Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434) 560 Drillfield Drive Newman Library, Virginia Tech Blacksburg, Virginia 24061 Business Number: 540-231-6308 specref@vt.edu URL: http://spec.lib.vt.edu
Clayton McGahee, Staff
Repository
Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Identification
Ms.1980.003
Title
Henry H. Hill Collection 1893-1963, n.d.
Quantity
1.0 Cubic Feet, 5 boxes
Creator
Hill, Henry Harris, 1880-1954
Language
The materials in the collection are in English.
Abstract
The Henry H. Hill collection consists of historical and genealogical research compiled by Hill during his lifetime in southwest
Virginia. Hill (1880-1954) was an alumni and professor at Virginia Polytechnic Institute.
The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University
Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal
or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition
form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with
forms or to submit a completed form.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder],
Henry H. Hill Collection, Ms1980-003, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
Source of Acquisition
The collection was donated to Special Collections in May 1980. Additional materials were received in the early 2000s.
Processing Information
The processing, arrangement, and description of the Henry H. Hill Collection was completed in 2004. Additional materials were
integrated in 2017, and the arrangement was updated.
A native of Scottsville, Virginia, Henry Harris "Bunker" Hill was associated with Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI) as
a student and professor for more than half a century. He received his B.S. in Chemistry in 1907, and his M.S. in the same
subject in 1909. In 1907, Hill was appointed Assistant Chemist, and in 1913 Associate Chemist of the Virginia Agricultural
Experiment Station. Before retiring from VPI in 1950, he served seven years as the head of the Agricultural Chemistry department.
Henry Hill was involved in the community, serving as Elder in the Presbyterian church, as well as being an officer in the
Montgomery County Democratic Committee for several years. Hill also served as the Executive Secretary of the VPI Alumni Association,
along with being the publicist for the Athletic Association.
Hill was born to Richard Allen and Mary (Harris) Hill on May 31, 1880, in Scottsville, Virginia. He married Olivia C. "Dibbie"
Tutwiler (1899-1974) on June 13, 1922, and they had a daughter, Meta Turwiler Hill (1923-2017). He died on December 24, 1954,
and is buried alongside his wife in Westview Cemetery in Blacksburg.
The Henry H. Hill collection consists of historical and genealogical research compiled by Hill during his lifetime in southwest
Virginia. Research includes Hill biographical information (1941-1950), Blacksburg history and Montgomery County (1798-1951,
n.d.), Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI; 1891-1952, n.d.), American Civil War history (1863-1963, n.d.), and genealogical
information and biographical sketches (1821-1950, n.d.). These materials comprise almost exclusively of photocopies and typescripts,
so the dates reflected above are from the original source of the typescript and not the actual dates of the material. The
dates of the material are included in the contents list.
Additionally, glass plate negatives and film negatives depict VPI campus views, cadet life, individuals, art works, and VPI
footballs players, teams, and events.
In 2017, this collection was arranged into series based on the previous organzation by material types.
Series I: Henry H. Hill Biographical Information, 1941-1943, n.d., includes a folder of biographical materials about Hill,
created in the early 1940s.
Series II: Blacksburg History and Montgomery County, 1936-1951, n.d., contains compliled research notes on local history,
primarily photocopies.
Series III: Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 1895-1913, 1950-1952, n.d., includes research files on the history of the university,
in particular, the case of three dismissed faculty members in 1891. This series also contains the collection of glass plate
and film negatives.
Series IV: Genealogical Information, 1821, 1939-1950, n.d., consists of photocopies and typscripts of research on a number
of local/regional families, including, but not limited to: Appersons, Blacks, Prices, and Prestons.
Series V: Subject Files, 1863-1963, n.d., comprises research materials (again, mostly photocopies and typescripts) realting
to local Civil War history and other topics of interest to Hill.
Charges and specifications concerning 1891 incidents involving three dismissed faculty members versus the VPI Board of Visitors
(photocopies of transcripts)
n.d.
box-folder 1 folder: 7
Depositions in the 1891 case involving three dismissed faculty members versus the VPI Board of Visitors (128 p.)
