Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from Richard B. Dickenson Papers must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Richard B. Dickenson Papers, Ms2011-043, Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

The collection was donated to Special Collections in 2006.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Richard B. Dickenson Papers was completed in September 2011.

Biographical Note

Richard B. Dickenson, community activist and historian, was born in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1930. From 1951-1953 he served with the US Army in Korea. Dickenson then received a B.A. in geography from Michigan State University in 1957 and a M.Ed. from Springfield College in Massachusetts in 1971. He taught at a variety of colleges and universities throughout his career, including Virginia Tech where he researched local African American history and genealogy. After moving back to New York, Dickenson was appointed Borough Historian of Staten Island, which he held until his death from cancer in 2006.

Dickenson is the author of two published works: Entitled! Free Papers in Appalachia Concerning Antebellum Freeborn Negroes and Emancipated Blacks of Montgomery County, Virginia. and Holden's Staten Island: The History of Richmond County.

Scope and Content Note

The collection is composed of materials related to Dickenson's research on Southwest Virginia African Americans from the Civil War until the present. Included are photocopies and excerpts of books and archival materials, correspondence with coworkers and friends largely dealing with the Christiansburg Institute, and professional material related to his work in with the Christiansburg Community Center and local history associations.

Arrangement

The Richard B. Dickenson Papers are arranged into five series: subject files, correspondence, publications, research, and media. Materials within series are arranged alphabetically.

Series I contains subject files created by Dickenson. This series includes materials related to Christiansburg Institute and his work with the Christiansburg Community Center.

Series II contains correspondence with friends and coworkers. Letters are arranged by author in alphabetical order.

Series III contains various publications and photocopies of publications kept by Dickenson during his career. Individual publications are arranged in their own folder, excerpts are grouped in folders by alphabetical order.

Series IV contains research materials complied by Dickenson. Most of these items are photocopies of archival material. Research materials with no apparent titles are grouped in the Ephemera Research folder.

Series V contains cassette tapes, microfilm, and CD-ROMS arranged by material type.

Related Material

The following books have been removed from the collection and are available in Special Collections:

Index Terms

Geographical Names:

• Virginia, Southwest
• Virginia--History

Subjects:

• Civil War
• Local/Regional History
• Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877)

Adjunct Descriptive Data

The following books have been removed from the collection and are available in Special Collections: