About Frank Kilgore

Frank Kilgore was an attorney in St. Paul, Virginia, and the son and grandson of coal miners.

The Kilgore family settled in southwestern Washington County, which later became Scott County, Virginia, during the mid-1700s. Several became Indian fighters and also fought the British Tories at the Battle of Kings Mountain, a turning point in the Revolutionary War. 

Frank was active in natural resource conservation, local history preservation, higher education, healthcare, and youth development programs in Southwest Virginia.

Frank graduated from Clinch Valley College of the University of Virginia in 1977 with a degree in Appalachian Studies. He went on to help start the Appalachian School of Law and found the Appalachian College of Pharmacy, both in Buchanan County, Virginia.

Frank was the author of The Clinch River: A World-class Treasure, a science textbook highlighting the natural resources and conservation activities within the watershed. Soon after, he researched and edited The Virginia Headwaters of the Big Sandy River: A Story of Revitalization and Nature’s Resilience, a textbook focusing on a neighboring watershed. Both books were donated to high school students as part of a place-based studies project within the watersheds.

Frank’s book Far Southwest Virginia: A Postcard Journey, coauthored with Katharine Shearer, came out in 2004. An expanded and redesigned edition titled Far Southwest Virginia: A Postcard and Photographic Journey, was published in 2014.

When he had time and took a notion, he published a new edition of Mountain Peeks Magazine.

Read more about Frank's literary legacy and latest publications.