Methods of Community Research and Engagement Research Portal - Spring 2025
Handy Links
- Charlottesville Tomorrow: The Reimagining of Friendship CourtDeep reporting by local journalist Jordy Yager on the history and redevelopment of Friendship Court.
Research Librarian for Architecture
Building / Land Use Research
- Virtual Access to Deed BooksRebecca is working on virtual access to search the land records and deed books for this course for this semester. Please contact her for login information.
- Ancestry Library Edition This link opens in a new windowAncestry Library Edition is an academic version of ancestry.com. There are images of original documents and includes narratives, oral histories, indexes and abstracts to other resources. Over 30,000 Ancestry.com record collections and 11 billion records available to search. Record collections span the 1500s–2000s.
- Holsinger Collection of ImagesPhotographs from a Charlottesville photography studio.
- Sanborn Maps- GeocodedGeocoded Sanborn maps from UVA's collections. 1886, 1891, 1896, 1907, 1920. Additional Sanborn maps available in other resources (see below).
- Sanborn Maps at the Library of CongressIncludes the following years for Charlottesville: 1886, 1891, 1896, 1902, 1907, 1913, 1920. (Including indexes and keys)
- Faded ContoursThis site explores the history of Central Virginia with maps, aerial photos, and datasets to reconstruct the historical landscape. Created and maintained by an independent researcher.
Additional Resources
- Ancestry Library EditionAncestry Library Edition is an academic version of ancestry.com. There are images of original documents, such as the census name rolls. It also includes narratives, oral histories, indexes and abstracts to other resources. Over 30,000 Ancestry.com record collections and 11 billion records available to search. Record collections span the 1500s–2000s. (The link above is for current UVA students, faculty, and staff only, however many public libraries have subscriptions to this resource as well)
- FamilySearch.orgFree resource that allows searching of many family and genealogical records, including Census records.
- JUEL - Jefferson's University; the early life"JUEL is a study of what life was like in the first 50 years of the University of Virginia, from its founding through end of the Civil War. Jefferson’s vision of a secular university, dedicated to enriching public life and sustaining the new republic, was both embodied in and transformed by the people who lived, worked, and studied at the University. This project will bring together a trove of personal and administrative documents, as well as images of the university, to examine the day-to-day life of students, faculty, workers, and townspeople and their architectural and social environment."
Includes transcriptions of resources like the Journal of the Chairman of the Faculty, Faculty Minutes, the University Catalog, and more. - CvillepediaCvillepedia is a wiki dedicated to sharing and building community knowledge and history about the people, places, and events in Charlottesville and Albemarle County.
- Magazine of Albemarle History PDF indexIssues from 2000- Present are searchable and available online below.