Harris
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In 1910, an awestruck crowd at the Roanoke Fair got its first glimpse of powered flight when a Curtiss biplane soared overhead. Within the next decade, gliders were lifting off from hills in South Roanoke and cow pastures were being converted into airstrips. Once Roanoke Municipal Airport was developed in 1929, earlier local airfields such as Cook, Trout, and Horton Fields were rendered inactive. Then in 1941, when-with federal assistance- the municipal...
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Nestled in the shadows of the Blue Ridge, the Roanoke Valley has developed as the capital region for western Virginia. After a century of growth fueled by transportation, education, and healthcare, the region has undergone significant visible change. While some of the valley's landmarks remain, many have been replaced or dramatically altered.
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In 1800, James Simpson, a Botetourt County landowner, purchased 31 acres of land for $100 and dedicated half of the purchase to plotting a new town. The Town of Salem was officially established when Simpson recorded his ownership at Fincastle Courthouse in October 1802, and it later became the government seat when Roanoke County was carved from Botetourt County in 1838. Today, Salem is an independent city, boasting a rich tradition of educational,...
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Officially chartered in 1882, Roanoke is nestled among the Blue Ridge Mountains and is often referred to as the "Star City of the South." The history of this remarkable community is captured here through the images of the picture postcard. With the construction of each new bank, school, bridge, and church, the postcard became a convenient way to promote and celebrate the achievement; now, these images preserve a collective record of Roanoke's heritage....
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How did a Roanoke neighbor's secret upend North Carolina politics and why did a weeding scandal in Big Lick make front-page headlines in New York? These questions and many more are answered in this exciting volume of hidden stories and forgotten tales from the Star City. Discover why a Roanoker was found frozen in the North Atlantic and what Mother's Day crime and trial shocked the city in 1949. Meet the Black Cardinals, a semipro African American...
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Author Jerry A. McCoy, founder and president of the Silver Spring Historical Society and a special collections librarian at the D.C. Public Library's Washingtoniana Division and Peabody Room, offers readers a tour of this dynamic central business district and surrounds.
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The history of the Roanoke Valley during the 1940s has largely been unexplored until now. This significant decade bore witness to the birth of the local civil rights movement, the impact of World War II and the postwar boom in public projects and private development. The J-Class locomotives, Carver School, Woodrum Field, Victory Stadium, Carvins Cove, the Roanoke Star, the end of streetcars, and the advent of drive-in theaters all marked the decade....
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In early October 1872, Charles Minor opened a small land-grant institution, consisting of 29 students, 3 faculty members, and a single building, in the town of Blacksburg, Virginia. Now, 130 years later, the once small agricultural college is recognized as Virginia's largest university-Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Out of its humble beginning of donated livestock, seeds, machinery, and books, Virginia Tech has emerged as a leading...
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For a century, the Norfolk and Western Railway operated as one of the greatest transportation companies in the southeastern United States. From developing the coal fields of West Virginia to accommodating passengers aboard its famous Powhaten Arrow and Pocahontas lines, the N&W was the last major railroad to abandon the steam engine. The story of the N&W is a story about people-a story of the tens of thousands of people who worked in the shops and...