Botetourt County Libraries have announced the launch of “Botetourt Memory,” a digital archive of records related to the history and heritage of Botetourt County and its residents.
The online resource includes digital images of historic photos and documents, including death records from the 1800s, photographs of old school buildings and abandoned properties, newspaper articles, postcards, personal records, and more. Images are organized into collections within genealogy and local history sections. All text found in images is transcribed into the descriptions in order to be fully readable and searchable.
“We’re grateful to many local historians, volunteers, interns, county staff, and community donors for this unique collection,” noted Sarah Rodgers, Fincastle Library Branch Manager and project lead. “’Botetourt Memory’ has been in the works for several years, and we’re thrilled that we can finally make it available for everyone to research and enjoy.”
Currently, the collection contains over 1,000 images to explore. Thousands of additional images are pending review and processing, so more images will be added almost daily. Due to the substantial existing backlog to work through, Botetourt Libraries may be unable to accept donations of historic material for digitization until a later date.
To explore “Botetourt Memory,” visit //www.botetourtva.gov/botetourtmemory.
~ Fincastle Herald staff report
