Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from William H. Ruffner Letters must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: William H. Ruffner Letters, Ms1977-003, Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

The William H. Ruffner Letters were acquired prior to 1977.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the William H. Ruffner Letters was completed in 1977. Additional description was completed in March 2011.

Biographical Note

William H. Ruffner (1824-1908) was born in Lexington, Virginia. After attending college and seminary, he retired from the ministry in 1852 and returned to Virginia to farm. Following the Civil War, he became an advocate for public education, serving as the first superintendent for public instruction in Virginia from 1870 until 1882. Ruffner was a trustee for Washington College and Washington and Lee University from mid-1860s to the mid-1870s, and on the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College Board of Visitors from 1872 until about 1880. He went on to the presidency of the Farmville Normal School (now Longwood College) from 1884 to 1887, then moved to surveying, geology, and theological scholarship. He died in North Carolina in 1908.

Scope and Content

The collection includes photocopies of eleven letters from Ruffner to his wife and children, and to him from his daughter Anne.

Index Terms

Subjects:

• University Archives
• University History
• Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College