Virginia Agricultural & Mechanical Society - Virginia 1888

Beautifully engraved certificate from the Virginia Agricultural & Mechanical Society issued in 1888. This historic document was printed by A. Hoen & Co, Richmond, Va and has an ornate border around it with a vignette of the Virginia Agricultural Society. This item has the signatures of the Company’s President, Ashton Starke and Secretary, Andrew Reid Venable, and is over 117 years old






Certificate Vignette

The Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College began its first academic session on October 1, 1872. The first student to appear, William A. Caldwell, from Craig County, was given a state scholarship by the faculty and was enrolled as the first student.

On March 5, 1896 the school changed it's name to Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute. The change reflected the development of the college into a school with a strong interest in science and technology, as well as maintaining its traditional ties to the studies of agriculture and engineering. For popular usage, the long name was shortened to Virginia Polytechnic Institute , or V.P.I.

In 1944, the words Agricultural and Mechanical College were dropped from the school's name. Virginia Polytechnic Institute, which is what the school had been commonly called since 1896, now became the official title.

In 1970, after a period of spectacular growth the school's name was changed once again. It became Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, a.k.a. Virginia Tech.

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Ashton Starke was featured in the Richmond Dispatch in 1904 as one of the "Makers of Richmond." The article describes an affable man, well-liked and well-regarded by his peers in civic and social circles, who stood "something less than six feet six inches in height." Starke made his money in the agricultural implements business, and was president of the successful Virginia Agricultural Exposition at the "new" fairgrounds in 1888. As a former president of the Commonwealth Club, Starke would have been socially associated with many of his neighbors, including Lewis Ginter.

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Andrew Reid Venable (1832–1909), former member of J. E. B. Stuart's staff Major Andrew Reid Venable, rode the mile and a half to Beaver Dam. There, Stuart met his wife, Flora, who assured him that everyone was safe. Not taking the time to dismount, Stuart exchanged a few words with Flora from the saddle, then kissed her goodbye and left to rejoin his men. During the ride back, the usually ebullient Stuart was at first Silent, and then told Venable that he had never expected to survive the war--a remark he usually made in jest, but this time with a certain seriousness. Stuart added that he would not want to live if the Confederacy lost the war. 10-15-1909 Andrew Reid Venable, Inspector-General for J.E.B. Stuart, commission merchant, died