AccessFree online access
Community History Archive Partner
Virginia Mountaineer
Keen Mountain, Virginia
Explore this community history collection to discover the people, places, organizations, and events of Keen Mountain.
ExploreA starting point for exploring the past
DiscoverPeople, places, and events in the archive
Explore local history
Discover the people, places, and stories of Keen Mountain, Virginia.
Explore the past of Keen Mountain, Virginia through newspapers in the Virginia Mountaineer's digital archive.
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Collection materials
Choose a path into the collection shared by Virginia Mountaineer through newspapers.
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Free and open access
No subscription or payment required.
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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.
Reporting from the time can reveal how people described the events, work and concerns of their day, placing a local story within the history unfolding around it. Whether you are tracing a family connection, exploring a local event or sharing history with a class, there is more to discover than names and dates alone. Explore the archive online for free, without a subscription.
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Collection details
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About the Community
About The Virginia Mountaineer And Buchanan County
The Virginia Mountaineer has been a cornerstone of Buchanan County's media landscape since its founding in 1922. It has chronicled the local events, stories, and issues that shaped this Appalachian region's communities for over a century. Initially established to provide local news and updates, the Mountaineer has been and continues to be a trusted source of information and a vital part of the region’s history. Buchanan County, located in the southwestern part of Virginia, has a rich history deeply rooted in coal mining and agriculture. The Appalachian Mountains' rugged terrain has shaped its residents' lives and industries. The county was formed in 1858 and named after President James Buchanan. Over the years, Buchanan County has faced numerous challenges, including economic shifts and natural disasters, but it has always demonstrated resilience and a strong sense of community. The Virginia Mountaineer played a crucial role in documenting these changes and providing residents with news about local developments, school events, community issues, and more. Its pages have captured the essence of life in Buchanan County, offering a window into the past and preserving the community's collective memory.
More ways to explore and share local history
Research Guidance
Look for the story behind a result
A family name, a familiar street or a story passed down through generations can lead to a closer look at the history of Keen Mountain. The digital archive shared by the Virginia Mountaineer offers a place to begin. 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.
Community Partnership
Keeping local history a community resource
This community archive is made possible by the collaboration of the Virginia Mountaineer, 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
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.
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Why Microfilm is still important in 2023
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Unveiling the Hidden Mysteries: Exploring Cold Cases and Unconventional Clues
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April 1, 2025
This Week in History: March 31st through April 6th
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This Week in History: March 24th through March 30th
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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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