Browse Items (415 total)

This series began as the result of a massive project established by the staff members of the Methodist Publishing House in response to the attack on Pearl Harbor and the growing concern for the thousands of men and women in the armed forces. They…

C.L. Goodwin is hereby exempt from military duty by reason of being owner of over twenty negroes on his plantation. When he ceases to be such this exemption is hereby declared void.

The picture on the left is an image of the original building for the First Baptist Church on its present location one block west of the courthouse. This is not the building that the trustees purchased in 1866. The picture on the right is an image of…

Having reached Louisa Court House on June 10, 1864, Gen. Wade Hampton's cavalry divisions bivouacked around the Virginia Central Railroad and across Union Gen. Philip H. Sheridan's route to Gordonsville. About 3 A.M. on June 11, Gen. Williams C.…

Stop 4: First Shots Fired at Bibb's Crossroads

A 9,300-man Union cavalry force under Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, on a raid to destroy parts of the Virginia Central Railroad, camped a few miles east on June 10, 1864. The next morning, Gen.…

It appears from the poll registration book transcriptions that Mrs. Maude Maddox of Poindexter was the very first woman to register to vote in Louisa County. She actually registered in June of 1920 a bit before the 19th Amendment was ratified. …

Church became a strong symbol in the African American community after the Civil War. To African Americans, the church was a place where they were in control and free of oppression. One of the first African American churches to be built and organized…

This is the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Station (built 1918) at Fredericks Hall, Virginia. The railroad was operated under several names during it's history.

When the Virginia Central Railroad Company first built the line into Louisa County in…

When the comedic, yet poignant, movie “The Help” hit theaters and DVD, women of all ages and walks of life were driven to watch with a kind of frenzied urgency.

The film portrays young black women in the segregated south and the movie’s…

Picture of George Whitfield Kemper as a member of the Brown Light Infantry

While many African American families struggled to survive as well as to receive a good education, there were a few families who prospered after emancipation. Reuben Gordon was a former slave who worked on the Garland Plantation. After the Civil War,…

This is a gorget made of micha shist stone used for personal adornment. It was found around five miles north of the town of Louisa, in close proximity to other artifacts in the Native People collection. It is approximately 1.25 x 4.5 inches and is…

This is a spear point found around five miles north of the town of Louisa in close proximity to other artifacts in the Native People collection. It is approximately 1.75 x 1 inches and is clear in color. Archaeologists date the object to between 5500…

This is a Halifax fishtail found around five miles north of the town of Louisa in close proximity to other artifacts in the Native People collection. It is approximately 1.75 x .5 inches and is light brown in color. Archaeologists date the object…