Catawba is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in the northern section of

Roanoke County Roanoke County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, its population was 96,929. Its county seat is Salem, but the county administrative offices are located in the census-designated place of ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, United States. Catawba occupies the Catawba Valley bound on the south by the north slope of

Catawba Mountain Catawba may refer to: *Catawba people, a Native American tribe in the Carolinas *Catawba language, a language in the Catawban languages family *Catawban languages Botany *Catalpa, a genus of trees, based on the name used by the Catawba and other ...

and on the north by several mountains which form the border between Roanoke County and Craig County. The primary road through Catawba is State Route 311. Catawba has a post office with the zip code of 24070. Catawba is known as a rural enclave of the Roanoke Valley with its farms, bed and breakfasts, and the Homeplace Restaurant. The Catawba Hospital, a mental health facility operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia, is near Route 311 and traces its history back to a resort established in 1857 to take advantage of the believed healing properties of a sulfur and limestone spring. Route 311 intersects State Route 785, which connects to Blacksburg, and State Route 779, which connects to Daleville, in Catawba. The

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tra ...

passes through the Catawba area and provides access to three notable trail landmarks, Dragon's Tooth, McAfee Knob, and Tinker Cliffs. These three landmarks are referred to as the Triple Crown of hiking in Virginia, and experienced hikers can climb to all three overlooks in a 32-mile loop. The Homeplace Restaurant was a popular eatery for through hikers on the trail before it closed in 2020.

Audie Murphy Audie Leon Murphy (20 June 1925 – 28 May 1971) was an American soldier, actor, and songwriter. He was widely celebrated as the most decorated American combat soldier of World War II, and has been described as the most highly decorated enli ...

was killed in a plane crash near Catawba in 1971; a monument has since been erected at the crash site. The Anderson-Doosing Farm and Johnsville Meetinghouse are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

References

External links

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Roanoke County, Virginia Unincorporated communities in Virginia