Disclaimer upfront: I work in this office…read more I just wanted to clarify the purpose of this office. It is the administrative headquarters for the regional recruiting effort, managing Recruiting Stations in Virginia (Roanoke, Christiansburg, and Wytheville) and West Virginia (Princeton, Beckley, and Lewisburg). Though we can answer questions and provide information, local recruiters are located in the Christiansburg office in the New River Valley Mall.

Adjacent to a residential neighborhood and an electrical substation, this marker recalls a school…read morethat sadly no longer exists. It reads, "In 1866, Captain Charles S. Schaeffer, a Freedmen's Bureau agent, organized a school for blacks on the hill just to the southeast. Charles L. Marshall of Tuskeegee Institute became principal of the school in 1896. Under his guidance and with support from Philadelphia Quakers, a library, dormitories, classrooms, shops, and barns were constructed. Both academic and industrial classes were offered at the institute until 1947 when it became a public high school. In 1966, the institute graduated its last class, and its property was sold at public auction." The website for the school is still online and there is an active group working to maintain the former school structure. https://www.christiansburginstitute.com/ [Review 13817 overall, 1138 of 2020, number 1251 in Virginia.]

Certain officers are unprofessional rolling their eyes and laughing. Highly concerning incidents…read moreare not investigated. Male on female assault is permitted in the Town of Wytheville. Other officers are highly professional. The law is selectively applied. Serious preventative incidents are ignored. Marijuana is permitted for public use. Drugs including meth have been rampant in the area for decades. Police only focus on large-scale operations ignoring addicts exhibiting symptoms on the streets. Some are highly condescending. Others are top officers. Officers are concerningly subjective, and do not enter some situations properly. Interactions are easily escalated. Very dangerous at times. It's best to avoid.

I recently watched the Wytheville Police respond to a very public domestic dispute. They showed…read moregreat patience and restraint, used only the minimum force necessary, and remained dispassionate and respectful in spite of provocation. I was impressed. Bravo to the leadership and to the officers of the Wytheville PD.

Beautiful place when I went it was closed but I was able to walk around outside. It doesn't appear…read morethat they are open for tours right now.

Fantastic historical place to eat. Much better menu than nearby establishments and the food is…read moregreat. Prices are more than the nearby venues but this is several cuts above. I also recommend taking the tour of the grounds and house. Great service! They are only open from May through December but is worth the trip!

We came across the statue. We are visiting the Virginia Tech stadium. It is of their former coach…read morethat they have this cool looking statue outside the stadium. We enjoyed finding things like this.

Yes, THAT Austin. Born here and known as the "Father of Texas" for leading the successful…read morecolonization of the region with 300 American families. After his father Moses Austin secured a land grant from Spain, Stephen carried out the plan following Mexico's independence in 1821. He worked to maintain peace with Mexican authorities while advocating for Texan autonomy, eventually supporting the Texas Revolution. The state capital of Texas is named Austin, for him. The marker has the same text on both sides. It reads, "Stephen F. Austin (1793-1836) was born near Austinville, three miles west of here. His father, Moses Austin, operated a substantial lead mine and smelting business nearby before moving the family to what is now Missouri in 1798. Moses Austin won permission in 1821 to establish the first large-scale Anglo-American colony in Spanish Texas but died that year. Stephen took over, brought thousands of people to Texas (by then part of Mexico), and negotiated with Mexican officials to promote the colonists' interests. During Texas's war for independence from Mexico (1835-1836) he was a commissioner to the United States, and he became the first secretary of state of the Republic of Texas in 1836." It is marker number KD-8 and was erected in 2018 by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. There is a shop across the street where you can park to read the marker. [Review 535 of 2025 - 1474 in Virginia - 24096 overall]

This marker is just off I-77 and is along US-11 which in this part of town is named Main Street…read more It's easy to spot and is in excellent condition. The marker reads, "Walter Crockett was born in the 1730s. By 1760, he had joined the Augusta County militia. Rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel, he subsequently served in the militias of Botentourt, Fincastle, and then Montgomery Counties, beginning in 1769. He participated in the Point Pleasant expedition of 1774 during Dunmore's War, and in Revolutionary War activities in southwestern Virginia in 1779 and 1780. He represented Montgomery County in the Virginia House of Delegates (1777-1779 and 1789) and at Virginia's convention to ratify the U.S. Constitution in 1788. Crockett became the clerk of the court of Wythe County in 1790. He died in 1811." There is additional information online. Crockett was born circa 1732 and there is debate as to whether it was in Augusta County Virginia () or Lancaster County Pennsylvania. He was the son of Huguenots Joseph Crockett Jr. and Jeanne de Vigne. He was a delegate to the Virginia Ratifying Convention of 1788, where he voted against ratifying the U.S. Constitution, fearing that the new federal government would become too powerful and threaten individual and state liberties. He was not alone in this opposition - Many western Virginians and Appalachian delegates opposed ratification, reflecting a divide between agrarian frontier communities and coastal commercial centers that favored stronger federal control. This helped lead to the adoption of the Bill of Rights in 1791, a concession to Anti-Federalist concerns that ultimately shaped the Constitution's final form. This is marker number K-23 and it was erected in 2001 by the Department of Historic Resources. [Review 547 of 2025 - 1476 in Virginia - 24108 overall]

I stopped off I-81 to take a phone call and spotted this marker that is near a hotel and across the…read morestreet from a gas station. It points out some history that predates the Revolutionary War and continues past the Civil War. The marker has the same text on both sides, reading "Col. John Chiswell is credited with discovering a lead deposit along the New River, about seven miles south of here, late in the 1750s. With partners he established mines and a smelting operation. Enslaved laborers were a vital part of the workforce. The mines, leased by Virginia during the Revolutionary War, supplied lead to the Continental army. Moses Austin, father of Stephen F. Austin, ran the mines during the 1790s, and the town of Austinville grew up nearby. The mines supplied the Confederacy and were destroyed by Union forces on 17 Dec. 1864. Rebuilt, they were again destroyed in April 1865. After the Civil War, zinc replaced lead as the primary resource extracted here." This is marker number K-39 and was erected by the Department of Historic Resources in 2016. [Review 19577 overall - 1415 in Virginia - 548 of 2023.]