One of our collecting areas within Special Collections is Washington, D.C. local history. These collections include materials created in or about D.C. and document the history of events, protests, local neighborhoods, organizations and people in the D.C. area. Explore these materials or explore all materials within our Special Collections.

Patrick Frazier Political and Social Movements Collection

This collection of broadsides, flyers, handbills, photographs, and posters documents the major political and social movements of the 1960s and 1970s including civil rights, gay and lesbian rights, feminism, as well anti-nuclear and Vietnam War protests in the Washington, D.C. area, including student protests at American University and University of Maryland, College Park.

John E. Gillespie Civil War Letters

One year of letters written home by John E. Gillespie, a Union soldier from Chester County, Pennsylvania in a three-month volunteer unit that defended Washington, DC at the beginning of the U.S. Civil War.

ENLACE Records

Founded in 1987, ENLACE, the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area Latino Lesbian and Gay Coalition, was the first organization in the D.C. area to center the experiences of lesbian and gay Latinas/os. The organization offered events, health and educational resources, and worked to combat anti-gay and lesbian violence.

Story of the Bonus Army Slide Show Collection

These digitized lantern slides show a group of World War I veterans, known as the Bonus Army, who were suffering from economic hardship during the Great Depression and marched on and camped in Washington, D.C. to demand early payment of their military service bonus known as the "Tombstone Bonus."

Historic African River Road Connections Collection

The Historic African River Road Connections (HARRC) Collection includes materials created and acquired by members of the River Road African communities of Scotland, Tobytown, Bethesda, and Tenleytown which were founded during the Reconstruction Era.

Photographic Material and Other Art Work of Herbert E. Striner

Herbert E. Striner took numerous photos in and around Washington, D.C. region depicting landmarks such as the National Cathedral and C&O Canal. His collection contains over 9,000 negatives, prints, and slides depicting locations in Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, and the U.S.