Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

W. Randolph Chitwood Papers, Mss. Collection 2001.1, Kegley Library, Wytheville Community College, Wytheville, VA

Acquisition Information

Ruth Ann Chitwood donated the Papers, as part of the W. R. Chitwood Collection, to the Kegley Library in 2001.

Biographical Information

A native of Wytheville, Virginia, Walter Randolph Chitwood was the son of Edmund Madison Chitwood Sr. and Ethel Dale Tipton and was born 20 October 1920. He graduated from Wytheville High School. He graduated Hampden Sydney College in 1941 and the University of Virginia Medical School in 1944. During World War II he served in the United States Army Medical Corps, afterwards returning home to Wytheville to practice medicine with his father at the Chitwood Memorial Clinic. He continued his medical practice until poor health forced his premature retirement in 1965 after a massive heart attack.

Dr. Chitwood then embarked upon his second career as a local historian, working with the Wythe County Historical Society and his colleague Mary B. Kegley. He published several periodical articles on various aspects of Wythe County and Southwest Virginia history. Collecting historical documents and memorabilia also consumed his time. However, Chitwood spent most of his time in the basement of the Wythe County courthouse, combing through documents to find information for articles and books. He assisted Kegley with her research for Wythe County, Virginia: a Bicentennial History . A particular interest of his was collecting information on physicians from Wythe County as well as those who served in the Confederate Army.

W. Randolph Chitwood married Ruth Reed and had three children. He served on many local boards and organizations including the Wythe County Public Library, Rotary Club, and the Wythe County Bicentennial Committee. Chitwood died 24 January 1993 and is buried in the Tipton Family Cemetery in Hillsville, Virginia.

Scope and Content

The Papers consist of draft manuscripts, typed and handwritten, of several published and unpublished works by Dr. W. Randolph Chitwood. Included are drafts of the following publications: Death and marriage notices from the South-West Virginia Enterprise, April 17, 1870 to December 28, 1881 , Tombstone inscriptions, East End Cemetery and St. Mary's Catholic Church Cemetery, Wytheville, Va. , and "A Diary of Lucy S. Ruggles, New England teacher in the highlands of antebellum Virginia, " published in the Wythe County Historical Review . Unpublished drafts include "Death register, 1874-1894, Wythe County, Va., ""Wythe County 1850 census, " and "Wythe County 1860 census. " Published editions of the draft manuscripts may be found in the Kegley Library.

Included in the Lucy S. Ruggles diary manuscript is research correspondence and notes; the correspondence is arranged chronologically. It consists mainly of letters written by Chitwood to various repositories including the Emma Willard School, Troy Public Library (New York), Bennington Museum (Vermont), Knoxville Public Library (Tennessee), Historical Society of Washington County (Virginia), University of Texas Library, Duke University Library, and South Carolina Historical Society. The arrangement of the research notes remains as Chitwood originally placed.

Adjunct Descriptive Data

Bibliography