The Kegley Library is a storehouse of local history and genealogy material within the Wytheville Community College Library. The original collection, bequeathed by local historian F. B. Kegley in 1968, contained books, pamphlets, photographs, newspaper clippings, family papers, census reports, periodicals, WPA documents, and maps. Our collection has grown with additions of the Mary B. Kegley Collection, the W. Randolph Chitwood Collection, and many others. Check the Collections pages listed below for finding aids or email bveselik@wcc.vccs.edu (276) 223-4876 or gmattis@wcc.vccs.edu (276) 223-4744 for further information.
Cemeteries
Library staff started collecting inscriptions from Wythe County cemeteries in the 1970s. Currently over 19,000 individual tombstones and 300 cemeteries have been transcribed in a card file and four bound volumes.
Click below for a list and directions to church cemeteries.
Click below for a list and directions to non-church (family) cemeteries.
Click below for an alphabetical list of tombstone inscriptions of individuals.
Chitwood Subject Albums
These 140 albums contain a rich array of historical and genealogical information collected by Dr. W. R. Chitwood. Highlights include railroads, furnaces, mills, physicians, businesses, schools, medicine, and families. Each album has a table of contents. A title listing and alphabetical listing of each album’s table of contents is available here:
Court & County Records
Wythe County court records, including deed books, will books, personal property tax records, and order books as well as scattered birth, death, and marriage records, have been digitized and are available for searching from a hosted online site. Also, microfilmed records of the town of Wytheville have been digitized. Military service records are available via subscription databases. Records for Wythe and many counties in Southwest Virginia are found in our book and periodical collection and may be searched through our online catalog. These include births, deaths, marriages, deeds, wills, order books, land, and other records. Click below for a list of court and county records.
Click below for the WCC Library online catalog: http://www.wcc.vccs.edu/libraries-and-catalogs.
Census records for Wythe County and surrounding counties are available onsite via subscription databases for patrons at the Kegley Library.
Family Files
The Kegley Library houses over 5 cabinets of vertical files containing information on Southwest Virginia families. Items in these files may contain research correspondence and notes of F. B. Kegley, Mary B. Kegley, W. R. Chitwood, Beverly Repass Hoch, and others as well as newspaper clippings, pamphlets, family charts, and other ephemera. Each folder contains an index sheet listing items. Click for a listing of Family Files.
Manuscripts
The Kegley Library houses over 150 manuscript collections that provide fascinating glimpses into the life of Southwest Virginians from the 18th century to the present day. Included are church and school records, business ledgers and daybooks, financial and legal records, correspondence and land records. Topics covered include family life, schools, churches, slavery, Civil War, Revolutionary War, mining, furnaces, railroads, and other aspects of life in Wythe County and surrounding counties. Researchers using manuscript collections must abide by stricter research rules for the protection and preservation of these valuable materials. Primarily all researchers must have clean hands, use a pencil for note-taking, and use materials in the presence of the staff members. Laptop computers, tablets, and other electronic devices may be used upon approval of staff. Photocopying and/or scanning of fragile documents may be prohibited. A complete list of regulations may be obtained by contacting us. Manuscripts are accessible several ways. A database and paper finding aids assist researchers onsite. Most manuscript finding aids are also found in the Virginia Heritage and ArchiveGrid databases.
Click below for a list of manuscript collections.
Click below to access the Virginia Heritage database.
Virginia Heritage Click below to access the ArchiveGrid database. ArchiveGrid
Maps
Over 500 maps are available for research in the Kegley Library. The map collection consists of topographical and historical maps found in the F. B. Kegley Map Collection and the Mary B. Kegley Map Collection. Click below for a guide to the F. B. Kegley Map Collection. F. B. Kegley Map Collection Guide Click below for a guide to the Mary B. Kegley Map Collection. Mary B. Kegley Map Collection Guide Topographical maps for most of Southwest Virginia may be currently be accessed through a card file index of place names (see below). Cemeteries of Wythe County are marked on topographical maps and keyed to cemetery listings. Click below for listing of topographical maps for the WCC Service Area (Bland County, Carroll County, Galax, Grayson County, Smyth County, Wythe County).
Topographical Maps, WCC Service Area
Click below for listing of topographical maps for Southwest Virginia
Topographical Maps, Southwest Virginia
Click below for a place name index to the topographical map collection.
Newspapers
Newspapers for Wythe County and some surrounding areas are available both in original paper and digital form. Highlights of the collection include Wytheville Dispatch from October 1862 to March 1865, a complete run of the Southwest Virginia Enterprise from April 1870 to 1881 and 1937 to the present day. Certain individual and bound issues of newspapers may not be photocopied nor scanned due to their fragile condition. However, researchers may use digital cameras upon approval by staff. The Library of Virginia has microfilmed much of the collection including issues of the Wytheville Dispatch, Southwest Virginia Enterprise, and other scattered papers. Click below for a guide to the newspaper collection.
Oral Histories
In the late 1970s and early 1980s WCC Professor James Presgraves and students conducted several oral history interviews with area residents. Transcripts from these interviews are housed at the Kegley Library and may be currently accessed through a subject card file. The interviews provide valuable information on life in 20th century Wythe County.
Photographs
Photographs Researchers may study the extensive photograph collections of F. B. Kegley, W. Randolph Chitwood, and Mary B. Kegley. Over 8,000 images dating from the mid-1800s to the 1990s capture individuals, families, houses, schools, churches, industries, roads, and scenery of Wythe County and Southwest Virginia. Many other photographs are contained in various manuscript collections. Currently access to the photograph collection is available through on onsite database and a card file.
Click below for reproduction costs and guidelines.
Photograph Reproduction Guidelines
Click below for a listing of photographs in the F. B. Kegley Collection.
F. B. Kegley Photograph Collection
Click below for listing of photographs from the W. R. Chitwood Collection.
W. R. Chitwood Collection
Subject Files
The Kegley Library houses over 4 cabinets of vertical files containing information on various subjects relating to Southwest Virginia history and culture. Items in these files may contain correspondence and notes of F. B. Kegley, Mary B. Kegley, W. R. Chitwood, Beverly Repass Hoch, and others as well as newspaper clippings, pamphlets, and other ephemera. Each folder contains an index sheet listing items. Subject Files
F.B. Kegley Library 