Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, July 13, 1995                   TAG: 9507130038
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

HISTORY OF MILL MOUNTAIN

1890: Roanoke Gas and Water Co. buys the mountain and spring, which was named Crystal Spring. The spring becomes a water source for the city.

1891: The Rockledge Inn is built by Roanoke Gas and Water. The inn becomes a popular vacation place for visitors, particularly from eastern Virginia.

1902: At the mountain's base, the Roanoke Railway and Electric Co. builds Mountain Park, an amusement park that features a roller coaster and a pavilion.

1909: The cable car lift known as The Incline is built by the railway and electric company to shuttle tourists from the foot of the mountain to the summit.

1923: Mountain Park closes after a decline in business. Later in the decade, the Rockledge Inn also closes. The incline ceases operations in 1929 and is dismantled in 1930.

1941: J.B. Fishburn acquires a $50,000 mortgage on a 100-acre plot of Mill Mountain from Washington and Lee University. He conveys the property to Roanoke to be developed as a park.

1949: The Roanoke Merchants Association erects a 100-foot neon star as a promotional idea to change the city's nickname from Magic City to Star City.

1952: The Civitan Club, various city departments and the Roanoke Jaycees build Mill Mountain Children's Zoo, and the Jaycees contribute the Zoo Choo.

1964: Interested residents convert the old Rockledge Inn from a little-used recreation center to the Mill Mountain Theatre, where it remained until a fire in 1976.

1969: The Mill Mountain Development Committee is established to fulfill Fishburn's vision of preserving the mountain's park and recreational values.