HomeMy Public PortalAboutTOL NR 2022-09-07 New Thomas Balch Library Exhibit Honors Elaine E. Thompson
Town of Leesburg
News Release
For Immediate Release
September 7, 2022
Media Contact:
Leah Kosin, Assistant Public Information Officer
pio@leesburgva.gov 703-771-2781
New Thomas Balch Library Exhibit Honors Elaine E. Thompson
Leesburg, VA (September 7, 2022) – An exhibit
featuring three important archival collections related to
the life, family, and work of noted Loudoun County
historian and educator Elaine Eppie Thompson is now on
view in the Margaret Mercer Room at Thomas Balch
Library.
In 2016, the library acquired the papers of Thompson, a
leading chronicler of Loudoun’s African American
community. The exhibit celebrates Thompson’s many
accomplishments, as well as the start of the first full school year at the new Elaine E. Thompson
Elementary School in Sterling, Virginia.
Highlighted in this exhibit are documents, photographs, and other materials from three new
collections donated by Thompson and her family:
• Elaine E. Thompson Collection (M0134)
• Loudoun County Emancipation Association 1896 – 2015, (M0145)
• Thompson Funeral Program and Memorial Collection, 1900-2015, (M0146)
Processing of these materials was made possible through grant funds from Mildred Nichols, the
Robey Foundation, and the Loudoun Library Foundation. Now available to researchers, the
extensive collections presented in this exhibit not only document Thompson’s career and
contributions to African American and local history but also provide valuable materials for
future researchers on numerous aspects of Loudoun County History.
The exhibit is viewable during the library’s September operating hours. The library is open
Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4
p.m., and by appointment only on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The library will be open
from 1 to 5 p.m., on Sundays, beginning September 11.
For more information, please call 703-737-7195 or email balchlib@leesburgva.gov.
# # #