Historical Society of Southwest Virginia

Historical Society of Southwest Virginia
Name	Historical Society of Southwest Virginia
Formation	1954
Type	Historical society
Headquarters	Abingdon, Virginia
Region served	Southwest Virginia
Leader title	Executive Director

Historical Society of Southwest Virginia The Historical Society of Southwest Virginia is a regional historical organization based in Abingdon, Virginia, dedicated to collecting, preserving, and interpreting the history of the Appalachian Plateau and surrounding counties. The Society engages with communities across Russell County, Tazewell County, Wise County, Smyth County, Washington County, and Lee County through archives, exhibits, fieldwork, and partnerships with regional institutions. It collaborates with universities, museums, historic sites, and libraries to support scholarship on figures, events, and places significant to Southwest Virginia.

History

Founded in 1954 amid postwar interest in regional identity, the Society emerged alongside institutions such as Virginia Historical Society, Abingdon, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Lincoln Memorial University, and Emory and Henry College. Early leadership included local historians influenced by preservation efforts exemplified by National Trust for Historic Preservation, Smithsonian Institution, Library of Congress, Virginia Museum of History & Culture, and Historic Deerfield. The Society's development paralleled heritage movements related to the New Deal, Tennessee Valley Authority, Blue Ridge Parkway, and debates tied to the Coal Industry and Appalachian Regional Commission. Over decades the organization expanded collections during anniversaries connected to the Civil War, Spanish–American War, and centennials associated with regional railroads like the Norfolk and Western Railway and events involving figures such as A. Linwood Holton Jr., Harry F. Byrd, Maggie L. Walker, Carter Glass.

Collections and Archives

The Society's archives hold manuscripts, family papers, photographs, maps, and oral histories documenting communities from Bristol, Virginia, Galax, Virginia, Big Stone Gap, Marion, Virginia, and St. Paul, Virginia. Collections include material related to the Appalachian Coalfield, Tobacco Road commerce, railroad companies including Norfolk and Western Railway and Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, and families connected to the Railroad Strike of 1922 and labor leaders akin to those in the United Mine Workers of America. The photographic archive contains works by regional photographers and images tied to Peoples National Bank, Virginia Creeper Trail, Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, and industrial sites referenced in studies of the Blue Ridge Mountains and Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Oral histories document veterans from the World War I, World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War eras, as well as accounts connected to the Civil Rights Movement and cultural carriers such as performers associated with Rexroat Family, Bascom Lamar Lunsford, and musicians linked to the Old Fiddlers' Convention.

Programs and Educational Outreach

The Society offers public programming including lectures, walking tours, school curricula, teacher workshops, and traveling exhibits that engage partners like Virginia Department of Historic Resources, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Endowment for the Arts, Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, and local school divisions. Educational initiatives target K–12 students with materials referencing regional literature from authors such as Rebecca Mountain, Pearl S. Buck, Barbara Kingsolver, and historical case studies involving the Shenandoah Valley, Cumberland Gap, Holston River, and New River. Community outreach includes oral-history training in collaboration with Appalachian State University, Radford University, Virginia Tech, and civic organizations like the Rotary Club and Kiwanis International.

Publications and Research

The Society publishes monographs, bibliographies, exhibit catalogs, and a peer-reviewed journal that feature scholarship on regional topics: genealogy of families connected to John T. Raulston, studies of migration patterns tied to the Great Migration (African American), analyses of industrial change related to coal mining and textile mills, and biographies of figures such as Earl Hamner Jr., Florence Reece, Jean Ritchie, and William King. Research support is provided for masters and doctoral projects at institutions including University of Virginia, College of William & Mary, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Duke University. The Society's publications intersect with themes explored in works about the Appalachian Regional Commission, New Deal programs, and landmark studies published by the Select Committee on Aging and various state historical commissions.

Facilities and Sites

The Society operates a main archives and research center in Abingdon, with exhibit spaces and climate-controlled repositories modeled on standards set by the National Archives and Records Administration and the Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts. It partners with nearby historic sites and museums including Barter Theatre, Wolf Hills Mansion, The Martha Washington Inn, The Birthplace of President Zachary Taylor (Zachary Taylor), and regional heritage sites connected to the Trail of the Lonesome Pine. Fieldwork and preservation projects have involved stabilization of structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places and collaboration with the Virginia Department of Transportation on historic bridge documentation.

Governance and Funding

Governed by a board of directors drawn from county and municipal leaders, scholars from Emory and Henry College, Radford University, Virginia Tech, and community volunteers, the Society receives funding through memberships, grants, donations, endowments, and contracts with agencies such as the National Endowment for the Humanities, Institute of Museum and Library Services, and state arts councils. Financial support has also come from foundations including the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and regional philanthropic entities. Governance practices align with nonprofit standards practiced by organizations like Independent Sector and reporting requirements similar to filings with the Internal Revenue Service for tax-exempt status.

Category:History of Virginia Category:Historical societies in the United States