Roanoke, city, located within, but independent of, Roanoke County, southwestern Virginia, on the Roanoke River; incorporated as a city 1884. Located between the Blue Ridge and the Allegheny Mountains at the southern end of the Shenandoah Valley, Roanoke is a commercial, financial, manufacturing, and transportation hub of western Virginia. Products include transportation equipment, furniture, fiber optics, electric and electronic items, cosmetics, fabricated metal items, and medical equipment. Hollins University (1842) and a junior college are here. Settled about 1740, the community remained small until 1882, when it became an important junction of two railroad lines. Known by various names, including Big Lick (for nearby salt licks), it was named Roanoke in the early 1880s. Population 100,220 (1980); 96,397 (1990); 93,749 (1998 estimate).
