This historical marker is located just off the interstate on Wildwood Road and is easy to stop at…read morethe small neighborhood nearby if you're looking to read it. The college itself is 3 or so miles to the east along US-460. The marker has the same text on both sides, reading "At Salem is a liberal arts institution for men and women. Founded in Augusta County in 1842 as Virginia Institute, it was chartered in 1845 as Virginia Collegiate Institute; moved to Salem in 1847; chartered as Roanoke College in 1853, and was in operation throughout 1861-65. The students formed a company in the Confederate Army, Virginia Reserves, September 1, 1864." The marker was erected in 1942 by the Virginia Conservation Commission and is number I-11-b. [Review 19584 overall - 1421 in Virginia - 555 of 2023.]

This marker is located on the south bank of the Roanoke River at Franklin Road. It recalls the…read moreearly Colonial days before the American Revolution. It reads, "The Great Wagon Road from Philadelphia to the backcountry of the Carolinas crossed the Roanoke River here at Tosh's Ford, named for Thomas Tosh, in the eighteenth century. Nearby stood Daniel Evans's mill, another landmark on the road. A group of Moravians, among the many thousands of settlers who passed this way, crossed the ford at dawn on 2 Nov. 1783 en route from Bethlehem, Pa., to Bethabara, N.C. One wrote in his diary of the ford's "slippery stones" and reported that "a quarter of a mile beyond we came to Even's mill." Mill Mountain is named for Evans's mill." Looking at the journey on Google Maps, it's 511 miles. I-81 largely follows the former Great Wagon Road from Allentown through Harrisburg, Hagerstown and Roanoke. On the interstate at 60+ mph, that's an eight hour drive. On a dirt road on a wagon? These folks *really* wanted a new life! The marker was placed in 1997 and is in good condition. [Review 13790 overall, 1111 of 2020, number 1224 in Virginia.]

Along side a curvy mountain road, this marker is at the border between Pulaski County and Wythe…read moreCounty. The marker is on two sides. On the one side, "Pulaski County. Formed in 1839 from Wythe and Montgomery, and named for Count Casimir Pulaski, killed at the siege of Savanna, 1779. New River flows through this county." On the other side, "Wythe County. Formed in 1789 from Montgomery, and named for George Wythe, signer of the Declaration of Independence. New River flows through this county." The county seat of Pulaski County is Pulaski. It was formed on March 30, 1839 from parts of Montgomery and Wythe counties, becoming the 87th county of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It was named for Count Casimir Pulaski, an exiled Polish nobleman who fought during the American Revolution as part of George Washington's army. The county seat of Wythe County is Wytheville. It was formed from Montgomery County in 1790. It was named after George Wythe, the first Virginian signer of the Declaration of Independence. During the Civil War the Battle of Cove Mountain was fought in the county. The road is narrow and there is no room here to stop safely but there was no traffic when I was here. [Review 13829 overall, 1151 of 2020, number 1262 in Virginia.]

Where the Little River is crossed by State Road 8 is the border between these two Virginia counties…read moreand this two sided historical marker. On the side facing Floyd County, it reads, "Montgomery County was named for Brig. Gen. Richard Montgomery, who was killed in the American assault on Quebec on 31 Dec. 1775. The county was formed from Fincastle County in 1776, and parts of Botetourt and Pulaski Counties were added later. The county seat is Christiansburg. William Preston, a Revolutionary officer, Indian fighter, and member of the House of Burgesses completed Smithfield, one of the county's outstanding historic houses, in 1774. His son James Patton Preston and a grandson John Buchanan Floyd, born at Smithfield, both served as governors of Virginia." And on the side facing Montgomery County, it reads, "Floyd County was named for John Floyd, governor of Virginia from 1830 to 1834. The county was formed from Montgomery County in 1831, with a portion of Franklin County added later. The county seat is Floyd, formerly Jacksonville. Admiral Robbey Evans, hero of the Spanish-American War, was born here in 1846. Congressman William Ballard Preston and Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early, C.S.A., served the county as commonwealth's attorneys. Henry Dillon, a noted area builder, using architect Asher Benjamin's pattern book, The Practical House Carpenter, constructed the old Floyd Presbyterian Church in 1850." The marker is on the other side of a metal barrier and there is little room to stop. [Review 13761 overall, 1082 of 2020, number 1196 in Virginia.]

This historical marker is in front of the Micheaux Family Theater and recalls an important film…read moreproducer who lived and worked here in Roanoke. The marker reads, "Oscar Micheaux, renowned leading creator of African American "race films" between 1919 and 1948, produced up to six full-length films in Roanoke between 1922 and 1925. The Strand Theatre housed the Micheaux Film Corporation from 1923 to 1925, while Micheaux lodged across the street at the Hampton Hotel, now the Dumas. Many of Roanoke's black professionals bought stock in Micheaux's corporation and five served on its board of directors including Alfred F. Brooks, who built the Strand. Famous civil rights attorney Oliver W. Hill, Sr., then a student boarding in Roanoke, had a walk-on part in one film." Micheaux was an African-American author, film director and producer of more than 44 films. Although the short-lived Lincoln Motion Picture Company was the first movie company owned and controlled by black filmmakers, Micheaux is regarded as the first major African-American feature filmmaker, a prominent producer of race film, and has been described as "the most successful African-American filmmaker of the first half of the 20th century". He produced both silent films and sound films. You'll want to watch https://youtu.be/ao5V-XhXS-c. [Review 13797 overall, 1118 of 2020, number 1231 in Virginia.]

While my wife was looking thru Black Dog Salvage, I walked across Memorial Bridge. I read the large…read moreplaques on each end of the bridge, and admired the beautiful view of the Roanoke river. This bridge was opened in 1926. Cool piece of Roanoke history.

Adjacent to a residential neighborhood and an electrical substation, this marker recalls a school…read morethat sadly no longer exists. It reads, "In 1866, Captain Charles S. Schaeffer, a Freedmen's Bureau agent, organized a school for blacks on the hill just to the southeast. Charles L. Marshall of Tuskeegee Institute became principal of the school in 1896. Under his guidance and with support from Philadelphia Quakers, a library, dormitories, classrooms, shops, and barns were constructed. Both academic and industrial classes were offered at the institute until 1947 when it became a public high school. In 1966, the institute graduated its last class, and its property was sold at public auction." The website for the school is still online and there is an active group working to maintain the former school structure. https://www.christiansburginstitute.com/ [Review 13817 overall, 1138 of 2020, number 1251 in Virginia.]

At the peak of the twisting and turning road that is known as Pandapas Pond Road but is also…read moreUS-460, this marker points out the border between the two Virginia counties, On the one side, "Giles County. Formed in 1806 from Montgomery, Tazewell, and Monroe, and named for William B. Giles, United States Senator and Governor of Virginia 1827-30. Mountain Lake is in this county." And on the other side, "Montgomery County. Formed in 1776 from Fincastle, and named for General Richard Montgomery, killed at Quebec, 1775. The Virginia Polytechnic Institute is in this county." The marker is in the median of the highway so you're risking your life to stop and read. Which I did. You're welcome. [Review 19580 overall - 1418 in Virginia - 551 of 2023.]