There are no restrictions.
There are no restrictions.
E. Alvin Gerhardt papers, 1961-1984. Accession 43514. Personal papers collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
Gift of Jennifer Weiskotten, Virignia Association of Museums, Richmond, Virginia.
Earl Alvin Gerhardt was born 15 October 1930 in Lynchburg, Virginia, to Earl Alvin Gerhardt and Georgia Burton Gerhardt. E. Alvin Gerhardt graduated from Davidson College in 1951, then served in the United States army during the Korean War. Gerhardt returned to Lynchburg after the war to work in his family's business, Lynchburg Hosiery Mills. While in Lynchburg, he served as the volunteer director of the Lynchburg Historical Museum. He was president of the Lynchburg Historical Society in 1970-1971, and was a founding member of the Virginia History Federation (now the Virginia Association of Museums), serving as its president in 1972-1973. After the family business was sold, Gerhardt entered the Cooperstown Graduate Program, State University of New York, and received his master's degree in 1974. That same year, he became the professional director of Rocky Mount, a historic home in Piney Flats, Tennessee. In 1992, he became the Director of Museum Program and Studies at Tusculum College. He retired in 2000. Gerhardt and his wife Salley T. Flournoy Gerhardt had four children. E. Alvin Gerhardt died 5 February 2012.
Papers, 1961-1984, of E. Alvin Gerhardt (1930-2012) of Lynchburg, Virginia, and Piney Flats, Tennessee, consisting of agendas, brochures, clippings, minutes, newsletters, and other papers regarding his work in historical organizations. Majority of collection concerns the celebration of the Bicentennial of American independence in Virginia and across the nation.
This collection is arranged into the following series:
Virginia Independence Bicentennial Commission, 1970-1981, contains agendas, articles of incorporation, correspondence, minutes, newsletters, proposals, reports, and other papers relating to the commission's work planning Virginia's Bicentennial celebration.
American Revolution Bicentennial Commission, 1969-1976, contains articles, booklets, correspondence, documents, inventories, newsletters, posters, proposals, and other papers regarding the national Bicentennial celebration.
Lynchburg Bicentennial Commission, 1971-1974, contains address lists, agendas, articles, correspondence, forms, memorandums, minutes, notes, presentations, reports, resolutions, and other papers relating to the commission's work planning Lynchburg's Bicentennial celebration.
Virginia Bicentennial papers, 1971-1977, contains agendas, clippings, correspondence, letterhead stationery, proposals, and other papers from Bicentennial committees in Albemarle-Charlottesville, Alexandria, Richmond, and Williamsburg-James City County. Series also includies standards, 1972, for the Bicentennial Celebration on the Virginia Peninsula and report, 1977, on the Bicentennial Celebration in Virginia, from the office of Governor Mills Godwin.
Bicentennial publications, 1968-1977, consisting of articles, bibiographies, books, brochures, clippings, magazines, newsletters, pamphlets, and other papers regarding the Bicentennial celebration in Virginia and across the nation. Also includes catalogs and order forms for Bicentennial-themed merchandise.
Bicentennial general papers, 1971-1976, contains of articles, booklets, correspondence, pamphlets, resolutions, statements, and other papers from the New York State American Revolution Bicentennial; the United States World Exposition in Boston, Massachusetts; and the Michigan Historical Commission. Papers include magazine abstract, correspondence, and pamphlet about celebrating the Bicentennial. Also includes Bicentennial napkins.
Lynchburg organizations, 1962-1973, contains agendas, articles of consolidation, brochures, bylaws, certificates, clippings, correspondence, directories, histories, minutes, programs, reports, and other papers regarding the Lynchburg Sesquicentennial Association, the Jones Memorial Library, the Lynchburg Historical Society, the Lynchburg Historical Foundation, Lynchburg Historical Museum, and the Greater Lynchburg Chamber of Commerce.
Virginia organizations, 1973-1975, contains booklets, correspondence, guides, memorandums, and other papers regarding the Virginia History Federation, the Central Virginia Planning Commission, the University of Virginia Library's manuscript collections relating to Lynchburg, the Virginia State Library, and the Science Museum of Virginia.
General papers, 1961-1984, consisting of a security survey, 1984, for Rocky Mount Historical Museum in Sullivan County, Tennessee; article and invitation, 1973, related to the purchase of Bacon's Castle in Surry County, Virginia, by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities; papers, 1973-1974, regarding history and museums in Cooperstown, New York; newspaper clippings, 1961 and 1972, about Poplar Hall in Bedford County, Virginia, and about the York River State Park; papers, 1973-1975 and undated, about sites to visit in central Virginia, American Association of State and Local history, and a concert at Milligan College in Carter County, Tennessee; and notes.