Gainsboro Apartments for Rent

Located north of downtown Roanoke, the neighborhood of Gainsboro dates its beginnings to 1835 when it was the town of Gainsborough, the Roanoke Valley’s oldest settlement. Gainsborough’s growth was competing with Old Lick and Big Lick (settlements so named for the local salt supply, which attracted wildlife), towns that would eventually combine to form the city of Roanoke.

The town of Gainsborough, named for Major Kemp Gaines who helped finance its construction, eventually was moved southward with the arrival of the railroad, and Roanoke’s importance soon dominated. Between 1850 and 1880, the Gainsborough area developed into an African-American community, and in 1882 Roanoke was formed, overshadowing it completely. The neighborhood became a center for African-American life, with Henry Street as the heart of the community.

Urban renewal changed the fabric of the community in the 1960s and 1970s, with many residents displaced and businesses closed. Today, Gainsboro is marked by a new revitalization. One project centered on the Hotel Roanoke, a railway hotel built in 1882. Local fundraising led to a $7 million refurbishment, and the luxury hotel reopened in 1995. Today it is a local landmark, as well as being listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Another interesting feature of the area is the former railway station across from the hotel, which today houses a photography museum featuring the work of O. Wilson Link, who established rail photography as a genre. The Gainsboro neighborhood is conveniently located near the Roanoke City Market, an open air farmers market that runs year round and features food and crafts.

Adjacent to downtown Roanoke and close to the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains, Gainsboro is bounded by Washington Park to the north, downtown Roanoke to the south, Williamson Road to the east, and the Gilmer and Harrison neighborhoods to the west.