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Betsy Biesenbach
Grandin Road at Brandon Avenue in Roanoke is a busy intersection. Packed with traffic at all hours, the sounds of car engines, booming stereos and wailing sirens create a noisy ambiance.
But 160 years ago, it was the site of a shady grove bisected by a wagon track so humble, it wasnât even shown on a survey made in 1864. The only sounds would have been the lowing of cattle and voices drifting in from far-off fields. What wasnât pastureland was planted in corn, wheat and tobacco.
The road was a shortcut between James Persingerâs farm and his brother, Williamâs, which lay to the north. To the south was their brother, Jacob. We remember the family today by Persinger Road, which linked the three farms, and by Williamâs family cemetery on Memorial Avenue. But thereâs nothing left to commemorate those who lived and worked there and were born into slavery.