Browse Items (1533 total)

The following is searchable text from the attached Excel Spreadsheet indexing the Genealogical Files of the late Janice Abercrombie. The files are held in the Sargeant Museum archives and are viewable by appointment.

Trudy Adams request for…

A list of the personal property taxes paid by citizens in different districts of Fluvanna County in 1782. Although these lists do not give a full list of all persons living in Fluvanna County, they do provide invaluable information on some of the…

This image is of miners working at the Mica Mine in Spotsylvania County. While not a Mineral mine, it is located along the same pyrite belt from which the miners in Mineral found their ore. Because of this, the methods by which they mined were likely…

This image portrays the workers of the Mica Mine, located across the Spotsylvania border. The caption states Orange, Virginia, as it was taken by a photographer from Orange. While the mine itself was not in Mineral, it was in very close proximity and…

This image displays the Allah Cooper Mine during the active mining era in Mineral, Virginia. The two men toward the front left are said to be the managers of the Allah Cooper Mine. The Man far left of the group is N.H. Chandler (has mustache and…

This image displays a man standing by a wheel near shafts number 1 and 3 at the Arminius Mines. The Arminius Mines had approximately three hundred employees, many of which lived in residences on the property. At the turn of the century, salaries of…

This image is of miners standing in front of the building beside shaft number 3 at the Arminius Mines. The Arminius Mines workforce was always changing, creating a stream of labor coming in and out of the Mineral area. A large portion of the workers…

Aerial image of the railroad coming into the Arminius Mines. Caption states that it is "from shaft 3." Each railroad car would carry twenty five tons of ore.The railroad transported ore from the mines to numerous locations east of the Mississippi…

This image is of miners at the Arminus Mines posing together. A clergyman is present in the middle and it is evident how many children grew up around and worked in the mines. Frequently, the miners weren’t steady long-term employees. They worked…

This image is of one of the main buildings at the Allah Cooper Mine. There were twenty-four mines in the Mineral area, all near Contrary Creek.

This image is of the manager's family and their help standing in front of their housing at the Arminius Mines. In 1904, the mines were run by seven managers overseeing a workforce of three hundred men. It is said that the managers would often invite…

This image is of Albon P. Mann, Superintendent of the Arminius Mines. Albon P. Mann carried the main responsibility for the productivity of the mine and was in constant correspondence with manufacturers whom he had made contracts with. His brother,…

This postcard displays the buildings of the Arminius Mines in the wintertime. Winter presented a whole new set of challenges for the mines. During the colder months, moisture would enter the ore and freeze while it was transported in railroad cars.…

This image is of the buildings of Boyd Smith Mine. The caption reads "Virginia Pyrite Mine Plant." There were twenty-four mines in the area, each located along Contrary Creek.

This is a postcard of the buildings of the Boyd Smith Mine, one of the larger mines in the area. With twenty-four mines in the Contrary Creek area, mining was a large source of employment for Louisa County.

This is a postcard of the business center for the Arminius Mines. The Arminius Mines struggled financially as they were constantly behind in their shipments. The company changed owners on several occasions. In the first sale, they hoped to obtain…

This is an image of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad coming into the Sulphur Mine. The railroad was the sole method of the mines transporting their ore and receiving supplies. One worry of the mines was that the threat of war could cause their raw…

This image shows miners working in three shafts as a part of the daily operations of the Arminius Mines. A skip is pulling materials from across the shafts and miners can be seen doing manual labor in the first shaft.

This image is of the daily operations of the Arminius mines, one of the largest mines in the area. A skip is seen in many of the images of the mines. It was used to transfer three to four tons of ore which are then dumped into big crushers before…