Blacksburg is an

incorporated town An incorporated town is a town that is a municipal corporation. Canada Incorporated towns are a form of local government in Canada, which is a responsibility of provincial rather than federal government. United States An incorporated town o ...

Montgomery County, Virginia Montgomery County is a county located in the Valley and Ridge area of the U.S. state of Virginia. As population in the area increased, Montgomery County was formed in 1777 from Fincastle County, which in turn had been taken from Botetourt Cou ...

, United States, with a population of 44,826 at the 2020 census. Blacksburg and the surrounding county is dominated economically and demographically by the presence of

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

. Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and the city of Radford are the three principal jurisdictions of the Blacksburg-Christiansburg metropolitan area, which encompasses those jurisdictions and all of Montgomery, Pulaski, and Giles counties for statistical purposes. The MSA has an estimated population of 181,863 and is currently one of the faster-growing MSAs in Virginia.

History

European colonization, founding (1671–1771)

In the mid-1600s, English colonists were still uncertain of what lay beyond the

Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range ( ) — also spelled Alleghany or Allegany, less formally the Alleghenies — is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada. Historically it represented a significant barr ...

, whose topography and possession by native inhabitants,

Tutelo The Tutelo (also Totero, Totteroy, Tutera; Yesan in Tutelo) were Native American people living above the Fall Line in present-day Virginia and West Virginia. They spoke a dialect of the Siouan Tutelo language thought to be similar to that of th ...

-speaking tribes, were a barrier to expanded settlement by the

Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia was a British Empire, British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colo ...

Abraham Wood Abraham Wood (1610–1682), sometimes referred to as "General" or "Colonel" Wood, was an English fur trader, militia officer, politician and explorer of 17th century colonial Virginia. Wood helped build and maintained Fort Henry at the falls o ...

, who commanded Fort Henry on the frontier (now the site of

Petersburg, Virginia Petersburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 33,458 with a majority bla ...

), and operated an Indian trading post nearby, organized several expeditions to explore farther west. A passage over the ridge was finally found in 1671 when

explorers Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some expectation of discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organisms capable of directed locomotion and the abilit ...

Batts and Fallam, sent by Wood, reached the present-day location of Blacksburg, Virginia. Their expedition followed Stroubles Creek, through the current locations of the town and campus of

, to what they named Wood's River. They reported the area as inhabited by the Monacan and

Moneton The Moneton were a historical Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe from West Virginia. In the late 17th century, they lived in the Kanawha Valley near the Kanawha River, Kanawha and New River (Kanawha River), New Rivers. ...

Siouan Siouan ( ), also known as Siouan–Catawban ( ), is a language family of North America located primarily in the Great Plains, Ohio and Mississippi valleys and southeastern North America with a few other languages in the east. Name Authors who ...

-speaking groups, but the Virginian colonial legislature had authorized Wood to claim it. Accordingly, on September 17, 1671, the Batts and Fallam party claimed all of the lands comprising the river's

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

for King Charles II. However, the region was not yet open to English

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

. In 1700, Seneca warriors of the

Iroquois Confederacy The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

based in New York and Pennsylvania, overran the entire area, driving out the other bands. As early as 1718, the Seneca had agreed to sell the parts they had conquered east of the Blue Ridge to the

. Following another cession at the 1744 Treaty of Lancaster, however, there was a dispute between the tribe and colonists over whether the new boundary was the Alleghenies or the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

. The site of Blacksburg lay just within this disputed zone. By the 1740s, the Wood's River Land Company, represented by Colonel James Patton, gained a large tract of land within present-day

southwest Virginia Southwest Virginia, often abbreviated as SWVA, is a mountainous region of Virginia in the westernmost part of the commonwealth. Located within the broader region of western Virginia, Southwest Virginia has been defined alternatively as all V ...

