Roanoke is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is located in Southwest Virginia along the Roanoke River, in the Blue Ridge range of the greater Appalachian Mountains. Roanoke is approximately 50 miles (80 km) north of the Virginia–North Carolina border and 250 miles (400 km) southwest of Washington, D.C., along Interstate 81. At the 2020 census, Roanoke's population was 100,011, making it the most-populous city in Virginia west of the state capital Richmond. It is the primary population center of the Roanoke metropolitan area, which had a population of 315,251 in 2020.
Roanoke College is a private liberal arts college in Salem, Virginia. It has approximately 2,000 students who represent approximately 40 states and 30 countries. The college offers 35 majors, 57 minors and concentrations, and pre-professional programs. Roanoke awards bachelor's degrees in arts, science, and business administration and is one of 280 colleges with a chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society.
Galax is an independent city in the southwestern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,720.
Buena Vista is an independent city located in the Blue Ridge Mountains region of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,641. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the independent cities of Buena Vista and Lexington, along with surrounding Rockbridge County, for statistical purposes.
Woodford County is a county located in the state of Illinois. The 2020 United States Census listed its population at 38,467. Its county seat is Eureka. Woodford County is part of the Peoria, IL, Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its name comes from General William Woodford, an officer of the American Revolutionary War who served at the brutal military encampment at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
Littleton Waller Tazewell was a Virginia lawyer, plantation owner, and politician who served as U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator and the 26th Governor of Virginia, as well as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates.
Mountain View is a Roanoke, Virginia neighborhood located in central Roanoke north of the Roanoke River. It borders the neighborhoods of Norwich on the west, West End on the east, Hurt Park on the north and Raleigh Court and Wasena on the south.
Starkey is an unincorporated community in southern Roanoke County, Virginia, United States. The community lies south of U.S. 221 near the Blue Ridge Parkway. This is the location of the Starkey School listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Bonsack is an unincorporated community in eastern Roanoke County, Virginia, United States. The community is located near the junction of US 460 and US 220 Alternate.
Bent Mountain is an unincorporated community in Roanoke County, Virginia, United States. Bent Mountain is located on U.S. Route 221 13.6 miles (21.9 km) southwest of Roanoke. Bent Mountain has a post office with ZIP code 24059.
First National Bank, also known as People's Federal Building and Liberty Trust Co., is a historic bank and office building located at Roanoke, Virginia. It was built in 1910, and is a seven-story, granite and buff-colored brick building in the French Renaissance style. It features a Roman Ionic columned main entrance and Doric columns in the main banking hall derived from the Temple of Apollo at Delos.
Harrison School is a historic public school building for African-American students in Roanoke, Virginia. It is a rectangular, 13-bay brick building done in modified Georgian Revival architecture. The school was built in 1916, and two-story wings were added in 1922. It was the first school in the city to educate black students beyond the seventh-grade level, and its first principal was the noted educator Lucy Addison. After closing as a school in the 1960s, the building served as a child care center and later low-income housing as well as the home of the Harrison Museum of African American Culture.
The original Maggoty Gap was a wind gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains in the counties of Roanoke, Virginia and Franklin, Virginia. Over time, as roads were improved and relocated, the identified location of the gap moved with them. It is now mapped at a spot in Roanoke County.
The Trader's Path was a colonial highway through southwestern Virginia, established in 1740.
Dr. Harry Theodore Penn was a noted dentist and civic activist in Roanoke, Virginia.
The Rev. Fleming Emory Alexander was a noted minister, businessman, and newspaper publisher. Alexander founded and published the Roanoke Tribune in Roanoke, Virginia, which is one of the nation's longest-running black newspapers. He was also a noted anti-segregationist.
Tazewell Merriman Starkey was a farmer, banker and civic leader in Roanoke County, Virginia. Born in Franklin County, Virginia and moved to Roanoke County, Virginia, in 1850. "He was a son of Mr. and Mrs. Jack Starkey, and was educated in the private schools of his native county... In May, 1865, he was married to Henrietta P. Harvey, daughter of Colonel and Mrs. Robert Harvey, of Roanoke County, and as a result of that union there were four children; namely, Mrs. Junior W. White, of Cave Spring; Mrs. Eliza B. Smith, of Roanoke; II. Clay Starkey, of Roanoke; and Joseph G. Starkey, who resides at the old homestead."
Elijah McClanahan was a noted planter and soldier in western Virginia and the Roanoke Valley. He was a Lieutenant Colonel in the 5th/121st Virginia Militia in the War of 1812, and was one of the largest landholders in what later became Roanoke County, Virginia.
Gustave A. Sedon, also known as Gustavus Sedon, was a carpenter and craftsman in nineteenth century Roanoke, Virginia. He is noted for his work on various public buildings, plantation homes, and university structures. Sedon is known primarily for his ornamental work on buildings, many of which are now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Woman's Civic Betterment Club of Roanoke, Virginia, was started in 1907 to improve the sanitation and civic life in Roanoke and the surrounding area. The Club issued a press release claiming that the “object of this organization shall be to gain the co-operation of all loyal and progressive citizens in making the Magic City a city beautiful, to promote health and cleanliness, to advance present conditions, and to point to higher ideals.” The WCBC is significant in southwestern Virginia because it was an early woman's organization to push for political change and political power at a time when women had little or no power except by persuading men to change their minds.
