ROANOKE, Va. – Patchwork 250 is a new initiative from WSLS 10 that tells Virginia’s story, one piece at a time. Like a quilt made of many patches, every person, story, and tradition adds something special to our history. Join us as we celebrate 250 years by sharing the stories that make our region unique, one patch at a time.
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From mountain overlooks to neighborhood green spaces, much of Roanoke’s parkland exists because one man stepped in when the city could not.
When you think of the natural beauty of the Roanoke Valley, Mill Mountain, the Star, or one of its many parks may come to mind. But you may not know the man behind the landmarks.
Junius Blair Fishburn, better known as J.B. Fishburn, was born in Boones Mill in 1865. His family relocated to Kentucky before he returned to “Big Lick” in 1880. By the time the town became the railroad hub of Roanoke, Fishburn was already building a future in business.
“He started as a teller at First National Bank, and as the bank grew, he grew with it and ultimately rose to become its president,” said Nelson Harris, a local historian and a former mayor of Roanoke.
Harris says Fishburn’s influence stretched far beyond banking.
He cofounded the Roanoke Times Company and served as an investor, officer, or director of at least thirty corporations tied to transportation, coal, manufacturing and finance, helping shape Roanoke’s growth during the first half of the twentieth century.
But it’s his philanthropy that remains most visible to this day.
“He had a heart for conservation,” Harris said. “Mill Mountain had been offered to the city for purchase, and the city council just said, ‘We can’t afford it.’ J.B. Fishburn stepped in, bought the entire mountain, and donated it to the city.”
That decision preserved Mill Mountain as public land.
Fishburn also supported education. Around 1950, he donated 2,500 acres to Virginia Polytechnic Institute for its educational mission. Over his lifetime, he gave about one million dollars to Virginia colleges and universities and contributed thousands of books to public and academic libraries.
“When you look at his philanthropy in the broad sense, there were so many entities, so many institutions that benefited from it—but Roanoke was the primary beneficiary," said Harris.
When Fishburn died in 1955, he left his personal residence, Mountain View, to the City of Roanoke. Today, it serves as the Mountain View Recreation Center on 13th Street, another public space tied directly to Fishburn’s vision of community access.
“The Mill Mountain Star, the Zoo, the Overlook, the access to the Parkway that is used there at the top of Mill Mountain — that may not have ever come into being or been available if it had not been for J.B. Fishburn," said Harris.
So the next time you enjoy a day at Wasena Park, hike up Mill Mountain or look up at the Star, you know who to thank.
“The legacy of J.B. Fishburne is, do what you can for the city in which you live,” Harris said. “Regardless of what your means are, there’s something you can do. Give back. Contribute.”
Want to discover more stories that make Virginia unique? Visit the Patchwork 250 page to explore the full quilt of our region’s history, one patch at a time.