This Week in Virginia History
Sure, Virginia history includes big moments, big battles, and big names. But the richer history is full of smaller events occurring in the fullness of time. The disenfranchised, the nonconformists, and just regular people making Virginia history. Week in, week out. This Week in Virginia History explores those stories, curated by Nathan Moore and culled from the vast archives at Encyclopedia Virginia.
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 2 minutes
- Episodes
- 125
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2023
Week of August 9: The Sabotage at City Point
Episode Notes
This week in 1864... During the Civil War, the sleepy town of City Point, Virginia became the main supply depot and headquarters for the Union Army. This drew the unwanted attention of …
Week of August 3: Booker T. Washington at the Jamestown Exposition
Episode Notes
This week in 1907... the state of Virginia honored the 300th anniversary of the Jamestown settlement. In celebration, a grand exposition was held to showcase the artistic and scientific…
Week of July 26: The birth of a civil rights icon
Episode Notes
This week in 1916... Spottswood Robinson III excelled beyond measure as a student at Howard Law School. But graduating at the top of his class and setting a record for the highest grade…
BONUS: Cville Puzzle Hunt episode
Episode Notes
This is a special edition of This Week in Virginia History produced for the Cville Puzzle Hunt to be held in Charlottesville on Saturday, August 27, 2022. More info at CvillePuzzleHunt.…
Week of July 19: The death of a woman of firsts
Episode Notes
This week in 1962… Sarah Lee Fain was a woman of firsts. She began her civic career as a teacher in Norfolk and joined the Leagues of Women Voters in 1920. After some encouragement from…
Week of July 12: General Pope’s short sojourn in Culpeper County
Episode Notes
Union General John Pope was well known for his bold and aggressive war tactics. When Abraham Lincoln asked Pope to take charge of the Army of Virginia, the general was more than willing…
Week of July 5: The Witch of Pungo condemned to a ducking
Episode Notes
Grace Sherwood was a midwife, a healer, and a widow. In colonial Virginia, this was a risky combination. As a result, a simple dispute with her neighbors soon put her reputation and her…
Week of June 21: The Tenth President Turned Traitor
Episode Notes
This week in 1861... 10th President John Tyler was an avid and public supporter of slavery. Tyler believed that the institution of slavery could be remedied by its expansion to the west…
Week of June 14: Caroline Preston Davis broke an educational barrier
Episode Notes
This week in 1893... It was a man’s world at the University of Virginia, but times were changing. Caroline Preston Davis didn’t like the status quo and was determined to make her presen…
Week of June 7: Williamsburg became the capital of Virginia
Episode Notes
This week in 1699... Jamestown had been the seat of power since its founding in 1607, but for the House of Burgesses, the smoldering and disease ridden town had become simply unbearable…
Week of May 31: Catherine Foster was persecuted by UVA students
Episode Notes
This week in 1834... Catherine was a free Black woman who owned a bit of land near the University. One evening some rowdy students smashed flower pots and tried to break into her home. …
Week of May 24: A Virginia Civil Rights Leader was arrested
Episode Notes
This week in 1961... You’ve probably seen the famous photograph of Martin Luther King, Jr. at the cell bars in the Birmingham jail. But who was the man behind the camera? He was one of …
Week of May 17: The Hillsville Massacrer gets his due
Episode Notes
This week in 1912... Floyd Allen was the head of a clannish mountain family in Carroll County who had a reputation for moonshining, feuding, and violence. When the time finally came for…
Week of May 10: The Siren of the Shenandoah was captured at sea
Episode Notes
This week in 1864... She was the siren of the Shenandoah. The Cleopatra of the Secession. Teenager Belle Boyd's passion for the cause led her to become an informal spy for the Confedera…
Week of May 3: Murder on the steps of justice
Episode Notes
This week in 1869... After emancipation, James Holmes rose to soaring new heights. As a politician, he advocated for free public schools and the right to vote for African American men. …
Week of April 26: The first Black female doctor passed her Virginia exams
Episode Notes
This week in 1893... Sarah Garland Boyd Jones grew up among Richmond's Black elite. As a teacher, she could not ignore the medical disparities in the Black community as compared to the …
Week of April 19: The death of the All-American Gibson Girl
Episode Notes
This week in 1956... Irene Langhorne knew she was destined for greatness. Her stars aligned one fateful evening at Delmonico’s restaurant in New York where she met the famous illustrato…
Week of April 12: A premier scholar of African American history dies
Episode Notes
This week in 1950... Luther Porter Jackson's love for asking questions led him to become one of the most important scholars of African American history in Virginia. As a teacher, Jackso…
Week of April 5: The Battles of Sailor’s Creek
Episode Notes
This week in 1865... After a crushing defeat in Petersburg, General Lee’s battered Confederate troops retreated south to North Carolina. But General Ulysses S. Grant wasn't done yet - h…
Week of March 29: The Defenders' Last Stand
Episode Notes
This week in 1959... The Brown v. Board decision had so angered Southside Virginia political leaders that they formed the white supremacist group “The Defenders of State Sovereignty and…