About Roanoke

The independent city of Roanoke, Virgina is located near the Roanoke River. Roanoke was established in 1852 and later chartered in 1874; at this time the city had its original name of Big Lick. The city was later named Roanoke in 1882 and chartered as an independent city two years later. Roanoke has a history of trails and roads, most notably the Great Wagon Road, one of the most traveled roads of the 18th century. Though Roanoke has a long history of railroads, the city has not had a passenger rail service since 1979. Roanoke is considered the media hub of Southern Virginia and has many broadcast news channels and newspapers serving the South Virginia area.