Gainsboro is a Roanoke,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

neighborhood located in central Roanoke immediately north of Downtown, across the Norfolk Southern Railway

right of way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

, between

Interstate 581 Interstate 581 (I-581) is a spur off I-81 into Roanoke, Virginia, completely overlapping US Route 220 (US 220). It is planned to be connected to I-73. Future I-73 Corridor signs are marked on I-581 on the southbound side just ...

and Orange Avenue. It borders the neighborhoods of

Harrison Harrison may refer to: People * Harrison (name) * Harrison family of Virginia, United States Places In Australia: * Harrison, Australian Capital Territory, suburb in the Canberra district of Gungahlin In Canada: * Inukjuak, Quebec, or " ...

and Gilmer on the west, Washington Park on the north,

Williamson Road Williamson Road is an approximately 8.0 mi (12.9 km) long road in Roanoke City and Roanoke County, Virginia. The road runs from downtown Roanoke in the south through the Botetourt County line in the north. For the majority of its length William ...

on the east and Downtown Roanoke on the south. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, Gainsboro has a population of 967 residents.

History

Gainsboro traces its origins to the 1835 establishment of Gainesborough settlement. Developed by William Rowland, Gainesborough was established as the

Roanoke Valley The Roanoke Valley ( ) in southwest Virginia is an area adjacent to and including the Roanoke River between the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east and the Appalachian Plateau to the west. The valley includes much of Roanoke County, as well as the ...

's oldest town, and takes its name from Major Kemp Gaines, who both founded and provided the early financing for the village. The location of the settlement would shift slightly to the southwest after 1852 following the arrival of the

Virginia and Tennessee Railroad The Virginia and Tennessee Railroad was an historic gauge railroad in the Southern United States, much of which is incorporated into the modern Norfolk Southern Railway. It played a strategic role in supplying the Confederacy during the American ...

and the establishment of Big Lick. Referred to as ''Old Lick'' between the 1850s and 1880s, what would become present-day Gainsboro began to develop as a predominantly

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

community. In 1882, Old Lick and Big Lick would incorporate as Roanoke, and most of its development which still stands today occurred between 1890 and 1940. It was during this time that the area would develop as the center of Roanoke's African American community with Henry Street serving as the cultural and commercial center of the community. The

urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

programs of the 1960s and 1970s displaced many families and businesses in the neighborhood and changed the overall urban fabric and character of the area. Today the neighborhood is seeing redevelopment, especially in the areas surrounding the Hotel Roanoke. Established in the 1970s, the Gainsboro Neighborhood Alliance has served as the citizen advocacy group for the community. Located in the neighborhood and listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

are the Burrell Memorial Hospital, Gainsboro Historic District, Gainsboro Branch of the Roanoke City Public Library, and Henry Street Historic District. The First Baptist Church was removed after being destroyed by fire in April 1995.

Notable places and persons from Gainsboro

* Hotel Roanoke * Roanoke Catholic School * Edward R. Dudley - the first black United States ambassador * Oliver Hill - civil right lawyer in Brown v. Board of Education * Lucy Addison - educator who successfully petitioned for full accreditation for Roanoke's first African American high school

References

External links

Gainsboro Neighborhood Plan

Gainsboro Neighborhood Alliance
{{Roanoke neighborhoods Neighborhoods in Roanoke, Virginia