Historical Society of Washington County, VA

Non-Profit 501 C(3) Corporation

Who We Are. . .

Founded in 1936 for the purpose of cataloging and preserving items relating to local and regional history, we currently have more than 800 members in 38 states, and we provide:

· A leading center in the region for genealogical and historical research, including local and regional history, published genealogies, and family histories

· Library resources indexed on a computerized database that currently contains over 600,000 references.

· A library staffed by volunteers.

What We Offer. . .

Library resources include:

. Census Data for Washington County and nearby counties in Virginia, Tennessee & North Carolina

· Cemetery records covering 538 cemeteries in Washington County

· Marriage records 1783-1902

· More than 1,100 family files and 300 family genealogy books

· Indexed collection of over 1,800 photographs.

· Architectural surveys and histories of Washington County buildings

· Holston Pastfinder, published by Holston Territory Genealogical Society, Bristol, VA/TN, completely indexed.

· Listing of 5, 500 early settlers of Southwest VA and Northeast TN by Gordon Aronhime from microfilm held by State Library of Virginia in Richmond. Our Library also has copy of microfilm.

· Listing of family genealogy books and files in 22 other Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee Libraries including: Buchanan, Dickinson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Wise and Wythe counties in Virginia, plus Kingsport, Johnson City and Sullivan Co.,Tennessee, and Ashe Co., NC

· More than 500 books about other Virginia counties from Accomack to York County which contain over 4,400 references on the database.

· Over 900 Quarterly Genealogical/ historical Bulletins from Virginia and nearby states.

What We Need . .

We welcome donations of family books, copies of files, pictures and history pertaining to Southwest Virginia and particularly Washington County, Virginia. All donations are tax deductible.

Let Us Help You

We invite you to visit our library which is open weekdays 10 AM- 4 PM except December when we are closed. Volunteers will assist you in using the database, but we cannot do actual research.

For non-members, volunteers will answer one/two specific written questions and send up to five photocopies for a $10.00 research fee, payable in advance, and a stamped self-addressed business size envelope. Copies over five pages are $.20 per page.


Please join us . .


Historical Society Washington Co.,VA

Membership May-April



Name____________________________

Address__________________________

City_____________________________

State _____________ZIP___________



Individual/Family $25 _______

Non Profit Organization $20 _______

Business $50 _______

Lifetime $250 _______

Donation _______



Surnames of Interest: _________________ _______________________________________

Membership includes:

- Four annual newsletters

- One annual publication

- Free research (limited to one/two specific questions) with up to five photocopies.

- Free queries as space allows in newsletter.



An Introduction to the Historical Society of Washington Co., Virginia


Historical Society of
Washington County, Virginia

PO Box 484

Abingdon, VA 24212-0484



 WWW.rootsweb.com/~vawashin/historic.htm


May 2002


The Historical Society of Washington County Library is located at 306 Depot Square behind the Abingdon Post Office just off Wall Street in Abingdon.


Hours of operation are 10:00 – 4:00 weekdays. Open also 1st & 3rd Saturdays April-October 10 AM - 2 PM, Closed December and Official Holidays.
Historical Society of
Washington County, Virginia

PO Box 484

Abingdon, VA 24212-0484

Historical Society Projects

· Cemetery project – Identifying and cataloging cemeteries of Washington County

· History Resource Kits for Standards of Learning for county Elementary school teachers.

· Photo Collection – Compiling, cataloging and providing safe storage for old photos/postcards of the region.

· Bible Records – Act as repository for old Bible records, including providing copy to State Library of Virginia.

· Produce Historical Publications - See our listing of publications for sale.

· Registry Program – Documented family histories with appropriate certificate.

· “Restoring the Voices” – Recognize and preserve African-American contributions to the region.

· Sponsorship of History Events in community including those at Virginia Highlands Festival: Living History Portrayals, Playground of the Past, Letters from the Past, etc.

“There is nothing new in the world

Except the history you do not know”
Harry S. Truman
(1884-1972)