Rappahannock Historical Society

The Rappahannock Historical Society will digitize archival records related to the history of the African American residents of Rappahannock County as part of an ongoing effort to expand the accessibility of local history about the piedmont region of Virginia. The museum will digitize and prepare on-line interpretations for its archival holdings relating to nineteenth-century slave and free-black records, formation and evolution of local black churches following the Civil War, the segregation era, and the life of the African American community today. An independent scholar and consulting public historian will assist in developing criteria for the selection of items to be digitized, advise on issues of access for various researchers, and help develop online presentations using a selection of digitized materials from the collections. The project will demonstrate a process that can be replicated by other small local historical societies and the synergy that can develop with statewide on-line projects for content and finding aids.