Stewart Bell Jr. Archives
Handley Regional Library
Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society
P.O. Box 58, Winchester, VA 22604
(540) 662-9041 ext. 17
archives@handleyregional.org
www.handleyregional.org
519 WFCHS/THL
Inventory created by Archives Staff 04/1987. Last revised 06/2022.
ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: Collection is open to all researchers. Researchers wishing to view blueprints must secure written permission from the Winchester City Manager via the Planning Department. Please address requests for access to the Planning Department, Rouss City Hall, 3rd Floor, 15 North Cameron Street, Winchester, VA 22601.
TECHNICAL ACCESS: Recordings of public meetings in Box 22 require a reel-to-reel player to access.
USE RESTRICTIONS: Restrictions may apply concerning the use, photoduplication, or publication of items in this collection. Consult a member of the archives staff for information concerning these restrictions. The user assumes all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright.
EXTENT: 21.87 linear feet
CREATOR: City of Winchester, Virginia, USA
DATES: 1794 - 2017
SCOPE AND CONTENT: The Winchester City Records collections contains documents records concerning operations and activities undertaken by City of Winchester, Virginia. This includes city codes and records for various departments including fire, finance, personnel, planning and zoning, police, public utilities, and public works. The collection also includes maps of the city, blueprints for Rouss City Hall, and tax and local books for the years 1870-1910. Most of the information is dated during the 1900s. The City of Winchester personnel office is the official repository for city council minutes.
BIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL: Colonel James Wood founded Winchester in 1744 as the first British settlement west of the Blue Ridge Mountains on land granted by Thomas, Lord Fairfax. In 1754, the Virginia State Assembly gave the Town of Winchester its charter, giving it jurisdiction over its government. Then in 1874 the Town of Winchester became the City of Winchester, independent of Frederick County, though the City remains the county seat.
CITE AS: Winchester City Records, 519 WFCHS/THL, Stewart Bell Jr. Archives, Handley Regional Library, Winchester, VA, USA.
ACQUISITION INFORMATION: Acquired as a gift.
Organization:
BOX 1 Boards and Committees
City of Winchester Directory, 1987-1988
Local Elections, 1992-1994
City Council Elections,1996-1998
Winchester Common Council—appointed boards and committees, 1983
BOX 1a Board of Architectural Review
Meeting Agendas and Supporting Documents (includes the following years):
1996
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2011
2012
2013
BOX 1b Board of Zoning Appeals
Meeting Agendas and Supporting Documents – 1996, 7 items, typescript, photocopy
Meeting Agendas and Supporting Documents – 2006, 5 items, typescript, photocopy
Meeting Agendas and Supporting Documents – 2007,
BOX 2 Common Council
Adoption of Council Manager Plan- from Virginia Municipal Review, January, 1931
Masonic Lodge and City Council—agreements, 1 item, 5 leaves, manuscript (photocopy)
City of Winchester- Listing of Common Council- Committees- Officers
Winchester Common Council minutes, typescript (photocopy)(includes the following years):
Mayor’s Report 1971
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1982-3
1992
Mayor’s Report 1992
1993
BOX 3 Common Council
Winchester Common Council minutes, typescript (photocopy)(includes the following years):
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
BOX 3a Common Council
Winchester Common Council Minutes, typescript (photocopy)(includes the following years):
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
BOX 4 City Manager
First Annual Report, 1916-1917
Annual (Municipal) Reports, 1935-1939
Annual Reports, 1944-1952
Annual Report, 1988-1989
Annual Report, 2012
City Manager Arthur Field – 1935 List of Accomplishments
City Manager Eden Freeman – News Articles
