10 things you never knew were invented in Virginia
From the Virginia Reaper to ChapStick, here are 10 surprising and groundbreaking things that were invented in Virginia.
Mar
2026
25
LOCAL HISTORY
Mar
2026
23
William Haines: A VA native whose story you need to know
William Haines was a Virginia native, Hollywood’s first openly gay movie star, and a popular interior designer. Learn more about his inspiring life.
Mar
2026
18
Learn all about Virginia’s Civil War-era female spies
Meet the female spies who shaped Virginia’s Civil War legacy, from covert Confederate operatives to Union intelligence gatherers.
Feb
2026
25
12 times labor unions made history in Virginia
From the Knights of Labor’s arrival in the 19th-century to a landmark 2025 casino contract, here are 12 times labor unions shaped workers’ rights in Virginia.
Feb
2026
23
17 sobering stops along the Richmond Slave Trail
The Richmond Slave Trail follows 17 interpretive markers along the James River, chronicling the city’s past as a slave trading hub.
Feb
2026
6
5 fascinating facts about Newport News native Ella Fitzgerald
Here are five facts about Ella Fitzgerald, a Newport News native who is one of the greatest jazz singers of all time.
Dec
2025
29
This winter, learn the real story of Pocahontas
Pocahontas’s life is often shaped by the colonizers who rewrote her history. This is the real story of the Native American girl whose name meant “joy.”
Oct
2025
8
8 historical (yet haunted) battlefields in Virginia
At these haunted battlefields in Virginia, bloody histories and ghostly legends come together.
Sep
2025
8
Songcatchers: The fascinating story of how scholars saved Appalachian music from extinction
At the turn of the 20th century, academics traveled the Appalachians to save ancient music before it was lost. Learn how the legacy of the “songcatchers” lives on.
Aug
2025
27
5 unsung films that dramatize America’s rich labor history
Hollywood studios and independent producers have long depicted the collective efforts of working people to improve their lives and gain a voice in their workplaces and the larger society.
