Collections : [Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library]

Published lecture by retired professor John McKenzie Gunn, dated April 25, 1994; "Can Economics be Both Relevant and 'good'?"

This collection in comprised principally business and family correspondence and general papers of the Baer family of the Panther Gap vicinity of Rockbridge County, Va. with a concentration of papers relative to the family's land holdings such as maps, indentures, and wills. Other highlights are a group of twenty-one manuscript weaving drafts for making household textiles, a family Bible in German(l744), local militia fines, genealogical materials, some relating to the Decker and Hite (Heyt) families, and two farming account books of Joseph Baer, 1853-1859.

This collection includes 9 letters dated from 1839, 1845-1863 from correspondents such as A. C. Finley and Ebenezer Dickey Junkin to Jonathan Brooks of Brownsburg, Va., as well as bills and receipts. The subjects of the letters include news from Finley of Clarksville, Va. regarding finances and business, agriculture, and family news. In his 1845 letter to Brooks, Finley references a Jewish business but does not specifically name the company or individual(s). In his 1847 letter, Finley references illness and death among local folks as well as Lexington, Va. and a "negro man." The bills and receipts date from circa 1840-1872. Included are receipts for tax payments and subscriptions.

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 account book documents agricultural operations for a southern Rockbridge County farmer between April 1863 and June 1867. The compiler is possibly Johnathan Poague, whose son, John William Poague, signed the book on the inside front cover. John William Poague attended Washington College in 1868 for one year. Contents include expenditures and receipts for day to day farm operations, crop production numbers, and diary - like entries. Contents of specific note include a registry of names of Civil War period enslaved persons in 1864 who then transitioned to paid employees when the estate owner was ordered to submit to freeing his slaves on May 29, 1865. The registry details their work schedules and account charges through June 1867. Locations mentioned are Greenlee's Ferry and Gilmore's Mill, both on the James River near Natural Bridge, Va. Other surnames mentioned in the book include Sterling, Peck, Tolley, Burks, Watson, Bryan, Locher, Patterson, Simpson and Wilcher. .

This collection contains: a letter advertising a medication, on the other side of which is a note about the sale of the Galbraith Farm and a note about a trial; a letter from the Rockbridge Historical Society concerning a landmark next to the Stonewall Jackson Farm; a copy of an address delivered before the Rockbridge Historical Society by Colonel William Couper about the Virginia Military Institute; a memorande concerning a farm owned and operated by Major T.J. "Stonewall" Jackson; maps of different parts of Rockbridge County; a memo by Winifred Hadsel on the location of the Stonewall Jackson Farm; photographs taken at and near the Stonewall Jackson Farm; and a paper on Short Hill Farm.

This collection consists of the organizational archives and research papers presented by members of Lexington, Virginia's Fortnightly Club, a men's club organized with the purpose of discussion of current topics and social engagement. The club was founded in 1900 after similar clubs in Newburyport, Massachusetts (also called the "Fortnightly Club") and the "Conversation Club" of Louisville, Kentucky.

This collection contains research materials compiled by Charles W. Turner for his book Virginia's Green Revolution.

This account book was kept by W.A. McComb. In 1892 the Farmer's Alliance, of which he was a member, built a new hall to be used for its meetings as well as for a church and community center. Most of the entries in the account book were for expenses associated with the construction and use of the hall. It indicates that oyster suppers were held at the hall.