. Part of the tract became Montgomery County and Pulaski County and was sold to Virginian, Irish, Scots-Irish, and English settlers as a reward for their services during the

American Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, was a conflict initially fought by European colonization of the Americas, European colonial empires, the United States, and briefly the Confederate States o ...

and other wars. The Draper and Ingles families were among those who built their homes at Draper's Meadow by 1748; this area was between the present location of the campus and the subdivision of Hethwood. Because of its strategic location between powerful Indian nations, who alternately allied with the French or British as it suited them, plus its location through gaps into the Alleghenies further west, the area's development was viewed with increasing apprehension by the French and their Indian allies. In July 1755, during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

, hostile

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

Indians equipped and armed by France attacked the frontier outpost at Draper's Meadow, which then had around twenty pioneer settlers. About four settlers were killed in the attacks, and five were taken captive to Kentucky by the Shawnee, among them Mary Draper Ingles, who later escaped. The memorial to Draper's Meadow massacre was dedicated on a bridge located near Duck Pond. By the end of the war, Draper's Meadow was deserted.Historic Smithfield: History and Research Resources
By the

Treaty of Easton The Treaty of Easton was a colonial agreement in North America signed in October 1758 during the French and Indian War (Seven Years' War) between British colonials and the chiefs of 13 Native American nations, representing tribes of the Iroquois, ...

(1758), and again by the

Royal Proclamation of 1763 The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued by British King George III on 7 October 1763. It followed the Treaty of Paris (1763), which formally ended the Seven Years' War and transferred French territory in North America to Great Britain. The ...

, the British Crown made the Allegheny ridge separating the Mississippi and Chesapeake watersheds the official boundary between their Virginia colony and native peoples. It remained so until 1768, when native claims to the land including Blacksburg were cleared by the

Treaty of Hard Labour Treaty of Hard Labour is one of the two treaties signed by the British representative John Stuart with the Cherokee tribe. In an effort to resolve concerns of settlers and land speculators following the western boundary established by the Royal Pr ...

with the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

, and the

Treaty of Fort Stanwix The Treaty of Fort Stanwix was a treaty signed between representatives from the Iroquois and Great Britain (accompanied by negotiators from New Jersey, Virginia and Province of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania) in 1768 at Fort Stanwix. It was negotia ...

with the Six Nations (Iroquois Confederacy). The Shawnee finally abandoned their claim to this territory in 1774 following

Dunmore's War Lord Dunmore's War, also known as Dunmore's War, was a brief conflict in the fall of 1774 between the British Colony of Virginia and the Shawnee and Mingo in the trans-Appalachia region of the colony south of the Ohio River. Broadly, the war in ...

The Black family (1772–1797)

Samuel Black, whose family settled in

Staunton, Virginia Staunton ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,750. In Virginia, independent cities a ...

, bought of land in the Draper's Meadow area for his sons John and William in 1772. Smithfield Plantation, built in approximately 1774 by Colonel William Preston, was developed on the original Draper's Meadow site, near the current location of the Duck Pond on the

campus. When Samuel Black died in 1792, the land was evenly divided into two sections by his sons. The road now known as Draper Road is the dividing line between the sections. John Black's property was later developed as the majority of the central campus of Virginia Tech. In 1797, William Black laid out a small grid of streets and lots comprising 16 blocks on a portion of his land. The original town was limited to the area bounded by present-day Draper Road, Jackson Street, Wharton Street, and Clay Street. The town logo contains 16 small squares that create a larger square, representing the original 16 square blocks that were a part of Black's design.

Blacksburg's establishment (1798–1870)

After Black petitioned the state legislature to establish a town at the site, the official establishment and founding of Blacksburg was January 13, 1798, on the tract that he laid out. The following August 4, he signed over the deed to the town

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

s. The town was named after him in his honor. In 1808, a log cabin was built just east of Smithfield Plantation. Robert Preston, a future colonel of the 28th Virginia Infantry, lived here, as did two Virginia governors. The cabin was later added to in the mid 19th century to create a

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

farmhouse now known as

Solitude Solitude, also known as social withdrawal, is a state of seclusion or isolation, meaning lack of socialisation. Effects can be either positive or negative, depending on the situation. Short-term solitude is often valued as a time when one may wo ...

