On June 25th at the Dumas Center auditorium located at 108 Henry Street NW in Roanoke, VA, the Gainsboro Branch Library hosted Defiant Libraries: Virginia Lee and the Secrets Kept by Good Bookladies, a lecture and book event honoring the legacy of librarian Virginia Lee. A lecture by Laura Helton, assistant professor at the University of Delaware and author of Scattered and Fugitive Things: How Black Collectors Created Archives and Remade History, highlighted Virginia Lee’s clandestine fight against access restrictions on Black readers and Black literacy during Segregation in Roanoke.

Following Helton’s lecture, a panel discussion was held and moderated by Nelson Harris, with special guests Dr. Curtis Reeves, Jr., Dr. lvin and Virginia Schexnider, family of Virginia Lee, and Carla Lewis, former librarian of the Gainsboro Branch Library.

Exclusive event book sales will be by Book No Further.

This is one interesting lecture you will not want to miss, so SAVE THE DATE!!

A grassroots effort seeks to turn a crumbling school building into a bustling community hub

The Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation, Inc. regularly publishes a bi-annual newsletter that shares historic, cultural, and natural preservation-related information and activities taking place throughout the Roanoke Valley, the surrounding counties and their municipalities.

We hope you will enjoy our most recent issue:  

2024 Spring Focus on Preservation Newsletter

This week, the City of Roanoke, VA recognized RVPF Trustee, Alison Blanton, as a Historic Place-Saver.  Alison performs vital work as the Senior Preservation Fellow at Hill Studio. She continues to be active through preservation-focused community groups and is a Trustee of the Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation and also serves on the Board of Friends of Mountain View, Inc.

Visit planroanoke.org/historic-preservation to learn more about Alison  and her work. 

Congratulations Alon this well-deserved recognition!!

In early 2020, the Center for Structures of Studying Race (CSSR) began a research project called the Genealogy of Slavery that focuses on the specific history of slavery at Roanoke College and the surrounding region. This research attempts to identify the enslaved people whose labor helped build the College, and were owned by some the College’s founding members. Professor Bucher will discuss how this project supplements larger efforts to think about the epistemic genealogy of Roanoke College, and the role that slavery and institutional racism have played in shaping the college.

Topic:  Genealogy of Slavery Research Project
When:  Tuesday, June 11,2024
Time:  5:30 to 6:30 pm
Where:  Gainsboro Library, 15 Patton Avenue, NW, Roanoke, VA  

This is one interesting discussion you will not want to miss.  So SAVE THE DATE and hope to see you there!

As the month of May is designated as Preservation Month, each year in May, the Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation announces our Annual Endangered Sites List to call attention to local history, special places, and the possibility that these significant sites are in danger of being lost forever unless efforts are made to preserve them.

2024 RVPF Endangered sites

The 2024 endangered Sites were announced on Tuesday, May 14, 2024 in conjunction with Preservation Month and Preservation Virginia’s announcement of their 2024 Endangered Historic Sites. 

The Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation’s intent is not to shame or punish the current owners but to bring attention to these sites and encourage their preservation and stewardship. The goal is to work closely with property owners and local governments in exploring options to promote their preservation. 

Only by ongoing public awareness, partnerships and collaborations, innovative technologies, sustainable conservation practices, education and capacity-building programs, and government can we ensure the continued protection and conservation of these valuable cultural assets.  

Previous RVPF Endangered Sites listings

Visit our Endangered Sites page for additional information including lists from previous years. 

2025 RVPF Endangered sites

If you know of a significant historical, natural, and/or cultural sites in the Roanoke Valley that may be in eminent danger of being lost due to deferred maintenance, demolition, or incompatible development, please submit a 2025 Endangered Site Nomination Form by March 17, 2025 for consideration in next year’s Endangered Site listing.

Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation Announces 2024 Endangered Historic Site Nominations Are Currently Being Accepted

If you are aware of a historic site that may be in eminent danger of being lost due to deferred maintenance, demolition, or incompatible development, please let us know by completing, saving and emailing the 2024 RVPF Endangered Historic Sites Nomination Form today!

Remember the intent is not to shame or punish the current owners but to bring attention to these sites and encourage their preservation and stewardship. The goal is to work closely with property owners and local governments in exploring options to promote their preservation. 

SUBMIT your 2024 Endangered Historic Sites nomination TODAY!!

For additional information, email Alison Blanton, Endangered Sites Committee Chair, call 540-765-7154,  or visit our website’s Endangered Sites page.