History on Miller's Hill

Extracted from an article by Joel Richert, local historian

In 1884, the Northern Methodist Episcopal Church entered into a contract with Major Andrew Lewis to purchase the hill bounded by Elm Avenue and Marshall Avenue, between 4th and 5th Streets, SW to locate a large seminary capable of accommodating 200 students. The seminary was never built nor the transaction completed. The hill lay bare until around 1906 when it was purchased by S.D. Ferguson and J. B. Terry. Early Roanokers called the place “Miller’s Hill,” which long served as an excellent sledding area.

Shortly after Ferguson and Terry purchased the land, houses were built. In 1907, 4 were completed and 2 were under construction. In 1908, a total of 11 houses were completed. Before 1919, the block was totally built up.

Our history of the area goes back further…in 1781 Thomas Tosh owned 705 acres which included this block. Mr Tosh lived at approximately the location of Avante Nursing Home on King George Avenue, and kept the ford in good repair, which allowed wagons to cross the Roanoke River where the Franklin Road Bridge is today. In 1856, this block was part of 220 acres owned by Thomas Lewis.

Anyone interested in the architecture of Old Southwest might notice that the 300 and 500 blocks are examples of earlier styles than the 400 block. Now that we know that the 400 block was planned for development that did not take place until many years after the 300 and 500 blocks were built, this easily explains why the 400 block is mostly four-squares.