Conditions Governing Use

Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.

Preferred Citation

Travel Diary of a Trip through Western Virginia and Niagara Falls, Special Collections Research Center, William and Mary Libraries.

Content Description

A travel diary written by a person from Baltimore, Maryland. They write about touring through western Virginia on horseback and later Niagara Falls on foot. They comment on Virginia locations such as Mount Vernon, Montpelier, Monticello, Warm Springs, Weyer's Cave (now Grand Caverns), Natural Bridge, and the asylum in Staunton (now Western State Hospital) among other places. On the trip to Niagara, the writer mentions the conditions of the roads, the places they stayed, a Tuscarora reservation, and eventually the falls themselves. Content warnings for derogatory language towards, and descriptions of, Indigenous people and enslaved people.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Diaries
• New York (State)--Description and travel
• Plantations--Virginia--History--19th century
• Southern States--Description and travel
• United States--Description and travel
• Virginia--Description and travel
• Virginia--Social life and customs--19th century