Page 5 - A Narrative of the History of Roanoke Virginia

So the town first called Big Lick was established in 1852 and chartered in 1874. By 1882
Big Lick and Old Lick was renamed Roanoke, population: 5,276. It is the town all the
members of this Facebook obviously have a feeling for. It is has been the city with a
number of names from Big Lick to Gainsboro to The Magic City and The Star City. It is
the only city in the U.S. with a mountain entirely within its city limits. It has its own zoo,
a cultural mecca with museums, theaters (both motion picture and live theater), the Blue
Ridge Parkway, Explore Park, nearby Smith Mountain Lake, the Transportation Museum,
Art galleries and the Taubman Museum of Art.

Additionally there are golf courses, Auditoriums and Coliseums and the largest,
man-made freestanding illuminated star in the world. It was built in 1949 to kick off the
Christmas buying season, authorized by the Roanoke Merchant's Association and the
Roanoke Chamber of Commerce. It was actually built by the manpower of the Roanoke
JayCees, a volunteer organization made of future, currently junior members (maximum
age 40) of the Roanoke Chamber of Commerce (hence the nickname, JayCees). The star
is visible for 60 miles and it was decided to keep it atop Mill Mountain as a local
landmark. It earned the name for Roanoke as The Star City of the South.

And last but not least, numerous festivals, the regional Roanoke Airport (previously
named Woodrum Field), a five-star Hotel Roanoke, an educational center (community
college, colleges and university), THE shopping and cultural center for roughly a quarter
of a million people in the surrounding areas, radio and TV Broadcast studios, A
newspaper that at one time was in the top ten in circulation in the U.S., and its own
renowned Roanoke Symphony Orchestra and chorus, when many larger cities have
abandoned theirs.

ROANOKE, VIRGINIA - ONE OF A KIND.

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Some additional research has come to the light of day and in this installment I want to
cover the debate about a stream running under a Roanoke Hotel. Subsequent parts will
cover the first white men to come to the Roanoke Valley who met with the Indians
encamped here at the Salt Lick, with an additional origination of the name Roanoke.

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