Christiansburg was originally named Hans’ Meadows. It was incorporated in 1792 and named in honor of Col. William Christian, the brother-in-law of Patrick Henry and a noted Indian fighter. The community was an important stop on the Wilderness Road, which roughly corresponds to present-day U.S. 11.

The Christiansburg Industrial Institute, a school for blacks, was organized in 1866. It was started by Capt. Charles S. Schaeffer, a Freedman’s Bureau agent. Charles L. Marshall of the Tuskegee Institute became principal of the school in 1896. Under his guidance and with support from Philadelphia Quakers, a library, dormitories, classrooms, shops and barns were constructed. Both academic and industrial classes were offered at the institute until 1947, when it became a public high school. In 1966, the institute graduated its last class, and its property was sold at public auction.

The first known duel with rifles in Virginia occurred in Christiansburg in May 1808. The duel between Thomas Lewis and John McHenry resulted in the death of both men. Dr. John Floyd, later governor of Virginia and member of Congress, was the attending surgeon. This affair contributed to the passage in 1810 of the Barbour Bill, outlawing dueling in Virginia.