The Roanoke Region ( ) is the area of the Commonwealth of Virginia surrounding the city of Roanoke. Its usage may refer to the metropolitan statistical area or the Roanoke Valley, but it sometimes includes areas in the Allegheny Mountains and New River Valley which includes Alleghany County, Montgomery County, Covington, Clifton Forge, Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and Radford. Bedford County and Floyd County are sometimes included as part of the region.
The Roanoke Region, excluding communities in the New River Valley, has a population of 316,802. If including the New River Valley, its population is 475,130."Table 1. Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2008 (CBSA-EST2008-01)" (CSV). 2008 Population Estimates. United States Census Bureau, Population Division. 2009-03-19. Retrieved 2009-03-19.
Both the Roanoke Region and the Roanoke MSA are sometimes referred to as the Roanoke Valley (or Greater Roanoke Valley) and are often included in the NewVa region. The Roanoke Valley, however, more accurately describes the geographic depression between the Blue Ridge Mountains where many of the region's communities are located (see Roanoke Valley). Notable places and landmarks in the Roanoke Region include the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Allegheny Mountains, the Roanoke River, Virginia Tech, the Mill Mountain Star, the Booker T. Washington monument, the Fincastle Court House, and Smith Mountain Lake.
Definitions and regional organizations
Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area As defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Roanoke MSA includes four counties, two independent cities, and 21 incorporated towns and census-designated places.
Counties Botetourt Craig Franklin Roanoke Cities Roanoke (principal city) Salem Incorporated Towns and Census-designate places Blue Ridge (census-designated place) Boones Mill Buchanan Cave Spring (census-designated place) Cloverdale (census-designated place) Daleville (census-designated place) Eagle Rock (census-designated place) Ferrum (census-designated place) Fincastle Glen Wilton (census-designation place) Henry Fork (census-designated place) Hollins (census-designated place) Laymantown (census-designated place) New Castle North Shore (census-designated place) Penhook (census-designated place) Rocky Mount Troutville Union Hall (census-designated place) Vinton Westlake Corner (census-designated place)
Roanoke Region The Roanoke Region is defined by many regional economic, planning, and tourism organizations. The most common definition includes communities located within the Roanoke Valley and Allegheny Mountains. It typically includes
The Roanoke Regional Partnership, a regional, nonprofit economic development organization formed by area businesses and local governments, defines the region as including the counties of Roanoke, Botetourt, Franklin, and Alleghany; the cities of Roanoke, Salem, and Covington; and the town of Vinton. The same region is defined by the Commonwealth of Virginia as the Workforce Investment Area III, but also includes Craig County. The LWIA-III service area is also served by the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission, an organization that provides analysis, demographic research, and other regional data for the state and local governments.
The Roanoke Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau (RCVB), which promotes tourism in the region and provides conference and meeting services for business and visitors, excludes Alleghany County from its definition, but includes Bedford, Montgomery, and Floyd counties, although it gives less attention to these areas in its promotional materials. The Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce (RRCC) advocates and provides various professional services to businesses within the region, which it more strictly defines as Botetourt, Craig, Franklin, and Roanoke counties, and Roanoke and Salem cities.
Various media outlets, periodicals, and magazines in the region include different areas in their coverage. The most widely distributed and read newspaper, The Roanoke Times, includes Bedford, Botetourt, Floyd, Franklin, Giles, Montgomery, and Roanoke counties, as well as, Radford, Roanoke, and Salem cities in its coverage area. Other periodicals, magazines, and television news outlets include the same communities, but also Lynchburg, Amherst County, and Rockbridge County.
Thus, the Roanoke Region typically refers to the following communities: Alleghany County Botetourt County Covington Franklin County Roanoke County Roanoke City Salem
And, less often, also includes: Bedford County Blacksburg Christiansburg Floyd County Giles County Montgomery County Radford Pulaski County
Economy and major industries The Roanoke Region has a diverse economic base that includes finance, service, retail, transportation, manufacturing, health care and life sciences. Alongside Montgomery County, the region is also a major technology and research hub, home to Virginia Tech and several technology companies. The region serves as the medical, cultural, retail, media, and commercial center for nearly a million people, and is the largest place for employment opportunities in western Virginia.
Finance, insurance, and real estate Several banks and insurance providers are headquartered (or regionally headquartered) in the region, including:
Atlantic Credit and Finance (Headquarters) BB&T (Regional headquarters) Bank of America (Regional headquarters) Bank of Botetourt (Headquarters) Bank of Fincastle (Headquarters) Brown Edwards (Certified public accounting firm headquarters) Delta Dental of Virginia (Virginia headquarters) First Citizens Bank (Regional headquarters) Goodman & Company (Regional office of one of the largest Virginia-based certified public accounting firms) Hometown Bank (Headquarters) KPMG (Regional office) Shenandoah Life Insurance (Headquarters) SunTrust (Regional headquarters) Valley Bank (Headquarters) Wachovia Securities (Regional headquarters)
The region is also home to top ranked Virginia Tech's Pamplin College of Business and Radford University College of Business and Economics.
