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Papers of the Brown, Parsons, and other West Virginia families and residents. Includes correspondence sent to J. Slidell Brown, a Democratic state senator from Elkins (1916-1935); announcements and programs for reunions of the Brown family of Preston County (1913-1930); a deed and copies of maps of land in Springfield Township, Pennsylvania (1846-1893, undated); financial documents, mainly tax receipts, of the Lilley family of Mercer County (1873-1910); correspondence sent to members of the Reckart family of Preston County (1910-1928); financial documents of W. G. Cambric of Harrison County (1895-1921); wedding announcements and other event invitations (ca. 1890-1920); holiday cards (ca. 1900); and other material.

The correspondence, scrapbooks, articles and speeches of the collection document the later portion of the life of Daniel Hale (1912-1975), a Princeton physician and conservationist, who was a creator of the board of the Southern Soil Conservation District, and a founder of the Mountain Resource Conservation and Development Area. Correspondents include Robert C. Byrd, James Kee, Arch A. Moore, Jr., and Jennings Randolph.

Records and photographs documenting the history of southeastern West Virginia compiled by Summers County residents Fred Long and Stephen Trail. Many of the items were collected by a local newspaper, the Hinton Daily News (later the Hinton News). The collection focuses on the history of Summers County and Hinton from the mid-1700s to 2012, as well as the history of other areas in southeastern Virginia and western Virginia. Subjects include the town of Hinton, Hinton High School and Summers County schools, genealogy and family history, the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Railroad, archaeological and geographical features, other Summers County communities, wars, and other topics. Materials include a large quantity of photographs and negatives along with clippings, printed materials, ephemera, oral histories, maps, motion pictures, sound recordings, typescripts, manuscripts, and other types of materials. Many items are facsimiles of photos, documents, and newspapers.

A genealogy of the Ordner family which indicates its relationship to the Carrolls of Carrolton, Maryland; and a Civil War diary of George W. Ordner of Company B, Fifth Regiment, West Virginia Cavalry, relating its movements, encampments, skirmishes and battles. His unit served mainly in West Virginia, fighting at Droop Mountain and driving the Confederates from Mercer County in the 1864 campaign.

Raleigh and Mercer County photographs, both original and copied. (Copied material does not include original source.) Includes: a Confederate soldiers' reunion in Beckley in 1905; a still raid exhibited at the courthouse (ca. 1930-1934); a 1920 political rally and parade in Beckley featuring U.S. Presidential race between Governor J.M. Cox and Warren G. Harding; parade in Beckley (ca. 1920-1930). Woodrow Wilson High School marching band (1942); Raleigh General Hospital (ca. 1950-1970); aerial of Crab Orchard (1957); Hearses at site of Eckles mine explosion (1926); town of Lester (1978); Raleigh House Hotel (1882); the mansion of E.E. White, a Raleigh County coal baron (1909); portrait of Alfred Beckley, founder of Beckley, W. Va. (ca. 1870-1888); photograph of portrait painting of Maria Prince Beckley, mother of Alfred Beckley; Wildwood, home of Alfred Beckley (n.d.); Fitzpatrick, West Virginia, a lumber mill town (ca. 1925-1935); the American Legion Cemetery (ca. 1980-2000); tombstone for Kenneth Shadrick, first U.S. soldier killed in Korea (ca. 1980-2000); and churches of Raleigh County (ca. 1980-2000; 3 items; includes Baptist, Catholic, and Jewish temple). Mercer County subjects include: a Mercer County baseball team in Matoaka, W.Va. (ca.1910); a train collision near Princeton (1927; includes narrative information on back of photograph); a historical marker regarding Mitchell Clay in Mercer County; and a photograph of the Imperial Smokeless Coal Company in Quinwood, Greenbrier County (ca. 1910-1920).