In order to reconstruct the story of West Virginia's growth and in turn to throw light on the State's connection with our national development, the West Virginia University Collection of Historical Manuscripts at Morgantown was established in 1931. Since then, voluminous material pertaining to various significant events in the political, economic, and social evolution of the State has flowed into the Library. It is the purpose of this article to review the economic and business aspects of this collection, although, of course, it is recognized that the institution gives equal emphasis to other phases of history.