Gathering History

Blacksburg, Virginia

Collaborations, Documents, Maps, References, Social Media, Topics, Transcriptions, Genealogy & More

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Gathering the fragments of history is rewarding but time-consuming. The process involves discovering, locating, transcribing, recording, assimilating, verifying, and reporting information. How often have you wondered, “Where did I see that bit of information?”

The goal of this site is to organize historical information about Blacksburg, VA, and the surrounding Montgomery County. It features helpful primary online sources, provides a platform for document transcriptions, captures local history from social media posts, and offers a place for citizen-researchers to share their discoveries.

This site is a work in progress and functions much like a digital notebook. Unlike many sites that aren’t released until deemed perfect, this site will always be evolving.

The “Blog Shorts” section offers fascinating historical insights. Browse through various topics or use the Search Box at the bottom of each page to find specific content.

Montgomery Museum of Art & History, Coal Mining Exhibit, November 2023

Access Matters: Our Perspective and Commitment

This site offers information based on our findings. We acknowledge that our perspective is shaped by our experiences as white individuals. We strive to remain aware of this bias and appreciate your understanding and feedback if we fall short.

Resources

Our area is rich with physical resources: museums, libraries and a courthouse. We will offer suggestions on how explore each as well as provide a guide to online resources.

We have gathered many online sources were local information can be found. If you have suggested sources that you think should be included please let us know.

Christiansburg Institute Museum & Archives (CIMA)

Topics

1915 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map (Library of Congress)

Media

We love maps. Historical maps provide a glimpse of where people lived, how they traveled and explains social relationships. These maps can also help us provide context to historic photographs. Other forms of media, such as photographs, audio & video from public or private collections are a very valuable resource worth sharing.

Collaboration Opportunities

Do you find transcribing old documents fun and challenging? Transcribing historical primary source documents is an important contribution you may relish. If transcribed, the online Chancery Court documents, school board minutes, oral histories, and many other documents, would be accessible to the community. Contact us if you are interested in transcribing from your home.

Network

Social network is what ties a community together, be it a neighborhood, school, or playground. Extending our community beyond the bounds of our physical community is valuable for many reasons, but mostly because people enjoy the connections. Online social networks allows the community to do this. The memoires that are shared have historical value because, though they are that person’s recollection, they provide historic context.

There are many areas of Blacksburg that directly reflect the history of the town and surrounding areas through change. We will explore neighborhoods from the point of view of the residents. This is where social network posts and genealogy are so helpful. We hope to also gather interviews with transcripts as well as identify correspondence collections.