Letters & Diaries: This section contains all the postwar letters and diaries in the Valley Archive. You may explore the part on either Augusta or Franklin. Both sections contain a page that gives a brief description of each collection of personal papers, so you may scan through the collections for what looks most interesting or useful. You may also search the letters and diaries, to find a particular word, phrase, or name. More about the Letters & Diaries.

Newspapers: This section contains transcriptions and images of the newspapers from Augusta and Franklin, providing access to how news was reported in the counties. You may browse the individual newspapers by date, read articles grouped by relevant topics, or search the newspapers for particular words or phrases. In most cases, you may also view scanned images of the original newspaper pages. More about the Newspapers.

Census & Veteran Records: This section contains the 1870 population census and the 1890 Veterans census databases. You may search for information about daily life in 1870 Augusta and Franklin, or search for surviving soldiers in the 1890 Veterans census.

Freedmen's Bureau: This section contains the Freedmen's Bureau records from the office in Staunton, Augusta County, Virginia. Providing a wealth of information about the lives of ex-slaves in Augusta, the Bureau records may be browsed by date or browsed by topic. You may also search the Bureau records. More about the Freedmen's Bureau.

Maps & Images: This section contains over 45 maps of the two counties. You may examine maps of Augusta, Franklin, or comparison maps of both counties. These maps detail a wide variety of aspects of life in the counties, from the local river systems to how people voted in elections. Most of the maps were created through Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology, producing images of the counties not otherwise possible. You may also explore images of the Valley.

1870 Statistics: This section contains tables that show statistics on life in the two counties in 1870. You may examine life in Augusta and Franklin in these tables based on the 1870 census data, such as literacy and education rates and local tax burdens.

Reference Center: This section contains helpful tools for examining the Valley Archive. Here you will find the Valley Timelines, which give a basic chronology of events in the two counties. You may also use the Search the Valley Databases page, which gives you access to every search engine available in the Valley Archive. You will also find the Valley Bibliography, which details all the sources we consulted in constructing the Valley Project.

Memory of the War: This section contains the reminiscences and recollections of the war by people from Augusta and Franklin. Here you will find articles, obituaries, letters, book chapters, and many other pieces which describe how the war was remembered and interpreted in the two counties. You may examine the memories of people from Augusta or Franklin, all of which are organized by topic.