History
Radford History Overview (2)
In 1885, Central City was incorporated as a town and in 1887; its name was officially changed to Radford. In 1888, the post office was moved from Lovely Mount Tavern to Radford, although it retained the Lovely Mount name until 1891 when it was changed to Radford. The following year, 1892, a post office was established west of Connelly's Run and also named Radford. Therefore, the first post office was again renamed, this time to East Radford. There were also two railroad stations constructed, one on either side of Connelly’s Run. They were called Radford (east side) and West Radford. By 1892, the two Radfords merged politically and, having the required population of 5,000, attained city status.
The Panic of 1894 put an end to Radford's boom. The city population decreased slightly between 1890 and 1900, but in the twentieth century began slowly to grow again. Several Radford industries began between 1900 and 1930. These included Radford Ice Manufacturing Company (1916), Clover Creamery Company (1922), West End Milling (Lewis Harvey and Sons, owners), and Norfolk and Western Timber Preserving Plant (1921). The Lynchburg Foundry acquired the Radford Pipe Works (opened in 1892) in 1905.
Founded in 1910, the State Normal School for Women
developed
from a small women's school into a nationally
recognized
university serving more than 9000 students
every year.
The State Legislature selected Radford as the site for the State Normal School (later named Radford College) in 1913. This added a new element to the city's economy, but also a new divisive factor. East Radford had started as the commercial center and now was the educational center. West Radford was the industrial sector, although some of the city's finest homes were also there. A sometimes intense rivalry developed.
In an era when paved roads were scarce in Southwestern Virginia, it proved a boom to the city to secure the passage of the Lee Highway through its center in 1920. By 1928 there were fifteen industries in Radford employing 980 workers (Norfolk and Western and Lynchburg Foundry were the major employers) and 84 retail and wholesale establishments employing 245. Its population approaching 6,000, the city had three banks, three hotels, two motion picture theaters and two weekly newspapers. The decade saw the addition of a few other industries, including the New River Textiles, a unit of Burlington Mills, and the Old Colony Box Company. Appalachian Power's Claytor Lake Dam was also built during this time, which brought further economic modernization to the area.
The opening of the Arsenal in 1941 brought
an
influx of new workers to Radford, leading to a
severe housing shortage.
With no room available,
many workers were forced to sleep
at the train station.
During the 1930's the federal government decided the Radford area was a choice site for a major industry requiring ample space, plentiful water, good transportation and a large work force. The Radford "powder plant" or Arsenal was built in 1940-1941 to manufacture gunpowder and associated products. War time employment exceeded 20,000. Three housing projects were developed in Radford to accommodate the rapid influx of people. These were Monroe Terrace, Radford Village, and Sunset Village. Fairlawn, which is the area across the river from Radford in Pulaski County, was also developed at this time. Hundreds of freight cars and no fewer than 12 passenger trains passed through Radford daily during the peak of the war time economy.
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