The East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad Records, 1852-1871, document the company which developed the railroad connection between Knoxville and Virginia. Letters, legal papers, and receipts are included. While the collection dates extend from 1852 to 1871, no records date between 1861 and 1869. The bulk of the collection spans from 1853 to 1855.

Eight of the 16 items, found in Series I, deal with a lawsuit brought about by the railroad in 1853 against Jesse H. Crouch of Washington County, Tenn. Railroad officials claimed Crouch continued to owe money on capitol stock purchased in 1849 through Brookins Campbell. The deposition of Samuel B. Cunningham notes that the original records of the stock purchase were destroyed in a fire at the home of Campbell, who, by the time of the trial, had passed away. An appeal bond from 1855 shows that Crouch has been ordered to pay the railroad $850.

Series II, consisting of the remaining eight items, contains a variety of letters and receipts related to the operation of the railroad, from its infancy through its merger with the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad.