Roanoke

Sister cities

• Wonju
• Pskov
• Tema
• Kisumu
• Lijiang
• Saint-Lô
• Florianópolis
• Opole

History

The current site of Roanoke lies near the intersection of the Great Wagon Road and the Carolina Road, two branches of a network of early colonial roads that developed from Native American trails in the Appalachian region. While the name Roanoke is said to have originated from a Native American word for shell beads used as currency, that word was first used away, where the Roanoke River empties into the Atlantic Ocean near Roanoke Island. When Europeans arrived, the Roanoke Valley itself was home to members of the Tutelo tribe, a Siouan-speaking people who were gradually pushed out of the area by advancing European settlers. They were followed by significant numbers of Germans from Pennsylvania via the Great Wagon Road. and the area's first railroad, the Virginia and Tennessee, arrived in 1852. The railroad built its new depot just south of a small town named Gainesborough, but named the depot after Big Lick, another small community located just to the east, which itself was named after the salt deposits that had drawn game to the area for years. Gainesborough increasingly became referred to as Big Lick (and later as Old Lick) once development drifted farther south towards the depot. Growth in the area was stalled by the Civil War; Roanoke County voted 850–0 in favor of secession and lost many of its men in the subsequent fighting. The burgeoning tobacco trade helped the region's recovery during Reconstruction. Within a decade of the war's end, there were no fewer than six tobacco factories near the Big Lick Depot. In 1874, the community surrounding the depot applied for and received a town charter, and the Town of Big Lick was formally established. Eight years later, efforts by town boosters succeeded in securing Big Lick as the junction of the Shenandoah Valley…

Geography

Roanoke is the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond and is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, a range which is part of the greater Appalachian Mountains. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.8%) is water. It is located in the center of the greater Roanoke Valley and is bisected by the Roanoke River, which flows west-to-east through the city. Within the city limits is Mill Mountain, a mountain and 500-acre municipal park which stands detached from the surrounding ranges. Roanoke's location in the Blue Ridge Mountains makes it proximate to hundreds of species of plants and wildlife. The area is home to at least 43 species of salamander, and the Poor Mountain Natural Area Preserve in neighboring Roanoke County protects the world's largest collection of piratebush, an exceedingly rare parasitic plant endemic to the Appalachians. Roanoke is the largest city along both the Appalachian Trail, which runs through Roanoke County just north of the city, and the Blue Ridge Parkway, which runs just south of the city. Carvins Cove, the third-largest municipal park in America at , lies in northeast Roanoke County and southwest Botetourt County. Smith Mountain Lake is several miles southeast of the city, and the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests are nearby. Outdoor pursuits in the region include hiking, mountain biking, cross-country running, canoeing, kayaking, fly fishing, and disc golf. Roanoke is divided into 49 separate neighborhoods. The city has incorporated into its comprehensive plan the goal of developing these neighborhoods into "villages", each with their own village center, and with the downtown neighborhood acting as the village center for the city as a whole. The Raleigh Court…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  15,620
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,437
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  13,391
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  12,047
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  11,502
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  10,705
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  10,607
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  10,451

Largest nearby schools

• PATRICK HENRY HIGH
  High · Roanoke · 2,005 students · 15:1 ratio
• WILLIAM FLEMING HIGH
  High · Roanoke · 1,911 students · 16.6:1 ratio
• Round Hill Elementary
  Elementary · Roanoke · 719 students · 14.7:1 ratio
• WOODROW WILSON MIDDLE
  Middle · Roanoke · 642 students · 14.9:1 ratio
• Westside Elementary
  Elementary · Roanoke · 640 students · 12.5:1 ratio
• BRECKINRIDGE MIDDLE
  Middle · Roanoke · 624 students · 13.9:1 ratio
• JAMES MADISON MIDDLE
  Middle · Roanoke · 580 students · 14.5:1 ratio
• HIDDEN VALLEY MIDDLE
  Middle · Roanoke · 578 students · 13.8:1 ratio