Paint Bank, Virginia
Unincorporated community in Craig County · Not an incorporated municipality
About Paint Bank
Paint Bank is an unincorporated community in northern Craig County, Virginia, United States. It is located at the intersection of State Route 18 and State Route 311 northwest of the town of New Castle, the county seat. The village is located between Potts Mountain and Peters Mountain. It is one of the westernmost communities of the Roanoke metropolitan area.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How Paint Bank is governed
Paint Bank appears to be an unincorporated community or a census-designated place, so it may have no city government of its own — services usually come from Craig County and its elected officials. The chart below is a generic template; readers can correct it if Paint Bank does have local officials.
Form of government not yet listed.
0 of 14 positions listed. Gray dashed boxes are placeholders waiting for a name.
Residents of Paint Bank
Registered voters elect the officials below.
-
Mayor
Executive
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
The city's chief elected official. Presides over the executive branch, proposes the budget and represents the city.
-
City Manager / Administrator
Executive
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
The professional administrator who runs day-to-day operations (in some cities appointed by the council instead of the mayor).
-
Police Chief
Administration & departments
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
Leads the police department.
-
Fire Chief
Administration & departments
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
Leads the fire and emergency services department.
-
Public Works Director
Administration & departments
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
Streets, water, sewer, and city buildings.
-
Finance Director
Administration & departments
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
The budget, taxes, and city accounts.
-
Planning & Zoning Director
Administration & departments
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
Land use, zoning, building permits.
-
Parks & Recreation Director
Administration & departments
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
Parks, programs, and public facilities.
-
-
-
City Council
Legislative
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
The elected body that passes ordinances, sets the tax rate and approves the budget.
-
City Clerk
Administration & departments
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
Keeps the official records, runs meeting agendas and, often, local elections.
-
City Attorney
Administration & departments
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
The city's lawyer; advises officials and prosecutes ordinance violations.
-
Boards & Commissions
Legislative
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
Citizen advisory bodies, such as planning, zoning appeals and library boards.
-
-
Municipal Court
Judicial
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
Hears traffic, ordinance and other minor cases.
-
Municipal Judge
Judicial
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
Presides over the municipal court.
-
Looking for your county, state and federal representatives too? See who represents 24131 or everyone in Virginia.
History
Paint Bank got its name from the iron ochre and red clay taken from the banks of Potts Creek that was used by Native Americans, notably the Cherokees, as war paint, and to make their pottery with a distinctive red color. "Though remote, the area is easily accessible by following the creeks that run parallel to the mountains. It is likely that the earliest Native American visitors traveled this path of least resistance, passing through and even settling here: an Indian cemetery has been found in the vicinity. The area was well known to the Cherokee, who used the red clay deposits on the banks of Potts Creek for pottery and war paint. Early maps and deeds show descriptive names such as Paint Banks, Indian Paint Bank and Painted Banks."
Reportedly settled by permanent settlers in the 18th century, during the early days of the 19th century, the same red clay was later made into a commercial paint and red bricks for permanent buildings. A number of land grants were made by Lord Fairfax and the Commonwealth of Virginia, especially the latter, around Paint Bank in the 1820s through the 1850s. The Sweet Springs and Price's Mountain Turnpike ran through Paint Bank, and it was a popular stage coach stop between Fincastle, Virginia and Sweet Springs, West Virginia.
A few miles up the road between Sweet Springs, West Virginia and Paint Bank, is the location of the home of Anne Royall (June 11, 1769 – October 1, 1854). By some accounts, she was the first professional female journalist in America.
"During the Civil War, the off-the-beaten-path community became known as the "Union hole," a place for deserters and resisters. It was close to this area that Union General David Hunter fought his most difficult battle, a confrontation involving two of Craig County's highest mountains, on his trek from Lynchburg, Va., to Sweet Springs, West Virginia"
The Order of the Heroes of America, also known as the "Red Strings", extended into southwestern Virginia as well. Paint Bank, Virginia was known as a Union-Hole because of the pro-Union membership in these societies. One of the members of the Order was a Christiansburg, Virginia wheelwright named Williams. It is not known if this is the same man named Williams that residents of Back Valley, Virginia spoke about as a member of the Loyal League. "Paint Bank, in Craig County, was the core of what local citizen George A. Linton called the "Union Hole"-an area with mixed loyalties that sometimes swayed heavily to the north, in this traditionally southern state."
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.