Thomas Jones

The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. Established in 1819 by third U.S. president Thomas Jefferson, it is the only university in the United States to be designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, an honor it shares with... nearby Monticello. UVA is one of the eight original Public Ivies. The 2012 edition of U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Virginia as the 2nd best public university in the United States along with University of California, Los Angeles, and the overall 25th best public university in the nation. UVA's initial Board of Visitors included former Presidents of the United States Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe. The site of the University was once farmland owned by Monroe, whose law office and farmhouse is now the site of Brown College at Monroe Hill, a residential college at the University. UVA competes in 23 varsity sports within the Atlantic Coast Conference. UVA's athletic program finished third in the NACDA Directors' Cup rankings in 2010.
more

Big Stone Gap is a town in Wise County, Virginia, United States. The population was 5,643 at the 2010 census. The community was formerly known as "Meneral City" and "Three Forks." The "Big Stone Gap" refers to the valley which has been created on the Appalachia Straight, located between Big Stone... Gap and Appalachia. Big Stone Gap is home to several museums. The June Tolliver House, located on Jerome Street, is home to the Trail of the Lonesome Pine, the official outdoor drama of Virginia. The Southwest Virginia Museum is located in the downtown area. Big Stone Gap also hosts the Coal Museum. The federal building named for C. Bascom Slemp was built in 1912 and it continues to house a division of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia. Big Stone Gap is home to Wallens Ridge State Prison, a state prison that has been a part of the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Corrections since 1999. Originally opened as a supermax prison, it has recently been downgraded to a "high level" security facility. Construction and maintenance of the facility generated millions of dollars for the local economy, suppressed from a sagging history of coal mining.
more