History

Built initially as a means to get to downtown in 1912, Williamson Road was funded by residents around the area, and Virginia used prisoners to help get it built. The residents requesting the road gave up their land and provided the machinery to get the job done. The road is actually named for a family who had their land condemned by the state. For many years, it was the mainstay thoroughfare in which you got to Roanoke. Many businesses and homes were constructed along this route. Then it all changed when I-81 and I-581 were built. Throughout the 70s and 80s, Williamson Road was less populated with the new, quicker route to get to the highway. It started to see many businesses leave with newer, more dubious ones popping up in their absence.