City Manager Dale Iman – News Articles
City Manager – News Articles
Citizen request referral guide, ca. 1990s, 4 leaves, typescript (photocopy)
Emergency operations plans, typescript (photocopy)
1970 1973 1975
Space requirement survey for public safety building for renovation
BOX 5 City Managers
Blizzard - 1983, 3 items, loose-leaf binders
Records of response and photographs
News clippings
Photographs
BOX 6 City Code
City code, printed (includes the following years)
1856
1875
1901
1902
1947
Ordinances for laying taxes, printed (includes the following years):
1885
1889-1900
1903-1904
1909-1910
1912-1913
1913-1914
1931
1935
1946
Plumbing code, 1957, 1 item, printed
Traffic ordinance, 1922, 1 item, printed
BOX 6A City Code – Duplicates
BOX 7 City Code
City code—1959, 1978 (possibly updated to 1982), printed
City code updates, unnumbered loose-leaf pages, printed
1983
1984
1985
1987
1991
1992
City code updates, unnumbered leaves, typescript, in binder
Building amendment, 1978
Fire prevention, 1978
Health and sanitation, no date
Historic District, no date
Land subdivision ordinance, 1977
Code of the City of Winchester, December 1, 1995, 1 ring binder (oversized, located on shelf)
BOX 8 City Code
For future records
BOX 9 Finance Department
4% School Bond, 1972
Notes on 1961 and 1964 Budgets
Listing of Outstanding Bonds-Assessed Valuation and Ratio of Bonded Debt, 1956
Listing of Receipts and Expenditures, 1955-1956
Tax Rates— Winchester and other Virginia Cities— 1957
Treasurer’s records—Assessor’s book—Winchester, 1857-1858, 1 item, manuscript
Treasurer’s records—Corporation of Winchester, 1884-1890, 1 item, manuscript
Taxable Assets—Winchester citizens, 1853-1856, 1 item, manuscript
Ordinances for Laying Taxes . . . and for Disbursing the Revenue, 1907, 1911, 1911-12, 3 items, printed
1943 License and Tax Ordinances Booklet
Payment Listing, 1941-1949
BOX 9a Finance Department
Real estate assessments, field data sheets prepared by Blue Ridge Appraisal Co. 1981, 3 folders
BOX 10 Finance Department
Budgets, 1948-1985, printed (missing budgets 1977, 1978, 1978-1979, 1982-1983)
BOX 10A
Medical Register of Winchester, Leather Bound, 252 pages, manuscript
Winchester City Tax Return Receipts (1897-1998)
Virginia State Tax Return Receipts (1897-1898)
BOX 11 Finance Department
Budgets, 1985-1990, printed (missing budget 1987-1988)
Tentative Budget Estimate, 30 June 1986, 1 item
BOX 12 Finance Department
Budgets and Programs of services (Draft Budgets), 1990-1993 (missing budget, 1900-1991)
BOX 13 Finance Department
Proposed Program of Services, 1993-1994, unnumbered pages, printed
Proposed Program of Services, 1994-1996, unnumbered pages, printed
Proposed Program of Services, 1996-1998, unnumbered pages, printed
Proposed Biennial Budget for Fiscal Years 2001 & 2002 & Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan – Divided into two folders: Folder #1 & Folder #2
BOX 13a Finance Department
Proposed Biennial Budget for Fiscal Years 2003 & 2004 & Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan – Divided into three folders: Folder #1, Folder #2, and Folder #3
BOX 14 Fire Department
Annual reports, typescript (includes the following years):
1980
1981
1988-1993
1995
1996
Fire alarm code signals, no date, 2 pages, printed
News Articles
Old Fire Department Patch, 1 item
BOX 15 Miscellaneous Records
2016 Calendar, 1 item, printed
Land: Issues and Problems, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 5 items, printed
Latina Activities, Winchester, 1 item, printed
Medal of U.S.S. Shenandoah, 1944, 1 item
Winchester money, bill for 25 cents, 1861, 1 item
Winchester Post Office—200th anniversary, 3 items
Winchester Flag, Proposed Sketches of, 13 items
Miscellaneous items (folder # 1) (folder includes the following):
Certificate of Deposit executed by the Farmers and Merchants National Bank of Winchester, Virginia, June 11, 1909, 1 item
Certificate of Deposit executed by the Shenandoah Valley National Bank of Winchester, Virginia, June 11, 1909, 1 item.
