High Bridge, major rail construction in the region in early 1900s 

Bob Flippen with Farmville’s High Bridge Trail State Park is a popular speaker in the area. His specialty is on the 1913-14 construction of N&W’s famous “High Bridge” just east of Farmville, Virginia. 

Bob is a Cumberland County resident living near High Bridge. He served as the Park's AmeriCorps volunteer in 2011 and was hired afterwards as an Education Specialist (Interpreter) on an hourly basis while still working in the ad department at The Farmville Herald.

Bob’s program features the outstanding photographs of Willis W. Vail, the resident engineer of the project.  How Bob obtained these wonderful images follows in Rob Chapman’s story in The Farmville Herald of September 1, 2011 

Read more: High Bridge Trail

Historic Lynchburg Postcards
From the collection of member Kurt Reisweber

These cards all date to the 1920's or earlier.  Picture postcards first appeared in England and continental Europe in the 19th century. They first appeared in the United States at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.  Most American cards are post-1900, however.  They were a collector's item from the very outset, with collectors usually keeping scrapbooks of them. I purchased these either on E-Bay or at railroadiana shows. - Kurt

Personal cameras were not an universal item for families early in the last century. Post cards provided a way that the average person could keep pictures of prominent everyday scenes and memories of their travels. - ed.

Read more: Lynchburg History Postcards