In 1972 the author wrote, "One major difficulty in finding material about Wythe County is that, up to now, there has been no history, compact and available, of the county." This book seeks to assemble the printed material the author has collected, together with other items loaned by citizens of Wythe who likewise felt the need for a history. Several old and scarce publications are reprinted here, forming a comprehensive coverage of Wythe County history from its formation in 1790 up to the early 1900s. A roster of Wythe County soldiers in the Civil War contains the names of hundreds of men, with information such as promotions, imprisonment's and casualties. Wonderful old advertisements and photographs of beautiful scenery and old stone furnaces are combined here with local anecdotes, biographical sketches and scholarly statistical information. Other particulars include boundaries, topography, mining, industry, tobacco, transportation, influential families, the churches of Wythe County, a classified business directory from 1893-1894, and an 1883 map of Wytheville.