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The Christopher A. Dorrance collection consists primarily of original autographs of important and/or famous people of the United States of America from its founding to the early 21st century. The subjects of the autographs include presidents and first ladies, government officials, political and military figures, musicians, authors, actresses and actors, athletes, reformers and civil rights era activists, foreign leaders and celebrities, flyers and people associated with aviation and aeronautics, etc. The autographs in this collection are written on various mediums including, framed posters, official documents, photographs, books, cards, letters, and various forms of paper ephemera. The series titles reflect what the donor prescribed to his collection. The one change made at the discretion of the archivist was to change the word "foreign" to "international." The signatures were originally housed in three ring binders. The order established by the donor has been maintained. Several signatures are part of larger manuscript pieces, such as letters or ephemeral items such as programs.

Papers of Harley M. Kilgore, U.S. Senator from West Virginia. Contains material on the Senate Judiciary Committee and its various subcommittees including the anti-monopoly, internal security, and immigration groups. Other papers deal regard the Special Committee Investigating the National Defense Program (also known as the Truman Committee), West Virginia elections, and the National Guard. There is one box of campaign materials and various speeches.

Papers of Harley M. Kilgore, U.S. Senator from West Virginia. Includes typescripts, correspondence, printed materials, clippings, broadsides, and a photograph. Topics include congressional bills and legislation on diverse subjects; committees with which Kilgore was involved, including the Senate Military Affairs Subcommittee on War Mobilization, the Special Committee Investigating the National Defense Program (also known as the Truman Committee), the Committee on Military Affairs, and the Committee on the Judiciary; the National Science Foundation; various presidential speeches; and a wide variety of material relating to West Virginia, including items pertaining to the Charleston Airport, the Parkersburg Flood Wall, the Upper Monongahela Project, and many other topics.

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.

Papers related to the Yoho and Whipkey families, including photographs, genealogical information, clippings, vital documents, certificates, and other material. There are papers and photographs related to West Virginia Senator George N. Yoho. There are also papers related Yoho's son and to Twila Whipkey, née Yoho.