Receipt for compensation given to Emeline Wright for damage to house, April 14, 1902, 1 item
Deed between City of Winchester and Wm. M. Atkinson and C.C. Atkinson, August 20, 1895, 1 item
Homestead Exemption Waiver, Charles Mortimer Gibbens and others, June 1982, 1 item
Miscellaneous items (folder # 2) (folder includes the following):
Note from Wm. R. Alexander, attorney, to Common Council, July 6, 1893, 1 item
Correspondence from Barton & Boyd, attorneys, to John W. Rice, June 2, 1891, 1 item
Telegram, 1891, 1 item
Hand drawn map of part of Market Street, 1 item
Envelopes, addressed, empty, 8 items
Various receipts and invoices, 1894-1909, 15 items
BOX 16 Personnel Department
News Articles
Employee Handbook, 1979, printed
Grievance procedures, no date, 5 leaves, typescript (copy)
Winchester employee newsletter, 1982-1992 (incomplete), 30 items, printed
BOX 16A Parking Authority
Parking Authority—The Winchester Story, February-November 1964, 1 item, printed
“Parking and People—Winchester is Ahead”—2 leaves, printed, 1977
Parking, City of Winchester news articles—unnumbered leaves
Parking Program—1966; 1 item, 65 pages, printed
Parking Program—1968; 1 item, 66 pages, printed
BOX 17 Planning and Zoning Department
Road plans, printed
Interstate Route 402, 1957
Winchester By-Pass, 1963
Winchester Functional Plan, 1969
Winchester Thoroughfare Plan, 1969 (2 copies)
Transportation Plan Update, 1995
Shenandoah College and Conservatory—Final Report, Campus Master Plan (March, 1988); 1 book, 48 pages, printed
Survey of Buildings and Properties within the National Register Winchester Historic District by EHT Traceries Inc. in collaboration with Maral S. Kalbian, LLC for the City of Winchester, Virginia August 2011, 1 item, printed, 274 pages, text only
BOX 18 Planning and Zoning Department, 1921-1991
Buildings reviewed by Planning Department for demolition or repair, no date, unnumbered leaves, photographs/typescript
Community development newsletter, fall 1990, 1 item, printed
Council meeting transcript, June 25, 1948, investigating explosion at Raylass Company, 1 item, typescript (copy)
Housing Assistance Plan, January 1976, 1 item, 166 pages, printed
Planning Commission meetings - minutes, February 1949, 4 leaves, typescript
Planning, Building and Zoning - zoning maps and changes, 1949, 1977, and no date
"Planning Report of Norton, Bird and Whitman, on Mapping . . . Zoning," 1921, 1 item, 48 leaves, typescript (copy)
"Projections and Economic Base Analysis, Frederick-Winchester Area," 1972, Division of State Planning and Community Affairs, 1 item, 22 leaves, typescript
"Real Property Survey - Winchester, Virginia," WPA Project, 1936, 1 item, 79 leaves, typescript (copy); loose papers, 9 leaves
Real property survey map, 1940, 2 leaves
"2020 Task Force Plans Future for City, County," Virginia Town & City, October 1991, 2 leaves, printed (photocopy)
BOX 19 Planning and Zoning Department
Annexation, 1905, 1970-1971
Annexation Proceeding—City of Winchester vs. Frederick County, 1971; 1 item, unnumbered leaves, printed
Butler Drive Extended- Photographic Exhibit
Lawsuit, 13 leaves, typescript (photocopy)
Informational pamphlet, 1 item, printed
Newspaper notice, 1 item, printed
Commercial sign survey, 1975, 5 leaves, typescript (photocopy)
Downtown development - special sections of Winchester Evening Star, 1964 and 1967, 2 items, printed
Highway development project - Butler Drive, 1976, 1 item, 42 leaves, typescript (photocopy)
Highway development project - Pleasant Valley Road, no date, 1 item, printed
Parking Authority, 1964, 1 item, printed
Correspondence from Zoning Administrator (folder includes the following):
Reed T. Nester to Rev. Dalco King, June 7, 1977
Reed T. Nester to Elaine R. Walker, May 12, 1977
