Collections : [Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University]

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Special Collections, University Libraries (0434)
Newman Library
Virginia Tech
P.O. Box 90001
560 Drillfield Drive
Blacksburg, VA 24062-9001
Primary Collecting Areas:
Local/regional history (Blacksburg, Montgomery County, Southwest Virginia, and Appalachian South); the American Civil War; Science and technology history (incl. aerospace, aeronautics, engineering, and speculative fiction); History of women in architecture (incl. the International Archive of Women in Architecture); Culinary history (incl. Virginia and southern cookery, children’s cookbooks and nutrition, food production and technology, and cocktail history); University Archives
Description:
Special Collections is located in Carol M. Newman Library at Virginia Tech. Special Collections includes manuscript collections, rare books, and the University Archives, as well as state, local and historical maps and photographs. Our mission is to collect and preserve unique, historical materials and provide access to them in their original form.
Phone: (540) 231-6308
Fax: (540) 231-3694
Start Over Repository Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Date range 2001 Places Blacksburg (Va.)

Blacksburg Baptist Church Records, 1894/2007 18 Cubic Feet 11 boxes and 1 oversize folder

The collection consists of records from the Blacksburg Baptist Church, currently known as Church on Main in Blacksburg. The boxes contain materials related to financial records, minutes, church history, scrapbooks, photographs, ledger books, cassette tapes, correspondence, and more. The collection is organized based on organizations and types of records. This includes the Baptist Young People's Union, Church Building Committee, Church Bulletins, Correspondences, Financials, Leadership, Manuscripts, Membership, Photographs, Women's Missionary Society, and Women's Missionary Union. There are also printed out copies of microfilm pages which have been sorted into the "microfilm copies" and "permanent file copies." Many of the documents in these two series are duplicates of the original materials found in the other series. Some of the materials in the microfilm and permanent file copies are not found in the originals.
  1. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Gary Ann Giovanni Culinary Papers, 1997/2004 3.5 Cubic Feet 3 boxes

Giovanni, Gary Ann, 1940-2005
This collection includes the papers of Gary Ann Giovanni, a chef, caterer, and cooking teacher active in Blacksburg, Virginia. The collection contains records, menus, and recipes from her catering jobs and from the cooking classes she taught for the local YMCA Open University. Materials also relate to the various community organizations for which Gary worked or volunteered, and some materials are associated with her sister, poet Nikki Giovanni.
  1. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Hard Times Blues Collection, 1966/2019 0.2 Cubic Feet 1 box

The Hard Times Blues Collection contains materials about the play Hard Times Blues by Lucy Sweeney and its production by the Dumas Theatre Troupe in 2003. Items include background research, correspondence, and a 2019 revised copy of the play as well as programs, flyers, photographs, and a newspaper article about the 2003 production. The play is about Blacksburg local and Virginia Tech employee Floyd "Hardtimes" Meade (1882-1941), who was influential as a mascot performer and turkey trainer for football games. His turkeys served as an early predecessor to the HokieBird mascot representing Virginia Tech today.
  1. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Historical Maps Collection, 1500/2023 45 Cubic Feet 13 flat file drawers

A collection of maps depicting geographic features, transportation routes, geological composition, historical settlements, themes, property divisions, and political boundaries, ranging in geographic scope from local (Virginia Tech campus maps) to global (world maps).
  1. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Jimmie L. Price Papers, 1986/2003 0.3 Cubic Feet 1 box

Price, Jimmie L.

His collection consists of four videotapes of interviews conducted by Price with Montgomery County residents, including an interview in 1986 with Elizabeth Kent Adams about the Kentland property; interviews conducted in 1987 with four Montgomery County residents, including Robert H. Surface, Albert Hamlin, Evans Linkous, and Arnold Linkous, about coal mines and mining in the county; and an interview with Frank Bannister of Montgomery County, whose ancestors were slaves and later servants at Kentland, and an interview (7 August 2003) with Josephine Scrivenor, who lived at Kentland as a girl. Also includes sketches of Kentland and coal operations, drawn by Price as described by the interviewees.

  1. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Leonard J. Currie Papers,, 1920/2001 10 Cubic Feet 14 boxes; 30 oversize folders--processed materials ONLY

Currie, Leonard J. (Leonard James), 1913-1996
Please note: this collection is currently being processed. Portions of the collection which are fully processed are listed in this finding aid. This includes photographs and negatives, flat files and oversize drawings from personal and professional projects, and a few artifacts. As more materials are processed, additional series and subseries will be published. Other portions of the collection may be available for research--contact Special Collections (specref@vt.edu) for more information.
  1. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Mary Fessler Papers, 1940/2001 5.5 Linear Feet 5 boxes, 2 oversize folders

Mary McClintock Ryland Fessler (1912-2000) was active in Montgomery County Democratic Party, local government, and civic organizations from the late 1960s through the 1990s. The Mary Fessler Papers span the years ca. 1940-2001, with the bulk of the material dating from 1968-1984. The collection includes personal papers and materials related to the Montgomery County League of Women Voters, Montgomery County Democratic Committee, Ninth-District Democratic Committee, Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, and Blacksburg Library Building Committee.
  1. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Content Warning

ARVAS is an aggregator of archival resources. ARVAS does not have control of the descriptive language used in our members’ finding aids.

Finding aids may contain historical terms and phrases, reflecting the shared attitudes and values of the community from which they were collected, but are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical or mental ability; religion; sex; and sexual orientation and gender identity.

Many institutions and organizations are in the process of reviewing and revising their descriptive language, with the intent to describe materials in more humanizing, inclusive, and harm-reductive ways. As members revise their descriptive language, their changes will eventually be reflected in their ARVAS finding aids.

Limit your search