Browse Items (1533 total)

First published in Winter 1974-1975

Louisa County was once considered a desirable vacation spot in the late 1800s and early 1900. Large hotels provided lodging in the towns of Louisa and Mineral and several enterprising land owners marketed week-long stays "in the cool climate and…

This document is a contract between John A. Walker and Casina Shepard. The agreement specifies that Ms. Shepard is to perform her duties as a laborer on the property of Mr. Walker. She is to be given five dollars a month for her and her son’s work.…

Kate Towsey Butler wife of John Hugh Butler

Kate C. Hambleton Foster

During World War II, there was a great demand for various materials, such as rubber, iron, and steel. Junk drives, scrap drives, and other types of collection initiatives were made in an attempt to get the public involved and to donate old, unused…

This certificate was rewarded to Julius Jones, a man who likely fought with the 369th infantry regiment referred to as the Harlem Hellfighters. His award for ten years of service was found alongside pictures of the regiment in a home about to be…

This small brick building on Elm Avenue was the office of Judge Edward Lane. He was the first Circuit Court Judge for Louisa County from 1870-1879. His portrait hangs in the Circuit Court Courtroom.

Steve Fleming talks about how the Jim Crow laws governing public interactions were not always held to in private. Whites in the lower part of the county often socialized with African American men and women at so called Nip Joints. Everyone had a…

Josephine Fleming discusses how they learned about African American issues in the nation from the Afro newspaper. They learned about events involving Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and Emmett Till that sparked the Civil Rights movement. Although…

Josephine Fleming talks about how being a maid was one of the very few jobs open to black women. She describes riding the bus into Richmond with the other maids and some of the conversations they often had on the bus returning home at the end of the…

Josephine Fleming talks about being employed as domestic help in Richmond. She remarks on one of the most visible signs of the racial boundaries as she describes how she wasn't allowed to enter or leave through her employers front door, only the…

This certificate verifies Captain Joseph N. Porter's role in the Army of the United States between October 1942 and December 1944; the certificate also notes the ribbon and medal to be awarded to Mr. Porter for his service as an Exchange Officer in…

Joseph Ham’s Daybook begins in January 1856 and ends in September 1871. It lists all the transactions occurring at his Tailor’s Shop in Stanardsville. The word ‘Paid’ in the left hand margin indicates the transaction was settled. Being a…

After his parent's death, Virginia law inhibited John Mercer Langston and the other children of Ralph Quarles and Lucy Langston from inheriting his father's estate. A friend, William Gooch, helped John and his brothers relocate in Ohio. As a young…

John Mercer Langston was born on December 14, 1829 to a freed slave, Lucy Langston, and a white man of “extreme old age," Ralph Quarles. At the time of Langston's birth, Virginia law specified that all children would be born into a “free or bond…