, which is the oldest building on the Virginia Tech campus. In 1872, the 250 acre Solitude farm became the central campus of Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College, and the house, after the death of its owner in the following decade, served as a college infirmary from 1882 to 1886. It was later used for faculty housing. According to records of the Post Office Department of the

National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...

, the post office was established as "BLACKSBURGH" on April 8, 1827. The name was changed to the current spelling (without the "h") in 1893. The

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

s had built two cabins to worship in since the town's founding, but they did not build a more permanent structure until 1830, when they constructed a brick church. The

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

s were the next Christian denomination to build a church within Blacksburg's limits. In 1848 they built their first brick buildingBlacksburg Presbyterian: BPC History.
at 117 South Main Street. Though still standing, this building has not been used as a church for many years. It was once South Main Café, but is currently used as a restaurant called Cabo Fish Taco. It is also the oldest building on Main Street. The

Baptists Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

founded the third oldest church in the town in 1852. In 1832, Westview Cemetery was established from a few acres of land that were deeded to trustees. One of the first educational establishments started here was the Blacksburg Female Academy in 1840. The Olin and Preston Institute (re-charted as Preston and Olin Institute in 1869) was a Methodist-sponsored academy established in 1851. The first bank in Montgomery County, Blacksburg Savings Institution, was established in 1849. The first newspaper published in Blacksburg was the ''Montgomery Messenger''. Its first issue was printed in 1869.

Incorporation, modernization (1871–1951)

In 1871, the village that became known as Blacksburg was incorporated and Thomas W. Jones became the first mayor. One year later, the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College opened on October 2, 1872, with a faculty of three members. The college grew and became known as Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI), later, "and State University" was added to the name, which shortly afterward became informally referred to as Virginia Tech. It is now officially called Virginia Tech. It is Virginia's

land-grant university A land-grant university (also called land-grant college or land-grant institution) is an institution of higher education in the United States designated by a state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Land-Grant Acts, Morrill Acts of 1862 and ...

. A

fire-fighting Firefighting is a profession aimed at controlling and extinguishing fire. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter or fireman. Firefighters typically undergo a high degree of technical training. This involves structural fir ...

unit was organized within the university in 1899. The town bought its first fire truck 43 years later. The Blacksburg First Aid and Life Saving Crew was founded in 1951 and renamed Blacksburg Volunteer Rescue Squad in another addition to the growing amount of emergency services. The first automobile came through the town in 1901. Three years later the train entered Blacksburg from Christiansburg using the Virginia Anthracite & Coal Railroad, which later became known as the "Huckleberry." Traffic in Blacksburg increased sufficiently enough that by January 1913 the town voted against allowing cows to continue to roam in town. The first

filling station A filling station (also known as a gas station [] or petrol station []) is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...

was opened in 1919 and at the time was the only one between

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It lies in Southwest Virginia, along the Roanoke River, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Blue Ridge range of the greater Appalachian Mountains. Roanok ...

, and

Bluefield, West Virginia Bluefield is a city in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 9,658 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Bluefield micropolitan area extending into Virginia, which had a populatio ...

. The town's first landing strip was built in 1929 and was 1,800 feet (548.64 m) in length. The grass landing strip was given airport status in 1931 and later became Virginia Tech Airport. Local buses began to make their rounds for the first time in 1947. The town's first theater was built in 1909. It was a precursor to the Lyric Theatre on College Avenue. In the spring of 1935, Main Street was strung with ten street lights from Roanoke Street northward to the top of the hill, where it now intersects the Alumni Mall. By October the town's second stoplight was installed on Main Street at Roanoke Street and was synchronized with the original one at Main and College. The establishment of official law enforcement began in 1937 when Officer Dave "Highpockets" Sumner became the first Blacksburg police officer. The first police car was purchased nine years later.

