On Monday, the Roanoke City Council will consider approval of an application for a historic marker through the Department of Historic Resources that would sit outside Fishburn Mansion on 13th Street in Southwest Roanoke.
Proposed by local historian and former mayor Nelson Harris, the marker would tell the story of Junius Blair Fishburn, a philanthropic leader in Roanoke who gave land to the city that established or expanded eight city parks, including Mill Mountain Park, Wasena Park, South Roanoke Park, Lakewood Park, Norwich Park and his namesake, Fishburn Park.
In 1955, Fishburn donated his residence, Mountain View, to the city for recreational purposes. The building, constructed in 1907, is now known as the Historic Fishburn Mansion but was formerly called the Mountain View Recreation Center.
Fishburn also personally funded land surveys that helped create Shenandoah National Park, the agenda report states. He went on to serve as chairman of the board of the First National Exchange Bank and, in 1909, acquired The Roanoke Times and The World-News with several other businessmen…