Roanoke - Virginia - History

The first pioneers explored the Roanoke Valley region as early as the 17th century. An exploration party's report in 1671 told of the "Blue Mountains and a snug flat valley beside the upper Roanoke River." For the next seventy years, after this initial exploration, the region remained undisturbed by settlers.

As the land to the east of the mountains became developed, pioneers began moving into the western regions of Virginia. People from Pennsylvania seeking new lands in the rich Shenandoah Valley joined these early settlers from eastern Virginia. The newcomers began farming in the Roanoke Valley by 1740.

As tradesmen and farmers moved into the region, new counties and communities were established. Botetourt County was created in 1769, with the town of Fincastle as its seat. For a short period, the vast county stretched westward to the Mississippi River. Roanoke County was separated from Botetourt in 1838. Craig County was formed in 1851 from Botetourt, Roanoke, Giles and Monroe Counties with New Castle as its seat.

Towns formed within what is now the city of Roanoke in the first decades of the 19th Century. Antwerp was subdivided in 1801, followed by Gainesborough in 1825 (the present Gainsboro neighbourhood) and Old Lick in 1834. These tiny villages of less than five hundred people was to become the Town of Roanoke in 1882 and in 1884, the city of Roanoke. The new town was located along the old Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad later to become the Norfolk and Western.

"Roanoke's geographical situation has been the key to its development, ringed as it is by mountains with passable gaps on each side. It has been at crossroads since Indian days when those people used buffalo trails through the valley as hunting and fighting ways. Salt licks at the valley's heart drew animals, and Indians to hunt them, as far back as knowledge goes.

No one knows for certain when the first visitors came to the Peaks of Otter. For more than 8,000 years people have travelled through the area searching for both their livelihood and recreation. Native Americans passed through the area while hunting, and the earliest European settlers began arriving in the mid-1700.

Roanoke's rapid growth started with the completion of the Shenandoah Valley Railroad from Hagerstown, Maryland, to its junction with the newly formed Norfolk & Western Railroad in 1882.

The Town of Salem, established in 1806, became the county seat for Roanoke County. Salem was the largest town within the area during these formative years and was located on two stage lines. Salem remained the major center of activity in the Roanoke area until the mid 1880's. Salem became an independent city in 1968.

A geographic location, west of the Blue Ridge Mountains and midway of the "great valley" between Maryland and Tennessee, has been the key to Roanoke's growth. A transportation center, the community has flourished as the headquarters of the great Norfolk Southern Corporation. Air passenger and freight needs are handled at the Roanoke Regional Airport. A network of fine modern highways has attracted numerous interstate motor freight lines to establish terminals.

Roanoke County's name comes from the Indian word "Rawrenock," which means wampum. These were white shell beads worn by Native Americans. Many of the county's areas are named for its mountain peaks. One of the most unusual names is Twelve O' Clock Knob. This mountain got its name because slaves west of Salem could look at it and tell it was time for lunch when the sun was at a point over the mountain's 2,707-foot peak. Another of Roanoke County's natural resources, underground springs, sparked names for many areas. These include Virginia Etna Springs, site of a former water bottling plant, and Botetourt Springs Resort.

The Roanoke Valley is western Virginia's center for industry, trade, health, education, travel, conventions and entertainment.