By the turn of the 19th century, while many states had made provisions for educating women at the college level, Virginia had no such initiatives, and would not admit a full class of undergraduate women until 1970. This special online exhibit, developed by Larissa Mehmet at the Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia, traces the history of the education of women at the...

This latest American Memory offering from the Library of Congress (LOC), in collaboration with the Library of Virginia, features images of 432 petitions submitted to the Virginia legislature between 1774 and 1802. Sent from over 80 counties and cities throughout the state, the petitions discuss topics such as the separation of church and state, the rights of dissenters, the sale and division of...

For educators teaching the history of the early United States and the history of Virginia, Encyclopedia Virginia is a cornucopia of primary sources, as well as commentaries, blog posts, and other information. Readers may want to begin with the featured resources on the landing page, such as the history of Indians in Virginia, and an article about the United States Colored Troops (USCT), an African...

Floating down the James River through the Chesapeake Bay, one begins to take note of the stately plantations that line the banks of this body of water, particularly around Richmond. As part of their ongoing Travel Itinerary series, the National Park Service has created this tribute to the cultural and historic landscape along the James River. What is particularly striking about the site is its...

The Library of Virginia's ongoing Digital Library Program in 2001 added eight public library digital photograph collections. Starting from the LVA Digital Library homepage, users select the name of one of the public library collections to go directly to its search page. For a little more information about the type of photographs to expect in each collection, we recommend beginning at the About the...

Railroads changed the landscape of the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries as they traversed swamps, mountains, and fruited plains. This digital archive from the University of Virginia looks at the ways in which the coming of the railroad to the isolated counties of Accomack and Northampton "profoundly changed the physical and mental landscapes in which the people of the region lived,...

In 18th century Virginia, Robert "King" Carter owned over 300,000 acres containing many farms and plantations as well as some 1,000 slaves to work those plantations. He was a member of the Council of Virginia and was acting governor of the state for a time. He received a classical education in England, and corresponded widely both within the colony and with merchants overseas. His correspondence...

The Library of Virginia's Digital Library Program (DLP) has brought to the Web the Virginia Historical Inventory Project (VHI), "a collection of detailed reports, photographs, and maps, documenting the architectural, cultural, and family histories of thousands of 18th- and 19th-century buildings in communities across Virginia." The collection consists of documents created by WPA workers who were...

The Virginia Memory initiative is part of the online presence of the Library of Virginia and it represents a magnificent effort to bring together thousands of documents that tell the story of this very unique place. The sections of the site include Digital Collections, Reading Rooms, Exhibitions, and the Online Classroom. First-time visitors may wish to start with the This Day in Virginia History...