Compulsory education and commercialization (1952–1992)

Blacksburg experienced a boost of

compulsory education Compulsory education refers to a period of education that is required of all people and is imposed by the government. This education may take place at a registered school or at home or other places. Compulsory school attendance or compulsory sc ...

during the second half of the 20th century. Even though there had been a place for

secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...

somewhere in town since 1906, it was not until 1952 when the first facility for Blacksburg High School was built on South Main and Eheart Streets. Later it moved to new quarters and was adapted as Blacksburg Middle School. That same year, all high schools in Montgomery County began operating on a twelve-grade basis which is still county policy to this day. The Margaret J. Beeks Elementary School and the Gilbert F. Linkous Elementary School were both completed in 1963 and Harding Avenue Elementary School was built in 1972. Two years later, in 1974, Blacksburg High School moved its location to Patrick Henry Drive after 20 years of issues with overcrowding in its previous location. Jack Goodwin was appointed the first chief of police by the Blacksburg Town Council in 1954. Jan Olinger was made the first female police officer in 1976. 1958 marked the beginning of the end for the railroad that came to be known as the "Huckleberry." In the 1960s, however, railroads underwent restructuring. Passenger service came to an end on July 25. On June 30, 1966, the last freight train arrived at the Blacksburg depot. Within 24 hours, the depot was closed, the empty cars were picked up, and the tracks were immediately removed. After years of effort by the citizens of the town a trail was constructed on the former railroad right-of-way and, after years of construction, funding and planning issues the Huckleberry Trail was opened to the public on December 1, 1998. 190 years after its original construction, the newly renovated Smithfield Plantation house was re-opened in 1964. The amount of

commercialization Commercialisation or commercialization is the process of introducing a new product or production method into commerce—making it available on the market. The term often connotes especially entry into the mass market (as opposed to entry into e ...

in the area began to increase in the mid-1960s. The Corning Glass Works (now called

Corning Incorporated Corning Incorporated is an American multinational technology company specializing in glass, ceramics, and related materials and technologies including advanced optics, primarily for industrial and scientific applications. The company was name ...

), based in upper New York State, opened a manufacturing facility in 1964 that is located south of Blacksburg. The Blacksburg Municipal Building on South Main Street was constructed in 1969. Terrace View apartments, the first large student complex, was built in 1970. The Blacksburg Branch of the Montgomery County Library was opened the same year. Ten years later, it was moved into the facility that used to house the Blacksburg Lumber Company on Draper Road. In 1971, Blacksburg ratified a new charter and LewisGale Hospital Montgomery was built. The University Mall shopping center opened that year as well. In the mid 1970s the Foxridge apartments, an even larger student apartment complex, was built as part of the Hethwood development. During 1981, the Blacksburg Community Center opened. It cost the town $1.2 million to build. By 1988, the New River Valley Mall, located in the neighboring town of Christiansburg, was opened and the

Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center The Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, known locally as the 'Corporate Research Center' or the 'CRC' or 'VTCRC', is a science park next to the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, comprising 33 completed buildings on of land. The ...

had its first ground-breaking ceremony. After construction of Virginia's portion of

Interstate 81 Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 40, I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee, Dandridge, Tennessee; its nort ...

began in 1957, nine years passed before the Christiansburg-area segment was opened. About half that amount of time passed before the U.S. Route 460 bypass opened in 1969. In the 1970s, Virginia Tech was annexed into the town and the town acquired other land. Together with the effect of the annexations, the population grew from 9,000 people to 30,000 during this decade. Replacing the old public bus system,

Blacksburg Transit Blacksburg Transit, or simply BT, is a local government-owned urban-suburban bus line based in Blacksburg, Virginia. The system originated in 1983 with six buses, but has since expanded its operation to 53 fixed-route buses and 18 body-on-chassi ...

began running in 1983.

Information age (1993–present)

Blacksburg is the site of the Blacksburg Electronic Village or BEV, conceived as a computer networking project of

in 1991 and officially born in 1993 as a way to link the town together using the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

. This project quickly ushered the town into what is being called the

Information Age The Information Age is a historical period that began in the mid-20th century. It is characterized by a rapid shift from traditional industries, as established during the Industrial Revolution, to an economy centered on information technology ...

