They examine historic structures ranging from the Essex County courthouse (1729) and the King William County courthouse, built ca. 1725 and one of the oldest public buildings in continuous use in the nation, to the newer historic courthouses such as Richmond's massive Supreme Court/State Library Building, dedicated in 1941.

"This book expands upon the 2011 book Images of America: Virginia-Highland."--Page 4 of cover.

More than 250 years passed from the founding of the first English colony in the New World at Jamestown in Virginia until the beginning of the American Civil War, and nearly a century and a half more has passed since the Civil War ended. As distant as such milestones of history may seem today, Virginians are fortunate to be able to see the physical evidence of great events, people, and places everywhere in the Old Dominion. Historic Photos of Virginia showcases many of the state’s important places as well as events both great and small, beginning with the Civil War and carrying forward to the momentous changes that took place during and after the Second World War. While historic sites such as Monticello, Hampton Institute, and Arlington National Cemetery are featured, so too are the everyday city streets and rural countryside where Virginians lived and worked. These black-and-white images tell the story of Virginia, its people and places, with a vividness only historic photographs can offer.

Virginia Beach comes alive in this illustrated history starting in the early 20th century. Revisit popular landmarks like Holland's General Store, Piney Point Club, and the Waverly and Cavalier Hotels. Through 466 images, learn about the people who lived here and made Virginia Beach what it is today. From the famous cottages of the North End, to the glamour girls enjoying the beach and the Big Band sounds at the local nightclubs, fun and historical facts about the area and its founding families will both entertain and educate. For past and current residents of the North End, tourists, history buffs, and genealogists.

Southern plantations are an endless source of fascination. That’s no surprise since these palatial homes are rich in history, representing a pivotal time in U.S. history that truly is “gone with the wind.” With the Civil War literally exploding all around, many of these homes were occupied either by Confederate or Union troops. Nowhere else in the south were plantations so affected by the nation’s bloodiest war than in Virginia. At times, families fled, leaving behind slaves to manage the property. There are still more than 60 plantations in Virginia today, most of them open to the public. Some have been restored, others undergoing that process. If only the walls could talk, the stories we might hear! That’s what we hope to bring into this book on The Plantations of Virginia. We’ll take the tours and talk to the guides and dig even further if there is more to discover. We hope that travelers will be enlightened before they travel to Virginia, their visits will thus be enriched, and that residents will equally love exploring this deep history of Virginia. Accompanying the text will be photographs, taken by one of the authors, showing, in all their splendor, the exteriors of these plantations, as well as areas of interest inside the buildings.

As the site of the first permanent English settlement in North America, the birthplace of a presidential dynasty, and the gateway to western growth in the nation’s early years, Virginia can rightfully be called the “cradle of America.” Peter Wallenstein traces major themes across four centuries in a brisk narrative that recalls the people and events that have shaped the Old Dominion. The second edition is updated with new material throughout, including a new chapter on Virginia and world affairs from the Korean War through 9/11 and beyond, and, an expanded bibliography. Historical accounts of Virginia have often emphasized harmony and tradition, but Wallenstein focuses on the impact of conflict and change. From the beginning, Virginians have debated and challenged each other’s visions of Virginia, and Wallenstein shows how these differences have influenced its sometimes turbulent development. Casting an eye on blacks as well as whites, and on people from both east and west of the Blue Ridge Mountains, he traces such key themes as political power, racial identity, and education. Bringing to bear his long experience teaching Virginia history, Wallenstein takes readers back, even before Jamestown, to the Elizabethan settlers at Roanoke Island and the inhabitants they encountered, as well as to Virginia’s leaders of the American Revolution. He chronicles the state’s dramatic journey through the Civil War era, a time that revealed how the nation’s evolution sometimes took shape in opposition to the vision of many leading Virginians. He also examines the impact of the civil rights movement and considers controversies that accompany Virginia into its fifth century. The text is copiously illustrated to depict not only such iconic figures as Pocahontas, George Washington, and Robert E. Lee, but also such other prominent native Virginians as Carter G. Woodson, Patsy Cline, and L. Douglas Wilder. Sidebars throughout the book offer further insight, while maps and appendixes of reference data make the volume a complete resource on Virginia’s history.