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History of Roanoke, Virginia, USA
Journey back in time to Roanoke, Virginia, USA
(Big Lick) (Gainsboro)
Visit Roanoke, Virginia, USA. Discover its history. Learn about the people who lived there through stories, old newspaper articles, pictures, postcards and genealogy.
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Formerly called Big Lick, the town, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, eventually was renamed Roanoke after the river that bisected it. With the arrival of the railroads in the late 1800s, the city and region became a manufacturing and transportation hub and was a gateway to the American West.
visitroanokeva.com
There is MUCH more to discover about Roanoke, Virginia, USA. Read on!
- 1852 - Big Lick is established
- 1854 - Big Lick / Gainsboro
Bio Lick, or Gainsboro, a small post-village of Roanoke county, Virginia, 170 miles W. by S. from Richmond. The Virginia and Tennessee railroad passes through it.
A New and Complete Gazetteer of the United States: Giving a Full and Comprehensive Review of the Present Condition, Industry, and Resources of the American Confederacy ... Thomas Baldwin (of Philadelphia.) Joseph Thomas January 1, 1854 Philadelphia : Lippincott, Grambo & Company 1854. - 1874 - Big Lick is chartered
- 1882 - Big Lick became the town of Roanoke, and in 1884 it was chartered as the independent city of Roanoke
1889 - Henry Paine, a ten-year-old boy of Roanoke, Va., was killed on the 27th by a ball bat in the hands of a young colored companion.
St Joseph Herald
Saint Joseph, Michigan
March 30, 1889- 1890 - VISITED BY A TORNADO.
Roanoke, Va., April 10. - The greatest tornado for many years passed over this city last evening.
The cast house at the Crozier Iron Furnace was blown down and three laborers were killed and one mortally wounded. Loss to the furnace company, $5,000. Nearly one hundred dwellings in course of...Read MORE... - 1895 - Roanoke
Roanoke, a city of Roanoke co., Va., on the Roanoke River, 258 miles by rail W. of Norfolk, at the junction of two branches of the Norfolk & Western Railroad. Roanoke is in a live-stock, tobacco-growing, and iron-mining section, and has a large and increasing trade. From a small village in 1880 it...Read MORE... - 1898 - HOTEL AT ROANOKE BURNED.
Roanoke, Va., July 1. -- The Hotel Roanoke was destroyed by fire this afternoon.
Loss, $100,000.
The Daily Review
Decatur, Illinois
July 2, 1898 - 1906
Roanoke, an independent city of Virginia, formerly in Roanoke co., on the Roanoke River and on the Norfolk and Western R., 55 miles W. by S. of Lynchburg. Roanoke is in a stock-raising, tobacco-growing and mining section, and has a large and increasing trade. From a small village in 1880 it has...Read MORE... 
At the Fair, Roanoke, Va. (1908)
Postcard
Jefferson Street, Looking North from Church Avenue, Roanoke, Va.
Postcard
Roanoke Valley on the Line of the Norfolk & Western Railway, Virginia.
Postcard- 1952 - December 10 - WSLS TV channel 10 in Roanoke, VA (NBC) begins broadcasting
historyorb.com
Old Photos, Pictures, Advertisements and Postcards from Roanoke, Virginia, USA
Roanoke, Virginia, USA
Postcard
 (Gainsboro) - At the Fair, Roanoke, Va. (1908))
At the Fair, Roanoke, Va. (1908)
Roanoke, Virginia, USA
Postcard
 (Gainsboro) - Jefferson Street, Looking North from Church Avenue, Roanoke, Va.)
Jefferson Street, Looking North from Church Avenue, Roanoke, Va.
Roanoke, Virginia, USA
Postcard
 (Gainsboro) - Roanoke Valley on the Line of the Norfolk & Western Railway, Virginia.)
Roanoke Valley on the Line of the Norfolk & Western Railway, Virginia.
History, News and Stories of Roanoke, Virginia, USA
Add History/News/Story-
1852 - Big Lick is established
-
1854 - Big Lick / Gainsboro
Bio Lick, or Gainsboro, a small post-village of Roanoke county, Virginia, 170 miles W. by S. from Richmond. The Virginia and Tennessee railroad passes through it.
A New and Complete Gazetteer of the United States: Giving a Full and Comprehensive Review of the Present Condition, Industry, and Resources of the American Confederacy ... Thomas Baldwin (of Philadelphia.) Joseph Thomas January 1, 1854 Philadelphia : Lippincott, Grambo & Company 1854.
-
1874 - Big Lick is chartered
-
1882 - Big Lick became the town of Roanoke, and in 1884 it was chartered as the independent city of Roanoke
1889 - Henry Paine, a ten-year-old boy of Roanoke, Va., was killed on the 27th by a ball bat in the hands of a young colored companion.
St Joseph Herald
Saint Joseph, Michigan
March 30, 1889
-
1890 - VISITED BY A TORNADO.
Roanoke, Va., April 10. - The greatest tornado for many years passed over this city last evening.
The cast house at the Crozier Iron Furnace was blown down and three laborers were killed and one mortally wounded. Loss to the furnace company, $5,000. Nearly one hundred dwellings in course of... Read MORE...
-
1895 - Roanoke
Roanoke, a city of Roanoke co., Va., on the Roanoke River, 258 miles by rail W. of Norfolk, at the junction of two branches of the Norfolk & Western Railroad. Roanoke is in a live-stock, tobacco-growing, and iron-mining section, and has a large and increasing trade. From a small village in 1880 it... Read MORE...
-
1898 - HOTEL AT ROANOKE BURNED.
Roanoke, Va., July 1. -- The Hotel Roanoke was destroyed by fire this afternoon.
Loss, $100,000.
The Daily Review
Decatur, Illinois
July 2, 1898
-
1906
Roanoke, an independent city of Virginia, formerly in Roanoke co., on the Roanoke River and on the Norfolk and Western R., 55 miles W. by S. of Lynchburg. Roanoke is in a stock-raising, tobacco-growing and mining section, and has a large and increasing trade. From a small village in 1880 it has... Read MORE...
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1952 - December 10 - WSLS TV channel 10 in Roanoke, VA (NBC) begins broadcasting
historyorb.com
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Roanoke, Virginia, USA Genealogy
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