Winchester Council of Garden Clubs – Survey of Commercial Signs – 1975
BOX 20 Planning and Zoning Department
Zoning ordinance, 1960, and amendments, 1 item, 16 pages, printed/manuscript; 5 leaves, typescript (copy); 2 leaves, printed
Zoning ordinance, 1974—proposed, with 1975 revisions and newspaper coverage, 1 item, 220 leaves, printed (photocopy)/manuscript; 17 leaves, printed
BOX 20A Zoning Ordinances
Zoning ordinance, 1976, 1 item, 120 leaves, printed
Zoning ordinance, revised to 1990, 1 item, printed (photocopy), in binder
BOX 21 Planning and Zoning Department
Public meeting on old Post Office building, January 25, 1977, tape recording, 1 reel
BOX 22 Public Meetings Sound Recordings (1/2” reel-to-reel)
|
Zoning Ordinance through 18-8-16 |
5/11/1965 |
|
Zoning Ordinance 18-8-16 - end |
10/13/1964 |
|
Comprehensive Plan - Rouss Neighborhood Meeting |
7/10/1974 |
|
Comprehensive Plan - Neighborhood Meetings for Va. Ave, Sarah Zane, Friendship, Shawnee |
7/11/74-7/18/74 |
|
City Council/Planning Commission Public Hearing on the Winchester Comprehensive Plan |
10/2/1974 |
|
Zoning Ordinance - Rouss Neighborhood Meeting |
4/2/1975 |
|
Zoning Ordinance - Neighborhood Meeting Shawnee & Sarah Zane |
3/26/75 - 2/27/1975 |
|
Council Hearing on Zoning Ordinance |
2/2/1976 |
|
City Council Public Hearing on Proposed Zoning Ordinance |
Jan-76 |
|
Council Hearing on Zoning Ordinance #2 |
1/27/1976 |
|
Council Hearing on Zoning Ordinance #1 |
1/27/1976 |
|
HUD CD Block Public Hearing Planning Commission Meeting |
10/28/1976 |
|
HUD CD Block Public Hearing |
12/2/1975-12/4/1975 |
|
HUD CD Block Public Hearing |
5/6/1975 - 5/8/1975 |
BOX 23 Planning and Zoning Department
Winchester Master Plan, 1958, 1 item, 136 pages, typescript (copy)
Comprehensive plan, 1981—preliminary report, 1 item, 167 leaves, printed (photocopy)
Comprehensive Plan, 1982, 1 item, 101 pages, printed
Comprehensive Plan, 1990—proposed, 1 item, 221 pages, printed
Comprehensive Plan, 1990, 1 item, 221 pages, printed
BOX 23A Planning and Zoning Department
Comprehensive Plan, 1991—proposed, 1 item, 108 pages, printed, in binder
BOX 24 Planning and Zoning Department
Planning Commission work sessions, 1990 (incomplete), 10 items, typescript (photocopy)
Planning Commission work sessions, 1991, 12 items, typescript (photocopy)
Planning Commission work sessions, 1992 (incomplete), 9 items, typescript (photocopy)
BOX 25 Planning and Zoning Department
Planning Commission work sessions, 1996 (incomplete), 8 items, typescript (photocopy)
Planning Commission work sessions, 1999 (incomplete), 4 items, typescript (photocopy)
Planning Commission work sessions, 2000 (incomplete), 1 items, typescript (photocopy)
BOX 26 Police Department
Annual reports 1942 -1963 (1964, 1965 missing), 1966-1992
Map – City of Winchester – miscellaneous photocopies for reports
BOX 26a Police Department
Annual reports 1993-1998, 1999/2000 combined, 2001 - 2008 (2004-2006 labeled “Statistics”)
BOX 26b Police Department
Contract with S.A. Seabright, Chief of Police, July 1894, 5 items
Letter re: Police Justice Power vs. Trial Justice, February 19, 1940
News Articles
Police Chiefs
Police Officers
Police Department: Rules and regulations, 1917, 1 item, 45 pages, printed
Reserve officer law enforcement programs
Old Police Department Patches, 5 items
Old Police Department Patches, 5 items
Old Police Department Patches, 5 items
Old Police Department Patches (includes K9 officer, explorer, and reserve patches), 3 items
Timbrook, Ricky Lee – memorial scrapbook, unnumbered pages, printed
BOX 27 Public Utilities Department
Water Works History, City of Winchester – news articles, unnumbered leaves, printed