Transportation The first major industry in the region was the railroad industry. The transportation and transportation-related manufacturing industries have since grown and include:
Altec Industries — Aerial devices for utility and telecommunications trucks Advance Auto Parts — Automotive aftermarket parts; Former headquarters Cardinal Rubber & Seal — Hydraulic, rubber, plastic hoses, belting and packing Corning, Inc. — Substrates and cellular ceramic supports for catalytic converters Dynax America — Automatic transmission clutch disc plates Graham White — Components for rail, trucks, and buses Metalsa — Heavy truck parts Norfolk Southern — Railroad Salem Preferred Partners — Hydrogen generating fuel modules Salem Vent — Metal stamped components for heavy truck cabs TMD Friction — Brake friction components Virginia Forge — Wheel hubs for auto industry Volvo North America — Heavy truck assembly plant Westport — Axle assemblies for Volvo trucks WestRock — High performance friction papers for automatic transmissions Yokohama Tire Corporation — Passenger and light truck tires
Health care and life sciences The health care and life science industries are anchored by the Carilion Clinic, one of the largest health care companies in Virginia and the region's largest employer, and Virginia Tech, both of which recently partnered to establish the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. Also, Carilion Clinic, Virginia Tech, and the University of Virginia have collaborated in establishing the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute. Other major health care related firms include:
Accellent – Medical devices American Biosystems – Direct-fed microbials used in waste treatment, feed and aquaculture products Attention Point – R&D of assessment tools for the diagnosis of ADHD Emtech Laboratories – Hearing care products Excel Prosthetics – Custom-made prosthetics and orthotics Foot Levelers – Custom orthotics, pillows and exercise equipment for spinal stabilization Intrexon – DNA control systems to enhance safety and outcomes of biological therapeutics Ion Healthcare – Products and services for sleep apnea diagnosis Keraderm – Medical device to treat nail infections Luna Innovations – Biotech instrumentation, nanotechnology McAirlaid's – Non-woven composite materials for absorbency end uses Microscope.com – One of the largest Internet retailers of microscopes in the world Nature Diagnostics – Performs genetic diagnostics of agriculture products Novonesis Biologicals – Enzymes for industrial cleaning, odor control, turf/plant health (Formerly Novozymes) OcuCure Therapeutics – Ophthalmic eye drops to treat age-related macular degeneration Pixel Optics – Spectacle lenses for the correction of presbyopia Plastics One – Cochlear implants, other medical devices Precision Fabrics – Surgical drapes ProGenetics – R&D, production of biologically produced therapeutics Revivicor –Regenerative medicine, R&D of treatments for diabetes and whole organ transplantation (xenotransplantation, stem cells) Schultz-Creehan – Contract R&D, materials science, and industrial engineering Smart Perfusion – R&D of organ perfusion and transplant systems Surgical Tools – Distributor of high-quality German surgical tools TechLab – Develops, manufactures, distributes intestinal diagnostic assays Virginia Prosthetics – Custom-made prosthetics and orthotics Wireless MedCARE – Wireless and web-connected medical devices and applications
Geography and climate
The Roanoke Region covers approximately of land, and approximately . of water. The region is located within the Appalachian Mountains, specifically the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains. There are also two major rivers, the James River and the Roanoke (Staunton) River, that pass through the Roanoke Region. There are several small lakes, including Lake Moomaw and Carvins Cove, as well as one major lake, Smith Mountain Lake. The region is in the temperate broadleaf and mixed forest biome. Smith Mountain Lake, the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Appalachian Trail, the rivers and streams, Dixie Caverns, the Botetourt County blueways, and the mountains attract thousands of visitors to the region each year.
The climate of the Roanoke Region is humid subtropical with four distinct seasons. The average temperature in January is ; July is 75.6 degrees. The average yearly rainfall is and snowfall is 27.2 inches.NOAA, Climate-Charts, 2008
History
Early history The earliest history of the Roanoke Region exists as archaeological evidence of Native American tribes which settled by the Roanoke River, which takes its name from the Algonquian word for the shell "money" found in the waters.
In the mid-1770s, Scotch-Irish and German settlers reached the upper Roanoke Valley traveling on the Great Wagon Road down the Shenandoah Valley from Pennsylvania. Settlers also followed the James River from eastern Virginia. As tradesmen and farmers moved into the region, new counties and communities were established.
Botetourt County was established in 1770, carved out from Augusta County. The county was named for the popular governor of the Virginia Colony, Lord Botetourt. The county's boundaries extended west all the way to the Mississippi River including most of Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. The town of Fincastle in Botetourt served as the gateway to the American West and was the starting point for Lewis and Clark's famous exploration of the Louisiana Purchase. Botetourt's early role is preserved in the Fincastle Courthouse, designed by Thomas Jefferson.