. In 1994, Montgomery County Public Schools completed construction of Kipps Elementary School at 2801 Prices Fork Road. By this time, Blacksburg had five elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. A newly renovated Blacksburg branch library was opened in 1996. In the aftermath of railroad restructuring, many rail lines were abandoned. After 24 years of abandonment and six years of planning and construction, the first phase of the Huckleberry Trail built on the old Huckleberry railbed opened in 1996. The second phase of construction was completed in 1998. In 2019, the Blacksburg Rotary Mountain Bike Skills Park opened with funding from Blacksburg Parks and Recreation and donations. On July 8, 1997, ground was broken for the experimental " Smart Road" project. The second phase of construction was completed in 2002. The road is currently closed to the public and used as a research test bed for the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. A National Weather Service office is located in Blacksburg and serves most of southwestern Virginia, southeast West Virginia, and northwest North Carolina. In 2003, the new building for Blacksburg Middle School students opened on Prices Fork Road adjacent to the property housing Kipps Elementary School. On April 16, 2007,

Seung-Hui Cho Cho Seung-hui (; ; ; January 18, 1984 – April 16, 2007), anglicized as Seung-Hui Cho, was a South Korean mass murderer who perpetrated the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007. Cho killed 32 people and wounded 17 others with two semi-automatic pi ...

shot 32 people dead and injured an additional 17 in the

Virginia Tech shooting The Virginia Tech shooting was a spree killer, spree shooting that occurred on Monday, April 16, 2007, comprising two attacks on the campus of the Virginia Tech, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in Blacksbu ...

before committing suicide. The massacre is the deadliest

mass shooting A mass shooting is a violent crime in which one or more attackers use a firearm to Gun violence, kill or injure multiple individuals in rapid succession. There is no widely accepted specific definition, and different organizations tracking su ...

on a college campus since the

University of Texas tower shooting The University of Texas tower shooting was an act of mass murder that occurred on August 1, 1966, at the University of Texas at Austin. The perpetrator, 25-year-old United States Marine Corps, Marine veteran Charles Whitman, indiscriminately fir ...

in 1966. On January 21, 2009, Zhu Haiyang decapitated Yang Xin at

in the first campus murder since the Virginia Tech shooting. On February 13, 2010, following a snowstorm that dropped two feet of snow on the area, the gymnasium roof on the previously occupied Blacksburg High School suffered a catastrophic structural failure and collapsed, causing structural damage to other areas of the school. The school building was condemned and students attended night school on a split schedule with the Blacksburg Middle School students at their school for the remainder of the year. It was determined that repair costs would exceed $18 million and would not be feasible given the age of the school; it was decided not to repair the building. Before the school year of 2013-14 Blacksburg High School was operating on a normal schedule out of the Blacksburg Middle School building on 3109 Prices Fork Road, and the middle schoolers were going to school in the old Christiansburg Middle School. The original Blacksburg High School building was vacant until it was demolished in the Summer of 2011. The newly constructed school building of Blacksburg High School which opened for the 2013 fall semester is located at 3401 Bruin Lane, behind the current Blacksburg Middle School and Bill Brown Football Stadium.

Government

Blacksburg is governed by a Town Council of six members and a mayor. Elections take place in November of odd-numbered years. Council members are elected for four-year terms. The town’s mayor is an elected office. By tradition, the town's vice-mayor is the councilperson who received the highest number of votes in the most recent election and is formally elected by council at the first meeting of the new year.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of of which is land and , or 0.10%, is water. At 2,080 feet (634 m) above sea level, Blacksburg is located in the

New River Valley Virginia's New River Valley region, colloquially named, is a four-county area along the New River in Southwest Virginia in the United States, including such major features as Claytor Lake, part of the Jefferson National Forest, the city of Ra ...

and also sits astride the

Eastern Continental Divide The Eastern Continental Divide, Eastern Divide or Appalachian Divide is a drainage divide, hydrological divide in eastern North America that separates the easterly Atlantic Seaboard drainage basin, watershed from the westerly Gulf of Mexico wat ...

