Collections

Scrapbooks, correspondence, business papers, and memorabilia of a prominent Charleston family that were long time owners of the Charleston Gazette. There are papers of W. E. Chilton, Sr., and for his son and grandson, W. E. Chilton, Jr. and W. E. Chilton, III. The papers of Chilton senior include some correspondence, but mostly land papers documenting the coal mining district in Webster and Braxton Counties. There are also scrapbooks, and contracts pertaining to the family newspaper business; and volumes on the education of W. E. Chilton, Jr. at Woodberry, VA Forest School, and at Yale. The military service of the Chiltons is documented by the service papers, photographs, and other material for W. E. Chilton, Jr. and W. E. Chilton, III in World War (WWI) I and World War II (WWII) respectively.

The Historical Photograph Collection is largely comprised of materials created by or for the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Some of the earliest photographs of the estate were created and sold to visitors by the Association as a means of income. Those efforts helped to establish an important collection of 19th century views. The collection spans the 1850s to 2000s and includes over 140 linear feet of analog material providing a visual history of the Mansion, outbuildings, tombs, grounds, events, visitors, collection objects, personnel, and changes throughout the estate.

This collection combines the papers and files of each Superintendent or Resident Director listed under "Creators," as well as their office staff, assistants, and other Mount Vernon personnel. The bulk of this collection consists of correspondence to and from each Superintendent or Resident Director. Other types of material include reports, essays, memos, publications, clippings, official forms, logs or diaries of events, calendars, schedules, photographs, and ephemera. Subject matter includes a wide variety of topics and concerns for operating and maintaining an historic house. The Resident Directors oversaw almost all major projects and events around Mount Vernon such as building and grounds maintenance, restoration, fundraising, collection of historic artifacts, visitor engagement, and administrative functions. Dodge and Wall were both well known for their involvement in even the smallest details of the operation of Mount Vernon and this is reflected in the volume and scope of their files. Later Resident Directors began keeping chronological files which are also a great resource for understanding projects from specific years and periods of Mount Vernon's history. Both Charles Wall and John Castellani were employees of Mount Vernon before they were appointed Resident Director, and their files include material from previous job assignments. The majority of material reflects Charles Wall's tenure as Resident Director, the 1930s to 1970s, however, there is a substantial amount from the other directors as well. Several folders may extend into the term of James (Jim) Rees who served as Resident Director (later President) of Mount Vernon from 1994 to 2012. Most of the letters written by Superintendent Harrison Dodge were laminated or adhered to a tissue or paper backing, and bound together into a multiple volume set. These bound volumes, along with the original work diaries kept by Dodge, have been combined into a separate collection, the Bound Volumes of Superintendent's Letters, Diaries, and Monthly Reports. A finding aid for this collection is also available.

This collection includes the records of the West Virginia Labor Federation (WVLF), AFL-CIO as a singular organization, established in 1957, and the records of its predecessor organizations prior to their merger, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO).

Series 1 comprises records related to the West Virginia State Labor Federation, AFL's internal operation and initiatives, including presidents' files, secretary-treasurers' files, general office files, Department of Education files, and financial materials.

Series 2 comprises the records related to the West Virginia State Industrial Union Council, CIO's internal operation and initiatives, including executive secretary-treasurers' files, central office mailings, and records of the Political Action Committee.

Series 3 is reflective of the organization's operations and initiatives after the AFL-CIO merger, including files of various presidents, various secretary-treasurers, central office files, convention files, political materials, legislative files, assorted programs, and financial materials.

Series 4 is a 1978 addendum to this collection that includes additional files of the WVFL, AFL-CIO after the merger, largely featuring records of initiatives like the Political Action Committee and Women's Activities Department.

Series 5 is a 1981 addendum including mostly internal materials, like the notebooks of former organization leaders, photo albums, and copies of AFL-CIO publications.

Organizers featured prominently in the collection include Tom Cairnes, E. A. Carter, and Volney Andrews (series 1); Miles Stanley (series 3 and 5); Ben Skeen (series 1 and 3); Glen Armstrong (series 1, 3, and 5); and Pat Sleeth (series 3). WVLF initiatives featured prominently in the collection include the Committee on Political Education (series 3 and 4) and the Women's Activities Department (series 3 and 4), the Appalachian Council (series 3), the Manpower Development and Training Act (series 3), and others. There is a small amount of audiovisual material in this collection in the form of audio recordings created by the WVLF and some photographs that have been digitized for remote access. However, much of this collection is comprised of paper records, ledgers, photographs, printed correspondence, and notebooks.