The collection is open for research.
Permission to publish material from Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Virginia Collection must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Virginia Collection, Ms2017-055, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Virginia Collection was purchased by Special Collections in April 2016.
The processing, arrangement, and description of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Virginia Collection was completed in October 2017.
The Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) was established in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1874. Still in existance today, the national organization continues to promote abstinence from alcohol, tobacco, and drugs as part of its mission of reform. Individual chapters, called "unions," formed throughout the U. S. in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, though many fewer exist today. A
Through the mid-20th century, there were Women's Christian Temperance Union of Virginia groups throughout the state, including places like Roanoke, Danville, and Leesburg.
The collection contains three flyers for the national and Virginia branches Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), dating from about 1929. Materials include a letter from the Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Virginia publicity director about the organization, a scripted "dialogue" between several characters about the importance of the publicity department of the WCTU, and a set of "standards of efficiency" for publicity workers. All three flyers came with an original envelope suggesting they were went from Roanoke to Charlottesville in November 1929.
Special Collections Rare Book Collection includes a book on the history of the WCTU in Virginia: