Virginia Room Digital Collection

Welcome!

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 Items (45 total)

Davis 62.1 Modern Air Transport.jpg
Modern Air Transport plane parked at Woodrum Field. Modern Are Transport commenced commerical operations in 1946.

Davis 62.161 Baltimore Airways.jpg
An unidentified couple poses next to a Baltimore Airways plane in front of the Cannaday Farm. The Cannaday Farm would become Roanoke Municipal Airfield, then in 1941 Woodrum Field. It is the current location of Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport. …

Davis 62.1631 William Stribling.jpg
William Stribling (1904-1933) was a professional heavyweight boxer from Georgia. Seen here at Roanoke Municipal Airfield, Stribling was also an avid and accomplished aviator.

Davis 62.17 Roanoke Municipal Airfield.jpg
Mayor Sidney F. Small (left) and pilot B.A. Carpenter at the inauguration of Roanoke's passenger air service by American Airlines.

Davis 62.123 Biplane.jpg
An unidentified man poses next to a biplane at Roanoke Municipal Airfield.

Davis 62.124 Biplane.jpg
Clayton Lemon (left) and an unidentified man stand next to a Waco aircraft.

Davis2 62.152 Roanoke Regional Airport.jpg
A view of the terminal at Woodrum Field, now Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport.

RVNH40424.jpg
Lt. E.H. St. Clair of Roanoke is shown in the cockpit of his flying fortress, "The Roanoke Magician", in England. He was a veteran of over 30 combat attacks and a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross.

RVNH40455.jpg
Class of Navy aviation cadets in front of a C-47 at Woodrum Field.

RVNH40458.jpg
Congressman Clifton Woodrum, Sr. stands in front of his Fairchild 24. Woodrum soloed in 1942

RAC78 Dedication.jpg
A crowd gathers for the dedication of Woodrum Field. The plane in the background is an American Airlines DC-3.

RAC79 Dedication.jpg
Hostesses gather for a group photograph at the dedication of Woodrum Field. Front row, left to right: Jean Fishburn, Claudine Pendleton, Louise Frantz, Evelyn Correll, Dot Donahoe. Back row, left to right: Mae Williams, Marion Elliott, Jessie Mae…

CPC 21b Trout Field.jpg
Located adjacent to and east of Fairview Cemetery along Melrose Avenue, Trout Field was Roanoke's first airfield.

RAC1 Mason, George H.jpg
An early Roanoke aviator who used flight for commercial success was George H. Mason, shown here in 1929 with his Waco. Mason sold textbooks throughout Virginia, the Carolinas, George and Florida. He would circle a town, drawing attention, and then…

RAC4 Woodrum, Martha.jpg
Martha Anne Woodrum displays her trophy for winning a trancontinental air race in 1950. She and her Beechcraft Bonanza were sponsered by Johnson-Carper Furniture of Roanoke.

RAC8 First Flight.jpg
The first flight of an aeroplane in the Roanoke Valley occurred at the Great Roanoke Fair, when aviator Eugene Ely flew his Curtiss Pusher biplane from a hill in South Roanoke. Ely flew across the Roanoke River and circled the fairgrounds, where he…

RAC9 Airport Dedication.jpg
Many types of military aircraft were present in Roanoke at the dedication of the airport. Among them were the Douglas B-23 Dragon (left) and the Douglas B-18 (right).

RAC11 Woodrum Field.jpg
The progress made at Woodrum Field is seen here in 1971. Among the facilities shown are the terminal dedicated in 1953, the nose-in hangar (left of center, top), general aviation hangars and the service hangar for Piedmont Airlines (upper right).…

RAC12 Piedmont Airlines.jpg
January 1967 saw the introduction of the Boeing 727 by Piedmont Airlines to its routes. The first 727 to visit Woodrum Field is seen here. Just a few months earlier, in November 1966, Piedmont Airlines had opened routes through Roanoke to New York.…

RAC13 Hillman, Wes.jpg
Wes Hillman sits in his Waco "F" in front of the terminal at Woodrum Field. At left is a Pan American DC-4 (most likely a charter, as Pan Am did not serve Roanoke). A Piedmont Airlines DC-3 can be seen in the distance at right.

RAC20 C-17 Globemaster.jpg
With Tinker Mountain as a backdrop, a C-17 Globemaster sits on the north ramp at Roanoke Regional Airport. This aircraft, one of the US Air Force's largest transport planes, has significant operational flexibility.

RAC21 Air Force One.jpg
Roanoke Regional Airport was host to this Boeing 757, and on that date the aircraft was designated as "Air Force One" because President Barack Obama was on board. Air Force One pilots have often used Roanoke Regional Airport as a site for "touch and…

RAC22 Stearman.jpg
A 1942 Stearman bi-plane is parked on the south ramp at Roanoke Regional Airport. The tower stands in the background. Restoration of these vintage planes has allowed new generations to relive aviation history. Such planes used to be seen regularly…

RAC26 Cannaday, Charles.jpg
This photo is of Charles "Chuck" Cannaday, grandson of Dr. A.A. Cannaday who once owned the land where the Roanoke Regional Airport is located today. He is pictured in his Pitts special "Cloud Dancer". This airplane was the star of the movie by the…

RAC37 Civil Air Patrol.jpg
A Cessna 172, one of 500 Cessna aircraft owned by the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is seen here. These aircraft are rotated periodically among active stations, including Roanoke Regional Airport. The CAP was established in 1941 to serve as a civilian…

RAC43 Playboy.jpg
This DC-9 was purchased by Hugh Heffner in 1970 as the Playboy airplane, known as Hare Force One.

RAC44 Landmark Aviation.jpg
This photograph shows a privately owned, fully restored DC-3 being refueled by Landmark Aviation at Roanoke Regional Airport. The appearance of such a vintage aircraft in restored, flying condition has become increasingly rare with limited air shows…

RAC48 American Airlines.jpg
American Airlines restored air service, notably passenger and airmail, to Woodrum Field in the 1940s. This photograph appears to have been taken at Woodrum during World War II. The statement painted on the rudder of this DC-3 reads, "Buy War…

RAC49 USAF C97.jpg
This photograph shows a US Air Force Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter parked on the ramp at Woodrum Field. Only sixty of these planes were built. The Roanoke airport has been and remains important to the military subce World War II, either for training,…

RAC53 Virginia Airmotive.jpg
This is an advertisement for Virginia Airmotive Service and Supply, a business owned and operated by W. Clayton Lemon at Woodrum Field. The aircraft are identified as a Beechcraft (left) and a Stinson (right).

RAC70 Piedmont Airlines copy.jpg
This unusual photograph illustrates the increased traffic of Piedmont Airlines in and out of Roanoke and the transition from propeller aircraft to jets. The prop aircraft landing is a Martin 4-0-4; the aircraft at lower left is a Nihon YS-11; and the…

RAC71 Marine Corps2.jpg
Aircraft from the Marine Corps Air Station at Cherry Point , North Carolina are lined up at Woodrum Field during the hurricane evacuation in September 1945.

RAC77 VANG Ad.tiff
An advertisement for the Rice Bottling Company depicting the Virginia Air National Guard Fighter Squadron.Organized in 1946, the Virginia Air National Guard flew the P-47 Thuderbolt.
Output Formats

atom, dc-rdf, dcmes-xml, json, omeka-xml, rss2