RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A former state senator from Lynchburg is donating his personal papers to the Virginia Historical Society.

Democrat Elliot Schewel served in the Senate from 1976 to 1995. He served on the Historical Society’s board of trustees for six years starting in 1998.

The organization’s president and CEO, Paul Levengood, says the gift will enhance its growing collection of 20th-century legislative records and serve interested researchers for years to come.

The Historical Society already is home to the personal papers of six former governors and a number of other politicians.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.