What were historians and journalists saying about the Roanoke Virginia region in the 1890s?
Thomas Bruce wrote a comprehensive history of Southwest Virginia in 1891, called Southwest Virginia and Shenandoah Valley. Copies of this interesting work are available in many libraries, but I took the trouble to retype this old out-of-print manuscript and am republishing it here for you now. Bruce’s writing is a good example of the “boosterism” that was at a peak in the early 1890s, along with land speculation. For those interested in the history of railroads and the rise of the “New South”…this can be a useful source of information.
CHAPTER I – Early Settlers
CHAPTER II – Shenandoah Valley Railroad
CHAPTER III – Slavery
CHAPTER IV – New River and N&W Railroad
CHAPTER V – Norfolk & Western Railroad
CHAPTER VI – N&W Railroad continued
CHAPTER VII – Joint Stock Companies
CHAPTER VIII – Lynchburg: Gateway to Valley of Southwest VA
CHAPTER IX – Roanoke
CHAPTER X – Salem
CHAPTER XI – Radford
CHAPTER XII – West of the New River
CHAPTER XIII – Wytheville
Photo of the American Chemical Company Building in downtown Roanoke
Research Paper for Breakell, Inc. – The Mostly Sofas Building
Roanoke Traditions – S W Research Report