. It is the 15th largest

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

and the largest

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in the commonwealth of Virginia. The Eastern Continental Divide traverses the

Virginia Tech Montgomery Executive Airport Virginia Tech Montgomery Executive Airport is a public airport named for nearby Virginia Tech and located three miles (5 km) south of the central business district of Blacksburg, a town in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States. Fa ...

. The tallest building in Blacksburg is Slusher Tower, a twelve-story

residence hall A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...

on the

campus. The building with the highest elevation is actually Hoge Hall (formerly Lee Hall), another

, which until May 17, 2009, was home to the transmitter of campus radio station

WUVT WUVT-FM (90.7 MHz) is a non-commercial FM radio station in Blacksburg, Virginia, serving Montgomery County, Virginia. It is licensed to Virginia Tech and is operated by The Educational Media Company at Virginia Tech. WUVT-FM is largely studen ...

. The tower for

now sits atop Price Mountain.

Climate

Due to its elevation, the climate of Blacksburg is a

hot-summer humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

: Dfa), being cooled down from the lowland areas of Virginia, all of which possess a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

: Cfa). Summers are humid with warm to hot temperatures, although the area sees significantly cooler temperatures than places of lower elevation at the same latitude, with only 5 days of + highs annually. Winters are generally cool to cold, with occasional intervening warm periods and an average of 0.9 nights of sub- lows. Monthly mean temperatures range from in January to in July. Snowfall averages per season and generally occurs from December to March, although significant snowfall has been recorded outside of those months.

Transportation

Roads

Blacksburg is served primarily by

US 460 U.S. Route 460 (US 460) is an auxiliary route of U.S. Route 60. It currently runs for 655 miles (1,054 km) from Norfolk, Virginia, at its parent route U.S. Route 60 at Ocean View to Frankfort, Kentucky, intersecting its parent rou ...

, a four-lane highway that connects

I-81 Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Isla ...

at Christiansburg, 10 miles to the south, and to I-77 in Princeton, West Virginia. Driving from Blacksburg to its larger metro neighbor, Roanoke, via US 460 and I-81, usually requires less than an hour.

Public transportation

provides bus transportation primarily to and from the campus of

. Students and faculty ride the BT fare free with a flat payment included in the cost of tuition. Virginia Tech subsidizes BT for this service. Transportation is available to anyone for a fee, and during special events the service is often free.

also offers shuttle service to non-students on

Football game days for $5 to be transported from outlying parking areas to the stadium. The Smart Way Bus, a regional

commuter bus A transit bus (also big bus, commuter bus, city bus, town bus, urban bus, stage bus, public bus, public transit bus, or simply bus) is a type of bus used in public transport bus services. Several configurations are used, including low-floo ...

service operated by Valley Metro (Roanoke), provides connecting service between

, downtown Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport, and Roanoke, where riders can transfer to an

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

train.

Air

At nearby Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport, there are scheduled commercial flights to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, Charlotte,

Chicago–O'Hare Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the primary international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Loop business district. The airport is operated by the ...

, New York–LaGuardia, Orlando/Sanford,

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, St. Petersburg/Clearwater, and Washington–Dulles, and there are seasonal charter flights to

Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...

, located in the Town of Blacksburg, has

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. History The concept of air taxis existed as early as the 1910s. This concept goes back as early as 1917 with Glenn Curtiss’ prototype, the auto-plane. Furthermor ...

, and military flights.

Demographics

As of the 2020 U.S. census, there were 44,826 people residing in the town. As of the 2000 census, there were 39,573 people, 13,162 households, and 4,777 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was 2,044.2 people per square mile (789.2/km²). There were 13,732 housing units at an average density of 709.4 per square mile (273.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 84.39%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 4.39%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.11% Native American, 7.80% Asian, 0.06%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.90% from other races, and 2.36% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 2.32% of the population. There were 13,162 households, out of which 16.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 5.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 63.7% were non-families. 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.79. In the town, the population was spread out, with 9.7% under the age of 18, 57.4% from 18 to 24, 18.9% from 25 to 44, 9.2% from 45 to 64, and 4.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females, there were 127.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 129.7 males. The

median income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of unde ...

