Situated on a high plateau adjacent to the Blue Ridge escarpment of Southwest Virginia, Floyd County was officially established in 1831. From the beginning, its economy has been dominated by agriculture. Newcomers and settlers built homes, raised families, attended provincial schools and churches, grew crops, and grazed cattle. But into the 20th century, substantial homes were abandoned leaving the rolling landscape dotted with residences which now no longer have occupants. What happened?

Special Collections & Archives Medford Curatorial Associate Tsing Liu is a senior studying Studio Art and Psychology at Wake Forest University. She has an unwavering passion for connecting with fellow creatives, as well as understanding and honing their storytelling. Her extensive internship experience at commercial and non-profit art galleries and her perspective as a photographer enriches her unique narrative for curating documentary photographic collections by Houck Medford.

Houck Medford is a Southern documentary artist residing in the mountains of western North Carolina. Instilling the power of a well-crafted story from his father and grandfather, he slowly honed the craft of picture making and embraced photography as an art form. The Houck Medford collection, containing both documentary photographs and artists’ books, is available in the Special Collections and Archives at ZSR Library, Wake Forest University. For further information, please contact archives@wfu.edu.

Citation: Medford, Houck. 37° 00’ 57.2’’ N, 80° 12’ 31.7’’ W (from What Happened?). 2019, Special Collections & Archives, Z. Smith Reynolds Library, Wake Forest University. Platinotype.