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Rosenwald Schools
Julius Rosenwald, President of Sears & Roebuck, was not only an entreprenuer, but he was also a philanthropist. Rosenwald created the Rosenwald Fund to help build schools for disadvantaged African Americans in the South during the segregation…
Race and Vital Records
This document is a letter from the Virginia State Registrar to all Local Registrars in Virginia demanding that the physicians and midwives take better care when writing ceritificates of birth and death. He explains that these certificates will become…
Instructions for Registration/Racial Integrity laws
This document is a pamphlet directing Local Registrars and "Other Agents in Adminstration of the Law" on how to register indivduals on birth certificates. This pamphlet also contains a copy of the Racial Purity Act laws (for use at the discretion of…
Fountain Perkins
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…
Purchase of property for First Baptist Church
These documents are copies from the Freedmen's Bureau Field Office at Louisa Court House of the contract between John Cammack and the trustees of the First Baptist Church (including Fountain Perkins) for the purchase of the building that would become…
First Baptist Church
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…
"WE LIFT AS WE CLIMB"
Early African American schools were designed to advance younger generations of African Americans. Within this community of individuals there was a belief that, as an African American became more educated and continued to exceed in society, the…
At Poindexter Store
This photograph is an image of three African American individuals outside of the Poindexter Store in Louisa County. The style of clothing of the two women in this photograph suggests that both are domestic workers (the apron and the hats). Often, if…
Aunt Dinah Robinson
This photograph is an image of Aunt Dinah Robinson who served as the janitor at the Mineral High School during the era of segregation. In most cases, it was African Americans who worked as the janitors at white schools, and they witnessed the…
Jeff Porter
These images are photos of Jeff Porter and his home. Porter was born sometime in 1849. Throughout his lifetime in Louisa County, Porter lived at Trevillians Depot. We know little more about him than what these photos reveal, except that he was a…
Daily Life
For many African Americans, daily life after slavery was not much different than life in bondage. There was still a struggle for survival for many African American families. Most of the residents of Louisa County lived on farms and until Rural…
Gordon Family
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,…
Negro 4-H Clubs
During the Jim Crow era every area of life was segregated. In many ways, two parallel universes existed in the South and in Central Virginia; one white and one black. Since agriculture was vitally imporant to white and black farmers in Louisa…
Corduroy Farm
These images are from Corduroy Farm, a large farm located about 8 miles west from the town of Louisa. during the World War II period. Rural electrification did not come to outlying areas until a few years after the war, so farming practices relied…
Sulphur Mine
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…
Postcard of Arminius Mines
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…
Postcard of Boyd Smith Mines
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.
Boyd Smith Mine
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.
Arminius Mines Postcard
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.…
Albon P. Mann
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,…