Take a fascinating journey through Far Southwest Virginia with vintage postcards and photos from the collection of attorney Frank Kilgore, a native of the area and longtime memorabilia collector. Over 1000 postcard and photographic scenes of mountains and valleys, bustling lumber towns, coal camps, railroad expansion, and strong people illustrate the beauty and challenges of life in this corner of Central Appalachia. This new and expanded edition includes many full-color postcards, glass plate slides, letters, scrip, and other rare documents.

This collection of over 250 vintage postcards (c. 1905-1955) takes the reader on a journey through the Appalachian coalfields of Far Southwest Virginia, revealing gently rolling mountains and valleys, bustling market towns, coal camps, and strong people.

Combining an adept use of anecdote and detail with analysis of the written record, Noe shows that many supporters of the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad viewed it as a political tool, believing it would spread slavery and unite the state. He focuses on the railroad's economic fruits - integration of the region into the tobacco kingdom, urbanization, a growth in industry, and the spread of slavery - and shows how these brought about political results.