Gainsboro in Roanoke, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Gainsboro Branch Library

Photographed by Stephen Escalera

1. Gainsboro Branch Library Marker

Inscription. The Gainsboro Branch Library, founded as a result of local Black activism, was the first public library for African Americans in western Virginia and the second in the state. It opened in the Odd Fellows Hall at 446 Gainsboro Ave. NW in Dec. 1921 and moved here in May 1942. The library became a center of Black intellectual and social life by hosting lectures, conferences, reading clubs, and exhibitions. Librarian Virginia Young Lee, who served from 1928 to 1971, developed a regionally significant collection of Black literature, history books, and ephemera. Defying city officials’ attempts to censor some of this material in the 1940s, she continued to make it accessible in the library’s basement.

Erected 2022 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number K-286.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Education • Women. A significant historical month for this entry is December 1921.

Location. 37° 16.625′ N, 79° 56.468′ W. Marker is in Roanoke, Virginia. It is in Gainsboro. It is on Patton Avenue Northwest east of Gainsboro Road NW, on the left when traveling

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east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 15 Patton Ave NW, Roanoke VA 24016, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Mountain Region

and in Southwest Virginia.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Gainsboro Branch of the Roanoke City Public Library (here, next to this marker); Claytor Memorial Clinic (within shouting distance of this marker); Edward Richard Dudley III (1911-2005) (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Hunton Life Saving And First Aid Crew (about 700 feet away); The Influence of Churches in Gainsboro (about 700 feet away); A Once-Vibrant African American Community (about 700 feet away); Evolution of a Neighborhood Name

Photographed by Stephen Escalera, April 11, 2026

2. Gainsboro Branch Library Marker

(about 700 feet away); Social and Cultural Life (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Roanoke.

Credits. This page was last revised on April 13, 2026. It was originally submitted on April 13, 2026, by Stephen Escalera of Roanoke, Virginia. This page has been viewed 11 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 13, 2026, by Stephen Escalera of Roanoke, Virginia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.