Ian Price | July 17, 2026
ROANOKE, Va. — Efforts to list parts of Bent Mountain on the National Register of Historic Places gained traction this week as community advocates submitted documentation to Roanoke County leaders while battling regional pipeline expansion plans.
At a Roanoke County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday, local preservationists presented evidence supporting the eligibility of two historic districts for national recognition. Anne Rogers, Section 106 coordinator for the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, told supervisors the process required years of collaboration with Bent Mountain residents.
“This work involved extensive interviewing, surveying, mapping, research, writing, and editing,” Rogers said. “It required the active involvement of a significant number of residents of Bent Mountain to identify historic structures and to help me understand the historic significance of the landscape features on Bent Mountain.”
Rogers submitted 10 documents to county officials identifying the Coles Terry Rural Historic District and the Bent Mountain Apple Orchard Rural Historic District as eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The Virginia Department of Historic Resources has confirmed both districts meet eligibility requirements.
Pipeline station sits inside historic district
Rogers urged county leaders to help force Mountain Valley Pipeline to recognize that its proposed Swan Compressor Station alternative site sits directly inside the Bent Mountain Apple Orchard Rural Historic District.
“Moving forward, my plan is to collaborate with the members of Preserve Bent Mountain on three items,” Rogers said. “First, obtaining registration of the Coles Terry and Bent Mountain Apple Orchard Rural Historic Districts on the National Register of Historic Places. Two, obtaining recognition by Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC that the Swan Compressor Station alternative site is located inside the Bent Mountain Apple Orchard Rural Historic District. And then three, seeking the support of Roanoke County Board of Supervisors in our efforts to obtain Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC’s recognition.”
Rogers worked with Virginia Department of Historic Resources senior architectural historian Mike Pulice to document the historic significance of properties and landscapes as required by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Several Bent Mountain residents attended the meeting, including Grace Terry, Kathy Chandler, Bruce and Mary Beth Coffey, Robin Austin and Mark Reeves.
Community collaboration drives preservation effort
Rogers has been working with Bent Mountain residents since 2015 to build the case for historic designation. The effort involved mapping historic structures and documenting the cultural significance of the area’s landscape features.
The two rural historic districts encompass large, contiguous areas of the Bent Mountain community. Rogers said the next steps include obtaining official registration on the National Register of Historic Places and working with the nonprofit organization Preserve Bent Mountain to challenge the pipeline company’s compressor station plans.
Board of Supervisors members Martha Hooker and Tim Radford raised concerns about the Mountain Valley Pipeline compressor station during supervisor reports at the meeting. The board approved multiple consent agenda items, including appointments and reports, without discussion.
County receives state placemaking award
The board meeting opened with recognition of Planning Department staff for receiving a 2026 Virginia Association of Counties Achievement Award for the county’s placemaking program. Recent placemaking projects include 16 new gateway signs, murals on storm drains at libraries, county signage and tree plantings on Arbor Day.
The board also approved two second-reading ordinances removing zoning conditions for properties at 3306 West Main Street and 5999 Franklin Road, both currently zoned high-intensity commercial. The board voted to remove conditions that limited business activities at both locations.
In a separate action, the board approved a special use permit for Travis Bell to operate a commercial kennel on Grub Road. One person spoke in opposition during the public hearing.
The next Roanoke County Board of Supervisors meeting will be Aug. 18 at 2 p.m.
The post Bent Mountain community pushes for historic preservation amid pipeline expansion concerns first appeared on News/Talk 960-AM & FM-107.3 WFIR.
