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Community History Archives

Community History Archive Partner

Smyth County Public Library

Marion, Virginia

Explore this community history collection to discover the people, places, organizations, and events of Marion.

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2Titles

Explore publications and collections from the past.

2010 to 2025Dates represented

See individual titles for available dates.

44,310Archive pages

Historical pages reported for this collection.

Explore local history

Discover the people, places, and stories of Marion, Virginia.

Discover another side of Marion, Virginia through newspapers preserved in the Smyth County Public Library's digital archive. The archive includes Saltville Progress and Smyth County News and Messenger, with material from 2010 to 2025.

You can open the archive using the link below.
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  • Selected titles

    In the collection shared by Smyth County Public Library, you will find “Saltville Progress” as well as “Smyth County News and Messenger”.

  • Free and open access

    No subscription or payment required.

  • A closer look

    A familiar name or event takes on another dimension in the newspaper coverage of its time, alongside the stories that mattered to the readers of that issue.

The reporting of earlier years offers a way to explore how events were understood as they happened and how local experiences became part of the historical record. A family story, a classroom project or curiosity about a familiar place can lead to a closer look at the community and the lives of earlier generations. Explore the archive online for free, without a subscription.

Explore the collection

Titles in this collection

Explore Saltville Progress and Smyth County News and Messenger through 44,310 digitized pages, with material from 2010 to 2025. Through a partnership with Advantage Archives, Smyth County Public Library shares these sources from the past. Some years or items may be missing between the dates shown.

If you are tracing a family connection or exploring local history, the titles below offer a place to begin and a thread to follow.

Saltville Progress

8,366 pages from 2010 to 2025

Smyth County News and Messenger

35,944 pages from 2014 to 2025

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About the Archive

About The Smyth County Public Library's History Archives

The Smyth County Public Library's History Archive features the Smyth County News and Messenger and the Saltville Progress. The archive currently includes:

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About the Library

About The Smyth County Public Library

The Smyth County Public Library System has three locations: the main library and central offices in Marion and branches in Chilhowie and Saltville.

The library serves community members by providing access to resources that help them achieve their personal and professional goals. It offers high-quality current materials and enriching programs, making the library a community hub. Materials available at all locations include current bestsellers, paperbacks, research materials, popular magazines, local and national newspapers, DVDs, WiFi hotspots, and tablets. Databases for learning and entertainment can also be accessed via the library's website.

The system originated as the Marion Public Library, established within one room in the Municipal Building on May 27, 1935, through the efforts of the Marion Library Association and the Book and Study Club of Marion, Virginia . In 1946, the Smyth County Library Board was formed with members from Marion, Chilhowie, Saltville, and Sugar Grove. A merger between the town and county libraries in 1963 led to the formation of the Smyth-Bland Regional Library, housed in the Smyth County Schools Administrative Office Building.

In 1976, the Friends of the Library helped finance the purchase of a lot on Cherry and Sheffey Streets, which became the site of the main library. The grand opening was held in April 1980, with additional expansion starting in 1988.

The Saltville Public Library opened in March 1985 in an 1800-square-foot facility provided by the Town of Saltville. The Chilhowie Public Library was added in October 2003. It is located inside the old Chilhowie High School building and is provided by the Town of Chilhowie. In 2017, the regional system was disbanded, forming the current Smyth County Public Library System.

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About the Library

About The Friends Of The Library

Like most public libraries in the United States, the Smyth County Public Library (SCPL) is fortunate to have Friends of the Library groups to support its work. In Smyth County, there are three such groups: Friends of the Marion Library, Friends of the Chilhowie Library, and Friends of the Saltville Library. All of these groups are registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations independent of the library, although they work closely together. The Friends groups provide invaluable support for SCPL by funding the purchase of books that are distributed free of charge to children several times each year, usually at Easter, Halloween, and Christmas. They also support special events, summer reading programs, and the library staff. These groups conduct book sales of donated books to generate the funds used to support SCPL activities. The Friends groups welcome support from the community through membership, participation in their events, and book donations for their book sales.

About the Community

About Smyth County

Smyth County, located in the southwestern part of Virginia, was established in 1832 from Washington and Wythe counties. It is named after General Alexander Smyth, a Virginia congressman and War of 1812 hero. The county is characterized by its beautiful mountainous landscapes, rich history, and vibrant communities. Historically, Smyth County has been an agricultural hub, and it played a significant role in the industrial development of southwestern Virginia. The county seat, Marion, is known for its historic downtown, cultural festivals, and as the gateway to outdoor adventures in the nearby Jefferson National Forest.

More ways to explore and share local history

Research Guidance

Look for the story behind a result

The history of Marion includes individual lives as well as events remembered by the wider community. In the digital archive shared by the Smyth County Public Library, begin with a name, place or date connected with the story you want to explore. When using historical newspapers, try alternate spellings and nearby dates, then read the surrounding page to place a local story in its time. Compare later reporting or another available title to explore different perspectives rather than treating one account as the whole story. Search a person, place, or event with a second term, then compare the date and context of each result. A repeated name needs more evidence before it identifies the same person or connects two parts of a story.

After recording the issue and page, search a second term tied to the result and compare the surrounding dates and accounts. Keep matching names provisional until the place and context fit. This can turn one result into a better question without turning a repeated name into a confirmed story.

Capture the title, date, and page or item location for a detail you may want to revisit. Label your interpretation as your reading, not the source's own words. Keep enough context with the note that another reader can retrace it.

Review collection titles

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Community Partnership

Keeping local history a community resource

This community archive is made possible by the collaboration of the Smyth County Public Library, its community, and Advantage Archives. Together, these partnerships preserve local sources and give people a way to explore, learn from, and share the history around them.

Advantage Archives covers ongoing archive hosting, storage, development, and maintenance. The institution and its community do not pay a subscription, seat license, annual support contract, or other recurring archive-service charge. Local history remains a community resource, not a subscription to maintain.

Would you like to see more of your community's history preserved and accessible? Start a conversation with your library, newspaper publisher, historical or genealogical society, museum, or school about the materials they would like to share and a possible partnership with Advantage Archives.

Learn about partnerships
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Read All About It

Stories, research tips, and archive news

Read All About It connects archive research with the people and institutions preserving local history. Explore partner and community stories, project updates, research ideas, and perspectives on digitization, education, and working with primary sources. Use the articles as a starting point for your next question or a new way to share a discovery.

Newest published articles

March 18, 2025

It’s Your Community’s History, So Why Rent Something You Own?

We believe that history belongs to the communities where it was made - not locked behind paywalls or inaccessible due to budget restrictions. Subscription-based services and large content aggregators are generally more concerned with "content" and less concerned with the history that content contains. Their models typically involve a reoccurring charge for a plan that renews annually or licensing agreements with the library based on population served or circulation numbers. You are essentially Renting Access To YOUR History.
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