for a household in the town was $22,513, and the median income for a family was $51,810. Males had a median income of $37,129 versus $24,321 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $13,946. About 15.9% of families and 43.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.7% of those under the age of 18 and 6.1% ages 65 or older. The Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which includes the town of Christiansburg, the independent city of Radford, and all of Montgomery, Pulaski, and Giles counties has an estimated population of 181,863 and is currently one of the faster-growing MSAs in Virginia. About 87% of the town's residents have in-home Internet access with 65% using a

broadband In telecommunications, broadband or high speed is the wide-bandwidth (signal processing), bandwidth data transmission that exploits signals at a wide spread of frequencies or several different simultaneous frequencies, and is used in fast Inter ...

connection.Campus & Town Guide: Virginia Tech and the Town of Blacksburg. Eighty-five percent of the community has a college education, seventy percent of which were graduates of Virginia Tech.

Economy

The

is home to several companies of varying sizes including

Honeywell Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building automation, industrial automa ...

, and the

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...

which maintains its Southwestern Virginia headquarters there. The town is also home to MOOG, a major supplier for the defense department and the health care industry and

Rackspace Rackspace Technology, Inc. is an American cloud computing company based in San Antonio, Texas. It also has offices in Blacksburg, Virginia, Blacksburg, Virginia and Austin, Texas, as well as in Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, India, Dubai, Sw ...

, who acquired locally based Mailtrust/Webmail.us in 2007. The town and county continue to recruit major industry to the area.

Top employers

According to Blacksburg's 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the top employers in the town are:

Notable people

Frank Beamer Franklin Mitchell Beamer (born October 18, 1946) is an American former college football player and coach, most notably for the Virginia Tech Hokies football, Virginia Tech Hokies. Beamer was a cornerback, defensive cornerback for Virginia Tec ...

, former Head Football Coach at

* James M. Buchanan, Nobel laureate *

Virginia Allen Crockford Virginia Allen Crockford (1917 – March 24, 2001) was an American educationalist. She was a member of the Richmond School Board from 1962 to 1972, and served as board chair from 1968 to 1972. Personal history Born in 1917 in Blacksburg, Virgin ...

, school board educationalist * Marc Edwards, civil engineering/environmental engineer and professor *

John B. Floyd John Buchanan Floyd (June 1, 1806 – August 26, 1863) was an American politician who served as the List of governors of Virginia, 31st Governor of Virginia. Under president James Buchanan, he also served as the U.S. Secretary of War from 1857 ...

, Governor of Virginia, U.S. Secretary of War, and Confederate general in the American Civil War * Patri Friedman, activist and theorist of political economy *

Nikki Giovanni Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni Jr. (June 7, 1943 – December 9, 2024) was an American poet, writer, commentator, activist and educator. One of the world's best-known African-American poets, her work includes poetry anthologies, poetry recor ...

, poet * Marjorie Glicksman Grene, philosopher * Lanto Griffin, PGA Tour Golfer * Josh Kaufman, Season 6 winner of

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's vocal competition show '' The Voice'' *

Henry Lee Lucas Henry Lee Lucas (August 23, 1936 – March 12, 2001), also known as The Confession Killer, was an American convicted murderer. Lucas was convicted of murdering his mother in 1960 and two others in 1983. He rose to infamy as a claimed serial ...

, serial killer * Thomas M. Price, American architect *

Bob Roop Robert Michael Roop (born July 22, 1942) is an American retired amateur wrestler and professional wrestler whose career spanned high school, college, the United States Army, amateur and professional wrestling. He was an American heavyweight Grec ...

, American heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler *

Eric Schmidt Eric Emerson Schmidt (born April 27, 1955) is an American businessman and former computer engineer who was the chief executive officer of Google from 2001 to 2011 and the company's chairman, executive chairman from 2011 to 2015. He also was the ...

