Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from Preston and Olin Institute Records must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Preston and Olin Institute Records, Ms1964-001, Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

This collection was acquired by Newman Library prior to 1964.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Preston and Olin Institute Records was completed prior to January 2011. Additional description was completed in January 2011 and March 2018.

Historical Note

The Preston and Olin Institute was a Methodist school created in 1851. In 1872, due to financial distress, the institute was restructured as the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College to receive land-grant funding. Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College was renamed in 1970 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Scope and Content

This collection contains an agent's book for Olin and Preston Institute, five copies of reports from the Committee on Seminaries, and programs from the Alpha Literary Society, June 29, 1869, and Preston Literary Society, June 20, 1871. The book is dated 1855 with the name of the agent, Edmund B. Snyder. The reports are from 1852, 1853, 1854, 1860, and 1867. The 1852 report discusses the Wesleyan Collegiate Institute in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Arrangement

Materials in this collection are arranged in chronological order.

Index Terms

Subjects:

• Blacksburg (Va.)
• Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
• Montgomery County (Va.)
• Preston and Olin Institute (Blacksburg, Va.)
• University Archives
• University History
• Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College