Remember, Roanoke

Many things have come to pass since the founding of the City of Roanoke. From it's humble beginnings at the current intersection of Williamson and Orange, to the recently razed Lonesome Dove and soon-to-be razed Victory Stadium. Progress is progress, and life moves forward in Roanoke. But we would like to take a moment to stop and look back at what has been, and show you what we come from.

Roanoke met her first citizens in 1746, as settlers  left the Northeast and headed down what was then a small, barely passable Indian trail. Tosh, Evans, Griffith, & Bright were among the first settlers to bring families into the Roanoke Valley. There is evidence that in 1671 a hunting camp was established along the banks of the Roanoke River, but as it was not a permanent encampment, it does not factor into the story. So when do you peg the advent of Roanoke? 1746? When the first settling families bought land and built lives? Possibly, and quite possibly as those names are still with us in 21st Century Roanoke.

1770 - the Roanoke Valley is populated enough to become it's own county. At a home on Tinker Creek in today's Daleville, 12 men met as the first Judges of the Court of Botetourt County, 3 of those being direct residents of the Roanoke Valley. Israel Christian, Andrew Lewis, and William Fleming were those 3 men. The trails through the Roanoke Valley were re-opened, cleared, and monitored for safety (after a series of Indian attacks, which is a story far older than this page would contain), the great wagons rolled through once again on the way to newly opened western lands.

And so began the commerce of Roanoke. One Mr. Erwin Patterson, in 1754 had been the owner of quite a few successful general goods store and trading posts. One of these stores was located in modern day Raleigh Court, although the location is lost to the years. He was a Justice for a young Botetourt County, and as a successful businessman, a pillar of the community. Of sorts, it would seem. He made the unfortunate choice of sitting down with a local Indian Chief , getting plastered, and hitting on his wife. Yep. He made a pass at the lass. You can assume he was instantly popular with the local tribe, as he moved quickly out of the County in 1758. His family however, was enamored with the Roanoke Valley, and his daughter moved back to the area. Her descendants are still with us today.

So is 1770 the real foundation of Roanoke? Not quite, and although local lore holds that the boundaries of Roanoke City were laid out "by a drunk man on a drunk mule," 1754 is not the likely date either.

Let's do some correction of history here for a moment. Courtesy of Clare White, a final explanation on the "Big Lick" theory:

"Downtown Roanoke was built on top of two salt licks. The Long Lick lay on and between Salem and Campbell Ave. from 1st St. SW to the railroad shops. The Big Lick to the east became the site of the Virginia Bridge Company."

And what does this mean? In a nutshell, the area we all think of as Big Lick is actually Long Lick, and is the very reason downtown flooded back in 1985. Big Lick itself actually lies beyond the NS Shops, in the land surrounding Hollins Rd.

This building lies directly in the midst of Ye Old Big Lick. The Roanoke Valley Resource Authority Tinker Creek Transfer station lies in the midst of Big Lick. 

Getting back to the attempt to nail down the actual date of the birth of Roanoke, we come to a single concept that affirms the existence of  anyone or anything. Taxes.

After the end of the Revolutionary War, it was determined that taxes must be paid in tobacco. One slight problem with this, the Roanoke Valley grew nearly everything BUT tobacco. In prior years, they were able to pay in coin/hemp/animal skins/wheat/flour/bacon. Basically, whatever you had on hand to pay with, you paid with. But no tobacco. In 1782, Colonel McClanahan was elected sheriff  and charged with collecting those taxes. Needless to say, it lead to massive problems, not unlike those we encounter today. Lawsuits, foreclosures, heavy debt. The biggest names in Roanoke today were considered penniless tax-evaders during these times. The Roanoke Valley, in terms of taxation and it's agricultural nature, more closely resembled a New England village than a Southern town.

So shall we consider 1782 as the birth of Roanoke as we know it? Getting closer, but still.. no.

Explore more in the next installment.