, former

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

CEO * Brandon Stokley, NFL wide receiver for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

* Wild Nothing, indie dream pop act * Kevin Jones, football player, highest recruit in Virginia Tech history * James I. Robertson Jr., historian and Alumni Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Virginia Tech * William Morva, murderer * Col. James Patton, early settler and first Augusta County Sheriff *

James Patton Preston James Patton Preston (June 21, 1774May 4, 1843) was a U.S. political figure who served as the 20th Governor of Virginia. Biography James Patton Preston was born at Smithfield Plantation, in what is now Blacksburg, Virginia. He attended the C ...

, Governor of Virginia * Col. William Preston, Burgess, Revolutionary War Colonel * Thomas Nelson Conrad, Confederate spy * James Conrad, professional disc golfer, 2021

PDGA The Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit membership organization dedicated to the promotion and sustainable growth of disc golf. The PDGA is the global governing body of disc golf. The organization promotes the ...

World Champion *

Jack Champion Jack Champion (born November 16, 2004) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Spider, a human teenager living on Pandora (Avatar), Pandora, who first appeared in ''Avatar: The Way of Water'' (2022). He also played Ethan Landry in ...

, actor

Points of interest

* 16 Squares * Alexander Black House * Armory Art Gallery * Blacksburg Farmers Market *

Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) is a private osteopathic medical school on the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, with branch campuses in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Auburn, Alabama, and Monroe, Louisiana. ...

* Hahn Horticulture Garden * Huckleberry Trail *Lyric Theatre *Moss Arts Center *Municipal (Caboose) Park * Smithfield Plantation *

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

(Virginia Tech)

Annual town events

* The International Street Fair held in downtown Blacksburg and on the Virginia Tech campus takes place in spring. Over 110 countries are represented by the student body of

and individuals from the community during the

festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

. There are food trucks, country booths, and the stage features an eclectic mix of melodies and musical performances from around the world. * Steppin' Out, the town's first annual street festival, has taken place on the first Friday and Saturday of every August since 1976 when it was known as the Deadwood Days Summer Festival. Because of a murder associated with the final Deadwood Days in August 1979, the festival's name was changed in 1980 and Steppin' Out began in 1981. Steppin' Out features over 150 artists and crafts people from around the United States selling unique handcrafted items, local merchants holding final clearance sidewalk sales, local restaurants selling food through outdoor vending, multiple stages for live performances, and fun for the entire family. The area from North Main Street and Alumni Mall (sometimes even more to the north) to South Main Street and Roanoke Street and Draper Road and Lee Street is designated for the festival. The Draper Mile Run, which was started in 1982, is a one-mile (1.6 km) road race for runners of all ages that is held annually during the first evening of the festival. * Summer Solstice Fest takes place on the Saturday afternoon/evening closest to the solstice. Downtown Blacksburg Inc. organizes the event, which includes live music, vendors, a dog parade and 5k race. *Sustainability Week is held in mid-September and is a collaboration between Sustainable Blacksburg, the Town of Blacksburg, and Virginia Tech's Office of Energy & Sustainability. First held in 2007, the tagline, "Celebrate. Educate. Motivate." The events emphasize how to become a more sustainable community. *The Winter Lights Festival is held the first Friday in December. College Avenue is closed for caroling, vendors, Santa at the Lyric, and the tree lighting on Virginia Tech's Henderson Lawn. The evening ends with the annual Holiday Parade which goes from Virginia Tech's campus to Eheart Street.

Sister City

Blacksburg's sister city is

San José de Bocay San José de Bocay is a town and a municipality in the Jinotega department, Nicaragua. With an area of 3,990.40 km2, the municipality of San José de Bocay was officially created on March 13, 2002, as a result of the division of the El Cu ...

, in the mountains of northern Nicaragua.

References

External links

Town of Blacksburg

A Guide to Researching Blacksburg, Virginia, History, Virginia Tech Special Collections

Blacksburg's Bicentennial, 1798–1998, Virginia Tech Special Collections
{{Portalbar, Education, Virginia, United States Blacksburg–Christiansburg metropolitan area Populated places established in 1798 Southwest Virginia Towns in Montgomery County, Virginia Towns in Virginia