JMU Special Collections

06/18/2026

05/27/2026

The recently acquired Charles T. Smith Photographs (https://aspace.lib.jmu.edu/repositories/4/resources/807) is one of hundreds of collections that will soon be available for research when the renovated Carrier Library reopens in August. The collection comprises original and reproduction photographs, vernacular photograph albums, postcards, and photo enlargements documenting the eastern and southeastern sections of Rockingham County including Cross Keys, McGaheysville, Port Republic, Penn Laird, Pineville, and Elkton. Other areas documented include Harrisonburg, Shenandoah, and Charlottesville. The photographs, including historic and contemporary images, were collected and taken by Charles T. Smith (1932-2024) of Cross Keys, Virginia.

1. Lloyd’s Steak House, S. Main St. Harrisonburg
2. R. S. Monger & Sons, Chesapeake Ave. Harrisonburg
3. Daily News-Record Building, S. Liberty St., Harrisonburg
4. Weyers Cave Depot
5. Future site of new Rockingham Memorial Hospital, Rockingham County
6. - 8. Photograph album documenting the 1996 flooding from Hurricane Fran, Elkton

04/20/2026

Calling all locals! Please help us identify this building. These photographs are part of several lots of photos we recently acquired that document the Cross Keys/Port Republic/Mill Creek area of Rockingham County. Most photos were labeled or we were able to identify them ourselves, but this one is stumping us. Any ideas?

01/19/2026

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we are reflecting on Dr. King's message. This image from MLK Day in 1988 shows students walking across the Commons on their way to a speakout. The prominent sign features Dr. King's quote, "We must live together as brothers or perish together as fools."
Image from JMU Historic Photos Online, via JMU Special Collections.

11/14/2025

Even as we support our increasingly digital world of information, JMU Libraries maintains an impressive collection of physical materials—over 10 miles of them, to be exact! If you are curious where…

11/11/2025

Armistice Day Memorial Service program
Harrisonburg, VA
November 11, 1928

(Patty Fitzhugh Noblin scrapbook, SC 0396)

10/06/2025

2025's Deyerle theme is African American History in the Shenandoah Valley! Join Dr. Mollie Godfrey, Director of Graduate Studies and professor in JMU's English Department, as she discusses a previously unpublished novel written in the 1870s by George A. Newman (of Dallard-Newman House fame). "A Mise...

08/27/2025

Dr. Inez Ramsey (1938-2025)

We’re saddened to learn of the death of former faculty of library science, Inez Ramsey. Dr. Ramsey joined the JMU faculty in 1975 and taught for more than twenty years. Her accomplishments include receiving the Virginia Educational Media Association Educator of the Year Award and Meritorious Service Award. Dr. Ramsey also led a group of students in conducting the African Americans in Harrisonburg Oral Histories, a collection of interviews with members of the local Black community held by JMU Special Collections.

On the topic of banned books, Dr. Ramsey was quoted in 1996 by The Breeze: “I would never deny anyone the right to object to a book, but I object when, on the basis of someone’s value judgement, that I should be denied the right to make my own judgement.”

08/14/2025

“We had a good fair last week, a little the best we have ever had. I believe the paper said a total attendance of 23,000. We are just guessing it is the biggest fair in the United States without a midway and without any paid help. It is a good example of the co-operative spirit of Rockingham and Harrisonburg.“ - Charles W. Wampler Sr. to his sister Pearl Showalter, 1956 September 3