The city of Roanoke has a unique history that includes historical landmarks and legendary residents.
The city of Roanoke dates all of the way back to the 1800's when the railroad came through town and visitors from Virginia decided to settle.Mayor Scooter Gierisch says "In the 1800's folks stopped by here and began to scout out if this is where they wanted to be and they came up with the name "Roanoke" named after "Roanoke, Virginia". So basically they went in and plotted it out and planted their roots here." Mayor Gierisch says the city's also known as have been home to an infamous couple Bonnie and Clyde stopped in Roanoke and stayed at the Old Sneed Hotel which is now home to the Roanoke Visitors Center. But Mayor Geirish says they didn't commit any crimes while here."Bonnie and Clyde came in 34 my understanding is they didn't rob the bank because relatives had money in bank." So Roanoke was spared the wrath of Bonnie and Clyde. And one of Roanoke's most beloved residents was the legendary golfer, Byron Nelson. "Yes, Byron placed his roots here in the 40's, went out there and bought this ranch with the dollars that he won from golfing and he had a little more than a 500-acre ranch." His widow still lives there today and State Highway 114 Business is named after him.Mayor Gierisch says "To us, he was just a hometown boy, I didn't know until I was about 16 that he was actually even famous because being around him you never even knew that he was famous - he was just a regular guy, it was just kind of neat." Mayor Gierisch says, when it comes to history, Roanoke has a little bit of something for everyone. The Downtown District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and with great restarants downtown and new businesses making their home here, city leaders say the best for Roanoke is yet to come.