Public Utilities – Electric: "Report on Municipal Electric System," 1936, 1 volume, 58 leaves, typescript
Public Utilities - Water and sewage (folder includes the following):
Water bill, 1897, 1 leaf, manuscript on printed form
Sewage Treatment Plant of the City of Winchester, Virginia, 1950, brochure, 2 items, printed
VIW and SWA News, March 1950, 1 item, printed
Program - 4th annual meeting, VIW & SWA, 1950, 1 item, printed
"Water Committee Report on the Water Purification Plant and the Municipal Swimming Pool," 1938, 1 item, printed
Notice - Special Council meeting on water bonds, 1936, 1 item, typescript on printed form Electric
City of Winchester, Virginia, Shenandoah Water Supply Development, The Percy D. Miller Water Treatment Plant, June 26, 1957, 2 brochures, printed
Water Treatment Reports – 1894-1957 (includes the following years):
November 4, 1895, 8 leaves, typescript
December 12, 1908, 16 leaves, typescript
1935, 3 leaves, typescript
1953, 4 leaves, typescript
1957, 3 leaves, typescript
Council Member John H. Barnett bond to City following election of Common Council, July 31, 1897, 1 leaf, manuscript on printed form
Dump (includes the following):
Deed of Release between John K. Ober and Robert Ober, Surveying Partners, and E. H. Boyd, Trustee and City of Winchester, April 24, 1894, 4 pages, manuscript
Agreement between George V. Oyler and Wife and City of Winchester for Dumping Grounds, February 1, 1908, 1 page, typescript
Fire
Friendship Fire Hall – Roof repair bill, 1901, 1 leaf, printed
Lewis Jones Knitting Mill Lease
Lighting of Streets, Contracts
Parish Farm or Jail—joint property of city and county
Pumping Station
Rouss City Hall – clock, auditorium
Sewer
Streets
Treasurer
Water
Photographic negatives, plates, and prints
Winchester Public Utilities Water Quality Report 2004, 2017
BOX 28 Public Utilities Department
Library renovation project (1978) - payrolls, 1977-1979
BOX 29 Public Utilities Department
Library renovation project (1798) - payroll reporting forms, 1978-1979
BOX 30 Public Utilities Department
Bids and bid bonds
Contracts, bonds, insurance certificates
Economic Development Administration grant application, 2 loose-leaf binders, loose papers
BOX 31 Public Utilities Department
Library renovation project (1978)—miscellaneous
BOX 32 Public Utilities Department
Rouss City Hall renovations, article in Virginia Record, July/August 1988, 2 pages, printed
Treasurer's account book—Rouss City Hall
Building Commission, December 1899 to October 1901, 1 item, manuscript, bound
BOX 33 Public Utilities Department
Plans and plats of water and utilities for city streets and subdivisions, unnumbered negatives
BOX 34 Public Utilities Department
Contract estimates, Fay Spring, 1942, 1 item
Transit traverse survey, n.d., 3 items
Street surveys, 1937, 13 items
BOX 35 Public Utilities Department
Street surveys, 1938, 10 items
Street surveys, 1939, 1 item
Workmen’s time book, 1958, 1 item
Repair notebook pages, 1939-1944, 4 items
Sewer grades, 1953-1956, 2 items
BOX 36 Public Utilities Department
Water and sewer statistics, n.d., book numbers 15-28
BOX 37 Public Utilities Department
Water and sewer statistics, n.d., book numbers 29-39, 42, 44, 46, 46A, 48, 50, 52, 54, 18 items
BOX 38 Public Utilities Department
City of Winchester notebooks, 1916-1924, 3 items
Water and sewer book of S. L. Grant, indexed, 1929-1934, 1 item
Sewer books, 1930-1933, 4 items
B.M. Elen., book 1, 1928, 1 item
Downtown development (data), n.d., 1 item
Airport "A" runway, 1944, 1 item
Intersection S & W, n.d., 1 item
City maps, by bock showing fire hydrants and water lines, n.d., 1 item
Surveys and other statistics, n.d., 4 items
BOX 39 Public Utilities Department
Real estate transfers, 1915-1930, 1 item, bound book, 204 pages
