publication. 1950 - Population: 91,921. 1952 WSLS-TV (television) begins broadcasting. Mill Mountain Zoo established. 1955 - WDBJ-TV (television) begins broadcasting. 1957 - Roanoke Historical Society founded. 1959 - Temple Emanuel Synagogue built. 1966 - Virginia Western Community College established. 1976 - Portion of Roanoke County becomes part of city. 1980 - Population: 100,220. 1985 - Valley View Mall in business. 1992 - David A. Bowers becomes mayor. 1993 - Bob Goodlatte becomes U.S. representative for Virginia's 6th congressional district. 2000 - City website online (approximate date). 2004 - O. Winston Link Museum opens. 2010 - Population: 97,032. 2016 October 25: FreightCar America shooting occurs. Sherman P. Lea becomes mayor. 2020 - The Norfolk Southern locomotive shops cease production in Roanoke after 139 years of operations. Incorporation First called Big Lick, after a large outcropping of salt that drew the wildlife to the site near the Roanoke River, the town was established in 1852 and chartered in 1874. In 1882, Big Lick became the town of Roanoke, and in 1884, it was chartered as the independent city of Roanoke. The name Roanoke is said to have originated from an Algonquian word for "shell money", which was the name used for the river by the Algonquian speakers who lived away, where the river emptied into the sea near Roanoke Island. The native people who lived near where the city was founded did not speak Algonquian. They spoke Siouan languages, Tutelo, and Catawban. There were also Cherokee speakers in the general area who fought with the Catawba people. The city grew frequently via annexation through the middle of the 20th century. The last annexation was in 1976. The state legislature has since prohibited cities from annexing land from adjacent counties. Roanoke's location in the Blue Ridge Mountains, in the middle of the Roanoke Valley between Maryland and Tennessee, made it the transportation hub of western Virginia and contributed to its rapid growth. Colonial influence During colonial times, the site of Roanoke was an important hub of trails and roads. The Great Indian Warpath, which later merged into the colonial Great Wagon Road, was one of the most heavily traveled roads of 18th-century America. It ran from Philadelphia through the Shenandoah Valley to the future site of Roanoke, where the Roanoke River passed through the Blue Ridge. The Carolina Road branched off in Cloverdale, Virginia, to Boones Mill, Virginia, and on to the Yadkin