Adminstrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from the Leland B. Tate Papers must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Lelan B. Tate Papers, Ms1956-004, Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

The Leland B. Tate Papers were donated to Newman Library in 1956.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Leland B. Tate Papers commenced and was completed in February, 2011.

Biographical Note

Leland B. Tate, son of John and Ada Jessee Tate, was born on March 28, 1905, and reared in Russell County, Virginia. After graduating from Emory and Henry College in 1927, Tate worked as a banker and published a book titled The Virginia Guide. He attended graduate school at the University of Virginia and received a master's degree in economics and sociology in 1931. He later obtained a Ph.D. in sociology from Cornell. In 1937, Tate became an associate professor of rural sociology at Virginia Tech. Among other activities, he studied rural-urban relations; produced a study of Virginia's changing population; and served on a governor's commission relating to population, health, and medical care. In 1935, Tate married Mildred Thurow (1905-1996), who became professor of home economics at Virginia Tech in 1937. Leland Tate died in 1999.

Scope and Content Note

This collection contains materials assembled by Leland B. Tate, a professor of sociology at Virginia Tech. The majority of the collection consists of newspaper clippings relating to industrial and economic development in the New River Valley during the early 1940s, with an emphasis on the construction and operation of the Radford Army Ammunition Plant. The collection also contains two brief studies compiled by Tate: "Facts about the Blacksburg Community" (1946) and "Some Facts About Virginia's People" (ca. 1955) (co-authored with George Blume). The latter study relies on census data to analyze trends in gender, age, race, urbanization, and occupation.  

Arrangement

The collection is arranged by document type.

Index Terms

Geographical Names:

• Blacksburg, Va

Subjects:

• Radford Army Ammunition Plant (U.S.)
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute

Subjects:

• Blacksburg (Va.)
• Faculty
• Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
• Montgomery County (Va.)
• University Archives