Mathews Memorial Library

10/24/2026

A HUGE thank you to everyone who attended Howl-a-palooza! today, especially all the merchants on main street who generously handed out candy to all the little ghouls & goblins!

10/23/2026

Howl-a-palooza! is tomorrow, we're all ready, are you?

10/23/2026

📢 Apply Today! 📢

Our library is looking for Volunteers to assist staff in Adult Services and Youth Services. If you have ever been interested in library work, have a passion for great customer service, want to do more for your community, or if you just love books...get down to the library ASAP and fill out a volunteer application!

10/22/2026

📚If you missed our Historical Fiction book club yesterday don’t worry; we are meeting on November 4th, and we’re reading ‘Frozen River,’ by Ariel Lawhon. Stop on by the library and fill out a sign-up form if you’re still interested in participating! 📚

10/21/2026

Mathews Archives Announces Digitization of Historic General Store Ledgers

Mathews Archives has completed its latest digitization project, which features 13 notable general store account books and ledgers and makes about 5,000 pages of historic business records accessible online. The project was funded by the Mathews County Historical Society, which partners with Mathews Memorial Library to preserve and maintain the county’s archival collections. Backstage Library Works of Provo, Utah, was contracted to digitize the materials.

The newly digitized volumes document businesses in the Mathews Downtown Historic District and communities throughout the county, with records dating from 1826 to 1915. Prominent local store owners represented in the collection include Christopher Tompkins, Francis Armistead, Albert Diggs and C.A. Brown.

Among the highlights is an account book from the District of East River Custom House, covering June 20, 1826, through March 31, 1852. The records identify customs collectors John B. Roberts, John Dangerfield and William Williams, as well as surveyors, weighers and gaugers Humphrey Gwynn and Thomas H. Roberts. The original volume was donated to the library in December 2011, by the Charles Richardson Jr. family.

The digitized account books and ledgers are available through the Mathews Memorial Library website. Visitors can access the materials by scrolling to Digital Archives and selecting Document Collections/Business Records.

October is National Archives Month, an opportunity to recognize the importance of preserving historical records and making them available to the public. To learn more about the Digital Archives and Mathews Archives, contact Mathews Memorial Library at 804-725-5747.

Pictured (left to right) are Robin Eno, Mathews Memorial Library director; Becky Foster Barnhardt, Head of Special Collections; and Reed Lawson, Mathews County Historical Society archivist, with original general store account books and ledgers recently digitized from the library’s Mathews Archives.

10/21/2026

POV: staff reactions when a snake visits the library!

10/21/2026

Take a step back in time and explore the history of downtown Mathews!

Visit Mathews Memorial Library to pick up your free Mathews Downtown Historic District Walking Tour Guide and discover the historic buildings, landmarks, and stories that make our community unique.

The self-guided tour lets you explore at your own pace, with descriptions of historic sites and points of interest along the way. As you stroll through downtown, take time to enjoy the local restaurants, shops, museums, library, and visitor center.

Pick up your free guide at the library and enjoy a walk through Mathews County history!

10/20/2026

If you missed our 📚Teen Book Club 📚 last week...don't sweat it! Come join us this Thursday at 3:30 in the Teen Room. And bring a friend!

🥳📚 Teen Book Club Books Are In 📚🥳

Our copies of The Scorpio Races have arrived! If you plan to join our Teen Book Club, you can stop in and pick up your copy today! Our first meeting will be October 15 @ 3:30.

10/20/2026

We offer free access to a variety of subscription-based and specialized electronic resources (eResources) to support your genealogy and family history research. Your family’s story is waiting to be discovered—you’re just a click away from finding your roots!

10/19/2026

In Mathews County, stories and superstitions were often shared on front porches, around kitchen tables, and in conversations between generations. Parents, grandparents, and neighbors passed along familiar “old wives’ tales” that offered warnings, promised good fortune, or explained the mysteries of everyday life. Many who grew up here remember hearing these sayings and learning, sometimes without question, to follow their advice. Though some may seem unusual today, they remain part of the county’s tradition of family stories and local folklore.

Here are a few examples of superstitions familiar to those raised in Mathews County:
• If the palm of your left hand itches, it means you will soon receive money.
• A person will never marry if he or she raises both feet while someone sweeps beneath them.
• When visiting someone’s home, always leave through the same door you entered. Leaving through a different door means leaving your good luck behind.

Margaret Louise Watson Fox authored A Fascination with Old Virginia Superstitions, with contributions from Virginia Haley and others. The book brings together superstitions from various sources, not all of which are specifically attributed to Mathews County. However, many of these sayings will be familiar to those who grew up here.

Mrs. Fox’s connection to Mathews County was personal as well as familial. She learned many superstitions from her mother, Lydia Enos Diggs, a Mathews County native. Available in the nonfiction section of Mathews Memorial Library, the book preserves a collection of traditional beliefs and sayings that invites readers to recognize familiar customs and explore the folklore passed down through generations.

Biography
Margaret Louise Watson Fox was born on November 27, 1919, in Newport News, Virginia, to Preston Curtis Watson and Lydia Enos Diggs, who was born and raised in Mathews County. Through her mother, Mrs. Fox maintained a connection to the county’s family traditions and folklore. Her maternal grandparents were Benjamin Franklin Diggs (1845–1915) and Mary Frances Enos (1853–bef 1910). Mrs. Fox died on January 7, 2016, in Newport News.