Collections : [West Virginia and Regional History Center]

The Berlin B. Chapman Papers consists of postcards, photographs, books, and manuscript materials documenting Chapman's personal life and professional career. The bulk of the collection pertains to materials related to education, including Chapman's own academic experiences as well as the history of educational institutions and the teaching profession in Marion County and central West Virginia.

Scrapbooks, correspondence, business papers, and memorabilia of a prominent Charleston family that were long time owners of the Charleston Gazette. There are papers of W. E. Chilton, Sr., and for his son and grandson, W. E. Chilton, Jr. and W. E. Chilton, III. The papers of Chilton senior include some correspondence, but mostly land papers documenting the coal mining district in Webster and Braxton Counties. There are also scrapbooks, and contracts pertaining to the family newspaper business; and volumes on the education of W. E. Chilton, Jr. at Woodberry, VA Forest School, and at Yale. The military service of the Chiltons is documented by the service papers, photographs, and other material for W. E. Chilton, Jr. and W. E. Chilton, III in World War (WWI) I and World War II (WWII) respectively.

John Johnston's copy of a narrative history of the 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion by Dan Morgan. John Johnston, who was later a WVU professor, was a private in company A of this unit. The book documents the WWII era and includes contributions, memories, and photographs of many members of the battalion. Some later reviews of the book were collected by Johnston and inserted inside the back cover, along with a letter from Johnston to Morgan about the book and a photograph of a memorial stone dedicated to the battalion.

Papers of Frank Woodruff Buckles (born Wood Buckles, February 1, 1901 - February 27, 2011), a United States Army corporal and the last surviving American military veteran of World War I. During World War II, he was captured by Japanese forces in the Philippines as a civilian prisoner. After the war, Buckles married in San Francisco and moved to Gap View Farm near Charles Town, West Virginia, where he worked until age 105. Collection includes incoming correspondence, photographs, military records, ephemera from his travels, clippings, notes, magazines, menus, and more. Subjects include Buckles' biography, his interest in genealogy and his local historical society, Chateau Carolands/Remillard, the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of Bataan Day, and more. The collection includes very little material from the World War I era, some materials from World War II, and more materials from Buckles' life after the wars. This collection is minimally processed.

This collection contains twentieth century papers pertaining to the history of the Fridley and Ripoll (pronounced "Ripple") families of Fayette, Boone and McDowell counties of West Virginia and their descendants, including the Thompson and Sarver families. Topics include the family homestead, finances, religion, travel, education, careers and military service. The collection features a variety of materials such as photographs, certificates, military artifacts, financial records and correspondence.

Box 1 includes military records, scrapbook pages of mostly clippings, photographs, correspondence, and more. Military records include O'Neal's prisoner of war statement form and discharge papers. The rest of the material pertains mostly to O'Neal's military service and his time serving overseas. Clippings are mostly from the Winchester Star newspaper.