Here at the Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park, we pride ourselves on being the keepers of the region’s history. 

Our collections include more than 6,000 photographs, 20,000 objects, and a library and archive encompassing thousands of books and documents and centuries of history. Each of these unique items contributes to the story of the people that have made Southwest Virginia their home.   

Christine Reasor 1960

We rely on donations to supplement our collections and have benefited greatly from the generosity of our region. Sometimes donations come to us one at a time--a treasured heirloom from the family homestead or a surprise find in an old trunk--but once in a while someone will donate a number of related items that they have collected over the years.

It was in this way that we became the recipients of the Jessie Zander Collection in 2009.

Jessie Reasor Zander was born in the tiny coal mining community of Inman, Virginia, where her father worked in the mines, moved to another coal mining camp, Derby, when quite young, and then settled in the town of Appalachia, Virginia while still in elementary school.

In 1954, Zander became the first African American student to graduate from Berea College since the 1908 Day Law outlawing integration of higher education was amended in 1949.

Jessie Zander went on to become a prominent activist, teacher and writer, and now resides in Arizona, but has remained active in preserving and telling the stories of her youth in Appalachia; an oral history interview with her can be accessed here.   

Early Wise County school

The Zander Collection includes more than 100 photos of various aspects of life in the African-American community in Wise County, Virginia, in the early to mid-20th century, including school photos.

Before 1939, black students in first through ninth grade were taught in the Macedonia Baptist Church, in Appalachia, Virginia. When Central High School was built for older students, elementary school students were bussed to a school in nearby Big Stone Gap (and Big Stone Gap High School students were in turn bussed to Central High School). 

Homecoming at Central High School

Photos of much beloved and influential faculty include several of Cato Hadras Shorter, who moved from Tennessee to take the job as one of two teachers in 1937. Shorter continued with the school until his retirement in 1977.

Additional photos show graduation ceremonies and football games, and give us a remarkably candid look at African American life in a time of increasing racial tensions in the country. You can learn more about the history of African American schools in Southwest Virginia at the museum.

Mount Hermon Presbyterian Church

Along with photographs, the Zander collection includes documents from the educational field, including letters and report cards from the 1940s. An interesting selection of funeral programs gives us an especially rich picture of life in the church.

Macedonia Baptist Church in Appalachia and Mount Hermon Presbyterian Church in Big Stone Gap were both established in the late 19th century and were important focal points for not only the spiritual life of the African-American community, but for its social life as well.  

The Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park is working to digitize its entire photo and document collection to make them more accessible to the public in the Virtual Exhibit room and, potentially, online formats. In the meantime, we will be featuring more of our collection, including items from the Jessie Zander Collection, in rotating temporary exhibits throughout the museum building.