"History of the College" through 1891 (typescript)
Notes on the Henderson Infirmary (typescript)
Article: "Virginia Tech's 'Highty Tighties'" by H. H. Hill (photocopy)
"The Virginia Tech Campus is Rich in Historic Memory" by H. H. Hill (photocopy of typescript)
"The Marauding Cadet and the Presbyterian Pastor" (photocopy of typescript)
Roster of the second Virginia Regiment Band (VPI Cadets) (photocopy of transcript)
Correspondence letters (1950-1952)(photocopies)
Glass Plate Negatives & Negatives
1895-1912, n.d.
Arrangement
Glass plates and negatives are of varying sizes and as a result, not all items depicting the same subjects could be placed
together in the same boxes. The list below groups images by subjects and indicates the box-folder for each item. All items
are glass plate negatives, unless otherwise noted in the title.
Cadets
box-folder 5 folder: 1
Band
1893
box-folder 3 folder: 1
Battalion of Cadets
box-folder 5 folder: 4
Cadet
box-folder 5 folder: 2-3
Cadet band (2 copies)
box-folder 3 folder: 2
Cadets & Cannon
box-folder 3 folder: 3
Cadet Drill
Campus
box-folder 3 folder: 4-5
"Breaking Dirt for the Alumni Gate" (2 copies)
1912
box-folder 3 folder: 17-18
"Bird's-Eye View of Grounds and Buildings" (2 copies)
box-folder 3 folder: 19
Campus View
box-folder 5 folder: 5
Campus View
box-folder 5 folder: 6
Campus View-Farms
box-folder 3 folder: 15
Building Construction
box-folder 3 folder: 16
Construction [film negative]
box-folder 5 folder: 7
Construction
box-folder 3 folder: 8
Construction Workers (First Library?)
box-folder 3 folder: 6
Faculty Row/YMCA/Barracks/Academic Building
box-folder 3 folder: 7
Farm Building
box-folder 3 folder: 9-11
First Library (3 different plates)
Pre-1953
box-folder 3 folder: 12
Preston and Olin Building
Pre-1913
box-folder 5 folder: 8
(Preston and Olin?) Building
box-folder 3 folder: 13
"As the Shops looked in the Old Days" (Shops)
box-folder 3 folder: 14
Shops
box-folder 5 folder: 9
Snow Drift
1895
box-folder 5 folder: 10-12
Snow Storm (3 different plates)
1895
Football
box-folder 3 folder: 20
Football
box-folder 4 folder: 6
Football Player (Patrick?)
box-folder 4 folder: 8
Football Player in VAMC jersey
box-folder 4 folder: 7
Football Players with Puppy
box-folder 5 folder: 15-16
Football Players (2 different plates)
box-folder 5 folder: 17
Football Players, Practice
box-folder 4 folder: 9
Football Practice [film negative]
box-folder 5 folder: 13
Football Team
1895
box-folder 4 folder: 1
Football Team
1896
box-folder 4 folder: 2-4
Football, Team of 1905 (3 copies)
1905
box-folder 4 folder: 5
Football Team
box-folder 5 folder: 14
Football Team
box-folder 4 folder: 10-11
Two Football Players in VPI Jerseys (2 copies)
People
box-folder 4 folder: 12
"Bunker" Hill, Price Hall
1920s
box-folder 4 folder: 13
"Dad"
box-folder 4 folder: 14
Faculty
box-folder 4 folder: 15
"Frith" [image of drawing]
box-folder 4 folder: 16-17
Olivia Tutwiler (later Hill) (2 copies)
box-folder 4 folder: 18
Postcard (unidentified man
box-folder 4 folder: 19
University Presidents Portraits (McBryde, Lomax, Minor, Buchanan, Conrad)
Civil War (originial typescript source date: 1863-1963)(photocopies, typescripts)
1908, n.d.
Scope and Contents note
Contents
"The Battle of Cloyd's Mountain" (typescript)
"My Horse Comet," by Lt. Col. W. W. Blackford (typescript)
"Soldiers and Daughters of the Confederacy, including World War I and II soldiers buried in the Blacksburg Westview Cemetary"
(photocopy of typescript)
Newspaper article concerning McCormick's Civil War history (photocopy)
John W. Mallet (1950)(photocopy of reprint)
"Recollections of the Rebellion," by James C. Hill (1878)(photocopy of typescript)
Excerpt from the diary of John S. Apperson (April 29 to May 7, 1863) (typescript)
"Experiences as a Prisioner of War," by G. W. Finley (1908)(typescript)
"The Impending Clash" (1935)(typescript)
Miscellaneous notes and correspondence (photcopies of typescripts)
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