 | History of Roanoke County |  |
West of the Blue Ridge
When the eighteenth century was ushered in the
boldest adventurer had not attempted to penetrate
the illimitable wilderness west of the Blue Ridge
Mountains. Only a vague idea had been obtained
from the savages of some mighty flowing river or
lofty mountain range. It was not until the year
1716 that Alexander Spottswood, a Lieutenant Governor
of the colony, equipped a body of horsemen
and set out from Williamsburg, pursuing the general
course of the James River, until they stood on
the summit of the Blue Ridge near the point where
it breaks through the rocky barrier. A resolution
was formed to wrest the beautiful valley from its
savage occupants, in order that it might become the
home of civilization.
A half dozen families formed the first settlement
west of the Blue Ridge, near where Winchester now
stands, in 1732.
Prior to this time Thomas Marlin and John
Salling resolved to know something more of the
country, and journeying up the Valley, crossed the
James River and proceeded on to the Roanoke River
at a point near where Salem now stands, a fuller
account of their explorations being given under the
caption, "First Explorers of the Roanoke Valley."
Settlements were soon formed throughout the Valley
of Virginia, and in an effort to keep civil government
abreast of her most adventurous pioneers,
Orange County was organized in 1734, including
within its confines Virginia's vast western domain,
and in this county the dwellers of the frontier were
included u