The settlement period of Montgomery County came after the large land grants of the 1740’s and 1750’s to such prominent individuals as Colonel James Patton. George Draper was one of the buyers from Patton and his tract was known as Draper’s Meadow. It was located about one mile south of present day downtown Blacksburg and was the place where Colonel Patton and others were killed by Indians in 1755. The tragedy is known as the “Draper’s Meadow Massacre.”
In 1772, Colonel William Preston moved his family into his new plantation house “Smithfield” near Draper’s Meadow. In a land of log cabins and physical hardship, Smithfield provided a haven of aristocratic elegance and became the social and political center of the area.
In the mid 1700’s, Samuel Black purchased 600 acres of land in Draper’s Meadow. Black died in 1782 and his sons inherited his property. In 1797 one of his sons, William Black, donated thirty-eight acres of land for the establishment of a town. The thirty-eight acres were divided into a grid that is now referred to as the Sixteen Squares. A year later the Town of Blacksburg was incorporated with a little more than two dozen families. The population of Blacksburg in 1850 totaled 333 people, 63 of whom were slaves.
The Methodists established an academy in 1851 called the Olin and Preston Institute. It was rechartered in 1869 as the Preston and Olin Institute. Upon petition of the trustees of the institute and the pledge of $20,000 by Montgomery County, the Virginia legislature passed a bill in 1872 establishing the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College in Blacksburg for white male students. Today it is known as Virginia Tech, a major university with over 25,000 students.
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Miller sketch of Blacksburg
Smithfield Plantation
VPI Postcard
Black House
Click to enlarge
Blacksburg Bicentennial (1998) web site |