BOX 40 Winchester City Clerk’s Office
Marriage Records, 1794-1809, 11 leaves, typescript
BOX 41A
Winchester Personal Property Tax Records, 1851-1854, copied from microfilm, unnumbered leaves
BOX 41B
Winchester Personal Property Tax Records, 1851-1854, copies from microfilm, unnumbered leaves
BOX 42 Joint Judicial Center
Ground Breaking Ceremony, September 2. 1982, 1 item, typescript
Dedication Ceremony, October 20, 1984, 1 item, printed
Memos of the Joint Judicial Center Executive Committee, 1982-1984, 8 items, typescript
News Articles – unnumbered leaves, printed
BOX 43 Deeds
Deeds or Partition of Land documentation; 1948-1963; manuscript on printed form, unnumbered leaves
BOX 44 Personal Property Tax Records
Winchester personal property tax lists—primarily free blacks, 1789-1860 (incomplete), and transcribed names, unnumbered leaves, manuscript
Winchester, VA, 1840 – 1862, copied from microfilm
manuscript (photocopy), unnumbered pages
see also oversized, map case 4, drawer 6
OVERSIZED
MAPCASE 4, DRAWER 6
City maps
"City mon.," March 1933, by Walker McC. Bond
Four quadrants, by R. H. DeGrange, December 1939
Decal of the City of Winchester, VA Seal, 1 item, printed
Decal of the City of Winchester, VA Seal, 1 item, printed, 9-22-2015
Handley Library alterations and additions, 1974, perspective view
Merchants' license reports, 1883-1884, 1901
Notice to taxpayers, 1868
Personal property tax records, 1861, 40 pages, manuscript on printed form
Plats - curbs, sidewalks, storm sewers, and inlets
Real property survey, March 1936
Register of births and deaths, 1864
Subdivision plat around Handley Avenue, Williamsburg Heights
Winchester Personal Property Tax Records—1815, 4 leaves, manuscript on printed form (photocopy)
World War II air raid zones and wardens for Winchester, VA, ca. 1941
OVERSIZE
MAPCASE 4, DRAWER 7
Precincts map and city organizational chart
Winchester Water Works Specifications for converting Hollingsworth Mill into pumping station, .n.d
Boiler setting plan, 1903, n.d.
Rouss Springs pump house plans, Water Works, 1894
Topographical map of Winchester, VA—March 1921, 4 leaves, negative print
Topographical map of Winchester, VA—March 1921, revised June 1944, 4 leaves
Treasurer's Department—bookkeeping journal, 1895-1898
Water Department map—distribution and pipe system
MAPCASE 4, DRAWER 8
Blueprints, Rouss City Hall, Frank H. Jackson, Architect
* Researchers wishing to view blueprints must secure written permission from the Winchester City Manager via the Planning Department. Please address requests for access to the Planning Department, Rouss City Hall, 3rd Floor, 15 North Cameron Street, Winchester, VA 22601.Department of Planning, Building, and Zoning—city plat, ca. 1955
Maps—city zoning districts, subdivisions, elevations, 1974 and no date
Pitometer Map – Water Distribution System of Winchester, Virginia, December, 1951, 1 item, printed
Transportation Plan—Winchester Functional Plan, 1969
MAPCASE 4, DRAWER 9
Tax and land books, 1870-1910
MAPCASE 4, DRAWER 10
City income, 1918
Subjects of taxation, 1921
Tables of City Lots:
1912 1913 1914
Tax book, 1909
Tax book, 1910
MAP SHELF
“The Sanborn Maps of the City of Winchester,” dated 1927 to 1979 (updates), 32 pages bound.
PHOTOGRAPHS, BUILDINGS – WINCHESTER
Photographs, primarily of Boscawen Street, 8 items
BOOKS (shelved with collection)
Virginia Department of Highways Specifications, January 1, 1935
Virginia Department of Highways Road Specifications, January 1, 1938
Virginia Department of Highways Road and Bridge Specifications, January 1, 1947
Virginia Department of Highways and Transportation Road and Bridge Specifications, Jan 1, 1950
Handbook of Culvert and Drainage Practice, 1959
Modern Road Construction, 1927
Concrete Pipe Lines, 1942