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    Petersburg
    Petersburg
    Petersburg
    Ebook147 pages23 minutes

    Petersburg

    By Suzanne K. Durham

    ()

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    About this ebook

    The colorful history of Petersburg is a story rife with tragedy and perseverance. Petersburg, a city 25 miles south of Richmond, was devastated by the effects of the Civil War. By 1915, the city had rebuilt itself into a vital business center with 25,000 citizens-equally populated by whites and African Americans. The city had a military base, deep water port and shipyard, and was considered well equipped for competition in national agricultural and manufacturing markets. The numerous museums and historical sites in Petersburg continue to draw thousands of visitors annually.Now for the first time, Petersburg's history is shown through the photographs of William E. Lum Jr.-the city's predominant photographer, c. 1925-1950. Lum's photography illustrates the social, business, and personal lives of Petersburg's citizens. His first published collection, these images hold crisp detail from the eras of the Great Depression and World War II, including Camp Lee, Virginia State College, the merchants on North Sycamore Street, carnivals, and football games-to name a few.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateSep 18, 2012
    ISBN9781439629468
    Petersburg
    Author

    Suzanne K. Durham

    Using the collection of longtime insurance agent and photograph hobbyist Benjamin M. Long, University of West Georgia archivist Suzanne K. Durham and photographer Emma Elaine Dobbs have produced a fascinating study of vintage and modern images that reveals a small-town past preserved in a modern, developing city.

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      Book preview

      Petersburg - Suzanne K. Durham

      breach.

      INTRODUCTION

      William Eldridge Lum Jr. was going to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a druggist in the Lum Brothers pharmacy. His true talent—photography—emerged early, however, and he became the unofficial chronicler of the lives and events of Petersburg, Virginia, for nearly 30 years, from the 1920s through the Depression and World War II.

      It is estimated there are more than 20,000 negatives surviving from his career, all of which have been donated to the Petersburg City Museums by Lum’s family. This book is just a glimpse into the treasures of history contained in the Lum Collection. While most negatives were identified by date and carried some kind of description, it is hoped that readers will be able to fill in the identities of many of the people and places in these pictures from their own memories.

      Lum was born June 12, 1889, in Ettrick, Virginia, across the Appomattox River from Petersburg. His father, William E. Lum, and uncle, Charles Lum, operated a drugstore in Ettrick. Around the turn of the century, the Lum brothers moved the store to 107 West Washington Street in Petersburg. After attending school, including a time at Fork Union Military Academy, Lum Jr. apprenticed in his father’s pharmacy to become a druggist. Though he became qualified to be a druggist, he pursued photography instead and the rest—as they say—is Petersburg’s history.

      After working as the Kodak department manager in his father’s drugstore, Lum opened his own photo studio in 1926 at 15 North Sycamore Street. After his death, the store was operated by one of his daughters. Only during the 1990s did the store become a branch of a Richmond camera shop. However, the storefront still carries the Lum sign.

      Lum—called William E., Bill, or even Billy—dominated the photography business in Petersburg and surrounding communities such as Hopewell, Colonial Heights, and Ettrick. A large man and chain smoker, he was a familiar figure on the sidelines of the Petersburg High School football games with his camera on a tripod. He provided pictures of the high school football games for the Richmond newspapers and did many photo assignments for the Petersburg Progress-Index. He photographed car wrecks and building disasters for insurance companies and events for area schools, including Virginia State College (now a university). Lum was invited into people’s homes to capture birthday parties, family portraits, Christmas trees, and the catch from fishing trips. He photographed corpses at funeral home viewings and soldiers at Camp Lee. His wedding

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