History
In the early 1980s, Williamson Road was home to massage parlors which were barely concealed brothels, until neighborhood pressure and police action led to their closure. However, an adult bookstore remains open.
In addition to businesses, Williamson Road has churches, schools, a library and a post office. A business association has promoted a number of projects to improve the appearance of sections of the road. The ultimate goal is to develop Williamson Road and the surrounding neighborhoods into an urban village akin to the Grandin Village area of southwest Roanoke.
Williamson Road maintains largely the same character after its intersection with Hershberger Road. The best known business on this stretch is Happy's Flea Market which opened in the 1970s. Happy's features a large indoor building, formerly a department store, with rented stalls and an outdoor area which has vendors every Saturday and Sunday. Williamson Road crosses into Roanoke County shortly after Happy's. Peters Creek Road (State Route 117) terminates at its intersection with Williamson Road. Plantation Road (State Route 115) provides access to Interstate 81 and several industries, most notably ITT. The gateway to Hollins University connects to Williamson Road near its northern terminus at the Botetourt County line.
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Is not redeemed from time, for history is a pattern
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—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)
“There is one great fact, characteristic of this our nineteenth century, a fact which no party dares deny. On the one hand, there have started into life industrial and scientific forces which no epoch of former human history had ever suspected. On the other hand, there exist symptoms of decay, far surpassing the horrors recorded of the latter times of the Roman empire. In our days everything seems pregnant with its contrary.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)