raleigh Court neighborhood, which includes Wasena, Virginia Heights and Norwich. …

Contributors: Nelson Harris

Register of Colored Persons Cohabitating as Husband and Wife
Roanoke County, 1866

1866CohabReg.pdf

Prior to the Civil War, enslaved men and women were not legally allowed to marry. However, during slavery many men and women did consider themselves…

Roanoke Aviation Photograph Collection

RAC80 Woodrum & Donahoe.jpg

Roanoke County Register of Free Negroes, 1838-1865

RCRegisterofFreeNegroes.pdf

In 1793, the Virginia General Assembly passed a law requiring that all free Black and multiracial individuals of Black descent in the state of…

Roanoke Negatives

RNC 117 Woodlawn Avenue.jpg

Roanoke Railway & Electric Company Photograph Collection

RREC21 Utility Wagon.jpg

This set of photographs is contained within the Roanoke Railway & Electric Company Records Collection. In addition to photographs, the collection…

Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority Photograph Collection

RRHA572.jpg

The photographs in this collection were part of the Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority documentation of areas in Roanoke prior to, during,…

Roanoke Valley in the 1940s Photograph Collection

RVNH40527.jpg

The photographs in this collection are a result of Roanoke Valley in the 1940s by Nelson Harris published in 2020. With years of research and…

Ruffner Rock

RuffnerRock1980.pdf

William Ruffner Middle School operated as such from 1970 through June 2009. The building is located at 3601 Ferncliff Avenue, NW.

Salem and Roanoke County in Vintage Postcards

sr190.jpg

The postcards included in this collection were used in large part in Nelson Harris' book "Salem and Roanoke County in Vintage Postcards". Several…

Contributors: Nelson Harris, George Wade

Salvation Army Pathway of Hope Oral History Project

ErvinAmanda.MP3

The Salvation Army Pathway of Hope Oral History Project is a partnership between The Salvation Army of Roanoke, Virginia; the Virginia Room, Roanoke…

Scyphers Photographic Slide Collection

Scyphers33 Jefferson Street.jpg

This collection consists of photographic slides depicting scenes about Roanoke.

Sonny Bay Hale Photography Collection

SBH396.1.jpg

Sonny Nathaniel "Bay" Hale was a local photographer who specialized in portraiture and event photographs. He developed all of his photos from his home…

Contributors: Gainsboro Branch of Roanoke Public Libraries

Southwest Virginia LGBTQ History Collection

LamphierLisa.MP3

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ) History Project began in 2015 as collaboration between Roanoke College, Roanoke…

Star Stories

Star41.4.9.2016.pdf

Star Stories is a collaborative project between the Virginia Room, City of Roanoke, Hollins University, Blue Ridge Literacy and other partners to…

The Accolade

Accolade2021.pdf

The Accolade is the annual for Cave Spring High School. Cave Spring High School opened in 1956. In 1968, it was moved to its current site at 3712…

The Addisonian

Accolade2019.pdf

The Addisonion was the annual for Lucy Addison High School. Lucy Addison High School was the second school in the City of Roanoke to be erected for…

The Black Swan

BlackSwan1957.pdf

The Black Swan is the annual for William Byrd High School. William Byrd High School was built in 1933 at 100 Highland Road in Vinton, Virginia. The…

The Brigadier

Brigadier1971.pdf

James Breckinridge opened as a junior high school in 1961 at 3901 Williamson Road. Prior to the existence of Breckinrdige, the building , built in…

The Cardinal

Cardinal1970.pdf

James Monroe Junior High School was contstructed in 1948, with a new addition added in 1960. In the early 1970s, Monroe was converted into an…

The Matador

Matador2011.pdf

James Madison Junior High School opened in 1970.

The Memoir

Memoir1938.pdf

The Troutville community built its first "high school" in 1905, a two-story, four room school. The first school burned in 1913, a new school was…

The Norsemen

Norsemen1973.pdf

Northside Middle School opened as Northside Intermediate School in 1969. It would later become Northside Junior High School and later Northside…

The Owl

Owl1988.pdf

The Owl is the annual for Penn Forest Elementary School. Penn Forest Elementary School opened in 1972.

The Pioneer (ALHS)

Pioneer1947.pdf

The Pioneer was the annual for Andrew Lewis High School. Andrew Lewis High School opened in 1933. It operated as a high school until 1977, when…

The Pioneer (ALMS)

Pioneer1998.pdf

With the opening of Salem High School in 1977, the Andrew Lewis High School building at 616 South College Avenue in Salem became Andrew Lewis Middle…

The Presidents

Wilsonian1961.pdf

The Presidents is the annual for Woodrow Wilson Junior High School. Woodrow Wilson Junior High was built in 1928 at 1813 Carter Road SW.

The Spectator

Spectator1948.pdf

The Viaud School was founded in 1926 by Gustave and Ethel M. Viaud as a private school for primary and secondary students. It would go through…

The Squire

Squire1974-75.pdf

The Squire is the annual for Cave Spring Middle School. Cave Spring Middle School opened in the former Cave Spring High School building in 1968. It…

The Stonewall

Stonewall1983.pdf

The Stonewall is the annual for Stonewall Jackson Middle School. Stonewall Jackson was built in 1923 and continues to operate as a middle school at…

The Technician

Technician1966.pdf

Roanoke Technical Institute opened in 1961 as an offshoot of Virginia Tech. When Virginia created a system of community colleges in 1966, Roanoke…

The Trojan

Trojan1959.pdf

Booker T. Washington Junior High School opened its doors in September 1952 in the former Lucy Addison High School.

The Virginia Philatelist

VAPhilatelistAug1899.pdf

The Virginia Philatelist was a monthly publication produced in Richmond by the Virginia Philatelic Association from 1897-1901 under editor August…

Throckmorton Negative Collection

ThrockmortonNegativeCollection.pdf

The Throckmorton Negative collection consists of commercial color negatives. The majority of negatives in this collection consist of recreation…

Underwood Aerial Photographs

Underwood 52 New London.jpg

The following photographs are a series of black and white aerial images of the City of Roanoke and vicinity. The images were taken by Underwood &…

Unknown Negatives

UC119 Boyle-Swecker.jpg

This small collection of 5"x7" negatives includes miscellaneous images from around Roanoke. The photographer and provenance of the collection are…

Virginia Appalachian Notes

VANv33n4-Supp.pdf

Virginia Appalachian Notes is a quarterly publication by the Southwestern Virginia Genealogical Society. The Southwestern Virginia Genealogical…

Virginia Insurance Rating Bureau Photograph Collection

City Planning - Insurance.pdf

This collection of photographs documents City of Roanoke municipal properties for the Insurance Rating Bureau. Information in the description of each…

Virginia Town & City

198512.pdf

Virginia Town & City is published 9 times per year by the Virginia Municipal League as a service to its members. The magazine’s mission is to serve as…

William A. Hunton Branch YMCA Photography Collection

YMCA102.jpg

This collection of photographs contains images from a scrapbook created and maintained by the YMCA Express at Gainsboro. The images date from…

Contributors: Gainsboro Branch of Roanoke Public Libraries