Collections : [Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library]

Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Special Collections and Archives
James G. Leyburn Library
Washington and Lee University
204 W. Washington Street
Lexington, VA 24450
Primary Collecting Areas:
American and Virginia history, regional genealogy, history of propaganda, Southern literature, theater, local and regional portraiture, landscapes and architecture, late 19th-century travel
Description:

The Washington and Lee University Special Collections and Archives Department houses over 1,000 unique manuscript collections including those of the Rockbridge Historical Society, The American Shakespeare Center, and the Mountain Valley Preservation Association. These collections vary greatly in size, format, and scope. Subjects covered within the collections are diverse and include concentrations in American and Virginia history, regional genealogy, history of propaganda, Southern literature, and theater.

It also houses over 10,000 photographs and prints. Beyond our photograph and print collections, which include scrapbooks, images can also be found within the manuscript collections and University Archives described above. Our photographic holdings vary greatly in size and include numerous formats representative of the evolution of the photographic process. Strengths are local and regional portraiture, landscapes and architecture, W&L University history, including athletics, and late 19th-century travel.

POC: Tom Camden
Phone: (540) 458-8649
Phone: (540) 463-8109
Fax: (540) 463-8964
Start Over Repository Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library Names Ruffner, Henry, Reverend

Agricultural Society of Rockbridge, 1839 1 Item 4 pages Box 1, Folder 8

Address delivered before the Agricultural Society of Rockbridge, at its annual Fair, at Fancy Hill, October 17, 1839, by the Rev. Henry Ruffner, D. D., President of Washington College. The Lexington Gazette, and Rockbridge Farmer, June 23, 1840.

  1. Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library
  2. Washington and Lee University and Regional Virginia History Research Collection, 1609/2016
  3. Agriculture

Elinor Junkin letter, 1848 2 Files Includes letter with accompanying envelope, transcription, and brief biographical sketch of Elinor Junkin and her father George. 3 Item

Elinor Junkin, daughter of Washington College's president George Junkin and future first wife of Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson details to her first cousin Helen Dickey, of Oxford, Chester County, Pa., her family's move to and first weeks living in Lexington, Virginia, after her father's apppointment at the college. The letter mentions her siblings and shared family, describes the college and its former president Henry Ruffner, the journey from Pennsylvania to Lexington, and the Lexington Presbyterian Church, specifically its minister William S. White. Other noteworthy content is the descritpion of a social gathering where she meets faculty member Daniel Harvey Hill, former U.S. Army officer, Mexican War veteran, and future Confederate general and shares her opinion on the college's Simpson House (current name) where the Junkin family resided during George Junkin's thirteen year tenure as college president.

  1. Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Henry Ruffner Letter to Thomas Aspinwall, 1835 1 Item

A letter of introduction for former Washington College Professor of Natural Philosophy and Chemistry Joseph W. Farnum penned by Washington College (Va.) president Henry Ruffner to American Consul to London, England, Col. Thomas Aspinwall. Ruffner asks that Aspinwall assist in connecting Farnum with those of "scientific society and institutions" in the vicinity of London, England.

  1. Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

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