Captain Handley

Sometimes we forget to admire the things that were created in the past that we use today. We learned about how things went from bad to good because of a very important person, William A. Handley or "Captain Handley". Now I'm going to tell you about Captain Handley, and the wonderful things he did for this town.
      The gold rush was a great spike in mining for people that wanted to have money, or use it for other goods, gold was even found in our county. Captain Handley installed a railroad in Roanoke so that things could get imported and exported in a faster and easier way. Captain Handley firmly belived that education was the key to success, therefore he opened up The Handley Mills for kids that couldn't afford to go to school, and he also payed some children schools fee. It was hard for native American during the time of the Indian Removal Act, but land opened up for people like Captain Handley just like the places we went to as we retraced his footsteps.
    He had did the most unforgettable thing ever as we learned that he had donated to build Handley High School, he never acted above anyone. Walking in the footsteps of Captain Handley have taught me things I never knew about Roanoke, so I guess you could say that this town was boomin in the past!
       

1.This is a historic picture of old downtown Roanoke and the new Roanoke. It was very busy

2.The buildings that were three are still standing

3.The differences that stand out is the side walk they have built and the street isn’t as busy.

4.More buildings started getting old and some couldn’t be as tall and high.

5.Back then Roanoke was very busy with stores downtown and now Roanoke isn’t as busy like it used to be because the stores aren't there anymore

6.We think that next generation will take over and not know about the history of Roanoke and they will try to tare some of the buildings down.

Napa Motors and Bus Station

This historic photo is the side of the former Roanoke bus station and later, Genuine Motor Parts. Today, the building is currently "The Raven," a restaurant and sports bar.The primary similarities that are still there today are the the outline of the old RC Cola advertisement and the brick exterior. The old Coach Line advertisement is now gone. The sign has been weathered but the main change is that more people have cars today and do not travel as much by bus. Roanoke seems to have been a more thriving business area in the past than it is now.

  The Randle house belonged to Fountain Pitts Randle from Wehadkee MIlls who was the first superintendent at Handley Mills. He was wounded in the Civil War but yet wasnt the cause of his death. The cause of death was pneumonia.

Down Town Pictures

This Historic photo is of the it was the old bus station and auto parts store. The store know is a ice cream shop/ bar now. The similarities the buildings are both very similar nothing has really changed just the renovation on the inside. The only thing I can tell is that the front of the building is painted a different color. The reason I think it has changed is because everything in roanoke has changed it is not the thriving busy town it use to be. This area probably won’t stay open long because hardly any small business stays open very long in Roanoke today.

OLd historic College Street

1. This is a picture of a old historic Street called College street. This street was built in 1938.

2. In these two picture both had sidewalks, driveways, and both have a car in the picture.

3.In the old picture the road was sorta curving, the roads were wider, and the sidewalks were longer and curved also.

4. Roanoke started building more properties and adding more land to the city which made the roads more narrow and longer.

5. They had more money to put into the work of new roads so the roads could be more spacious and smooth. Today we feel that the roads are much smaller and narrow.

6. We think they will better the roads and build more houses because people will start to complain or they will want to change the community for the better.

Historic Downtown Roanoke

1. This a historic picture of downtown Roanoke and downtown Roanoke today.
2. The similarities are that some of the buildings still look the same, they are still tall like they used to be.
3. There is a road now with the sidewalk made. Some of the buildings aren't tall like they used to be.
4. Buildings may have been burnt down or fell in. Roads and sidewalks needed to be improved to make the town look better.
5. It was a town where everybody came to trade and sell things and it was busy. It's not really busy during this time.
6. Hopefully we will get more things to do and more things to see, Roanoke will rise up and have a mall and everything. The downtown will still remain the same because that is part of historic downtown.

Downtown Delivery Grocery Store.

1. This historic picture is a old historic store that delivers your groceries. It looked like men were working for the delivery working company on main. -
2. The buildings are still built the same, they are made out of brick, and the brick design in the background are still there.
3. The old picture use to be a grocery store that delivers food. The building that’s there right now TEC telephone company.
4. After the civil war, businesses started to slow down because people had left the city of Roanoke.
5. We perceived that Roanoke had a lot of money coming in. Now Roanoke is being built back up today.
6. We think that a lot stores will get built in the city of Roanoke and more people will migrate to the area because the more stuff that is built the more people it will attract.

Roanoke Warehouse Company

1. Our historic photo is of the old Roanoke Warehouse at the corner of Lamont and West Point Street. This building was built between 1914 and 1917. Many people around Roanoke call the building Master Door. Cooper, 82, of Roanoke explained the Warehouse Co. was one of the four companies founded by W.W. Campbell and J.C. Wright that were intertwined.  Now the building is built differently and has people living in it.
2. The shape of the building, still in same spot, and the roadway.
3. The sidewalk, powerlines, and the light poles.
4. Many people moved and lost jobs so money wasn’t coming in.
5. We don’t have a lot of stuff that they did back then. They were more wealthier back then,
6. We think that good things will happen to Roanoke because more money will be coming in from more employment.

The Schuessler Home On Main Street

 The historic picture taken in the early 1900s on the left is originally, the Schuessler's home that is located in Roanoke Alabama on Main Street. The picture to it's right was taken in 2017 and is presently the Owen's home. The house is still painted white and has a maroon like color over a few windows. It looks as if today, the house was moved back farther than the picture taken in the 1900s. The fence around the house is no longer there, and the chimney on the right of the house has also been removed. The tall turret in the old picture has been removed as well. This house is beautiful and now has more stuff added to it and some stuff taken out. There are now beautiful big trees and bushes surrounding it. I think in a couple of more years when the city upgrades and more people move here, these houses will be even bigger than before and now. 

J.A. Carlisle House- Tori Banks

This historic photo is of the J.A. Carlisle Sturgis house, located on Main Street in Roanoke, Alabama. The house to this day is still yellow and it has most of the same features. The picture on the left was taken in 1901, and the picture on the right was taken in 2017. The biggest difference today is the side of the house was taken off. I believe that things have changed because the town has grown and the house needed a lot of work, it was renovated and the people living there today chose to remove part of it. I feel like in the future, this house will change more, new people will come along and will want to change things.