Lynchburg

In the spring of 1757, the Lynch brothers established a ferry across the James River to transport settlers on their way to the Ohio Valley. Within a decade, the settlement clustered around the ferry house became known as Lynchburg. For a century, the city was regarded as one of the most important transportation centers in the Upper South, although its real fortune lay in tobacco. After the Civil War, Lynchburg evolved into a manufacturing center with a broadly based economy. As it marks its 250th anniversary, Lynchburg has become a focus for higher education and tourism in Central Virginia. From the development of the modern camera to the current digital revolution, this photographic record of Lynchburg and the surrounding counties� growth is rich, varied, and traces their transformation almost from their birth to the present day.