Search

Family papers of Alexander Smith, Charles Edgar Brown, and Joseph Moreland; correspondence; materials relating to local history and Moreland's civic, social, religious, and professional activities.

Papers of the fifteenth governor of West Virginia who was a newspaper publisher in Romney, an orchardman, lawyer, and counsel for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. There are a few papers of W.B. Cornwell. The collection includes: personal and business correspondence, 1896-1953; correspondence as governor, 1916-1922; legal papers, ca.1843-1916; and material relating to "Cornwell Day," 1931; Baltimore and Ohio and other railroads; Romney Orchard Company, ca. 1916-1919; South Branch Development Company, ca.1913-1926; newspaper publishing; and other subjects. Box 100 includes papers regarding women's suffrage, including a proclamation by Governor Cornwell to extend the legislative session of 1920 in order to address the suffrage amendment, among other legislative concerns.

The collection covers nearly all phases of Hodges' career as economist and public official, from 1908 until 1942, when he retired from the Army Ordnance office. Early materials include reports on Southern agriculture and immigration for various agencies. Hodges' first efforts to reform and streamline Virginia state government may be seen in the minutes and papers of the Virginia Commission on Economy and Efficiency. There is considerable correspondence from his service as aide and director of the Budget under Governors Davis and Trinkle. In 1924, Hodges became the first managing director of the Virginia State Chamber of Commerce; his activities reflected in the official and unofficial correspondence, included development of trade relations with Great Britain and other countries and the creation of the 'Five-Five' (later 'All Virginia') program designed to enhance the state's internal economy, efficiency, and sense of civic pride. Also included are the Chamber of Commerce's publications and numerous addresses by Hodges on trade and economic issues. During this period Hodges continued to participate in the State Prison Board (he served as the president) and as Colonel in the Virginia National Guard; the collection contains his 'Ordnance Notes' and other papers relating to aspects of ordnance and defense preparation in the period between the wars. Hodges' office files as Comptroller include reports, addresses, proposals, and organizations requesting him to speak. A small amount of material concerns his brief service during World War II with the War Department, which was cut short by illness.

This collection consists of letters, pamphlets, reports and similar materials collected by Nat Terry Frame for use in preparing his history of West Virginia Agricultural Extension Work, entitled West Virginia Agriculture and Rural Life. Subjects discussed in the work include regional development groups in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio; rural life and community development experiments of the 1930s; American Country Life Association ideology and activities; improvement of small farm practices; and rural adult education and Four-H (4-H) club activities.