Roanoke

Roanoke , city (1990 pop. 96,397), independent and in no co., SW Va., on the Roanoke River; settled c.1740, inc. 1882. It is situated between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mts., at the southern end of the Shenandoah valley. A tiny village until the coming of the railroad in 1882, Roanoke has since developed into the region's commercial, transportation, and industrial center. It contains railroad shops and factories that manufacture machinery; chemicals; metal, concrete, and plastic products; foods and beverages; fixtures; electronic equipment; apparel; and furniture. Hollins Univ. is there, and Roanoke College is nearby. The city is headquarters for the Jefferson National Forest. Of interest are transportation, science, and art museums and a planetarium.

Roanoke Island The first English colony in North America, in Albemarle Sound off the north coast of North Carolina. A group of settlers financed by RALEIGH landed there in 1585, but were evacuated, just before relief arrived from England, by DRAKE returning from the Caribbean. A second colonizing group was sent in 1587 under John White, who then had to go back to England to obtain further supplies. His return from England was interrupted by the Spanish Armada, and in 1590 he found the settlement empty. The “lost colony” has been immortalized by White's paintings of local Native Americans and by Thomas Harriott's Report (1588).