The population of Blacksburg in 1850 totaled 333 people, 63 of whom were slaves. Today, Blacksburg is the largest town in Virginia.

In the mid-1700s, a frontier farming community named Drapers Meadow was established in the area now inhabited by the Virginia Tech Duck Pond. The settlement was later destroyed by Shawnee Indians during the French and Indian War.

In 1750, Samuel Black purchased 650 acres of land in the Drapers Meadow area, which was later inherited by his sons William and John Black. In 1797, William Black set aside 38 acres of his land to establish the village of Blacksburg. The town was developed in a grid design called “the Sixteen Squares.” Kent Square now sits on the site of one of the 16 squares.

The Victorian-style Alexander Black House was the home of Alexander Black, the great-great grandson of Samuel Black and a prominent Blacksburg businessman. The home remained in the Black family until 1935, when Alexander Black passed away. The home was then used as a funeral home for more than 60 years. The home was moved from Main Street to Draper Road in 2002 to make room for the Kent Square development.

There are plans to restore and preserve the Alexander Black House. Plans call for the exterior of the house to return to its original appearance. Paint scrapings suggest that the house was painted green with brick red trim. The grand front porch, which was enclosed when the house was used as a funeral home, will be reopened, and the original doors to the Alexander Black House will adorn the front entrance. The original turret suffered wind and water damage and was removed years ago. It will be reconstructed to better resist wind and weather.

The Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College was established in 1872 with two-thirds of the state’s federal land-grant fund. Hampton Institute got the other one-third. William Addison Caldwell was the first student to enroll.

The name was changed in 1896 to Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute (immediately shortened informally to Virginia Polytechnic Institute). That year, it also adopted “Ut Prosim” (“That I May Serve”) as its motto, and the colors Chicago maroon and burnt orange. The name changed again in 1970, to Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Virginia Tech became a coed campus in 1921, when five women enrolled.

Charlie L. Yates was Virginia Tech’s first black graduate. He received a degree in mechanical engineering, with honors, in 1958. Yates was the first black student to graduate from any state university or white land-grant college in the 11 states of the former Confederacy.

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