Springwood is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either hav ...

in Botetourt County,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

, United States. Located in the northern part of the Roanoke Valley and at the southern tip of the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Rid ...

, Springwood is part of the Roanoke Metropolitan Area and sits along the banks of the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Ches ...

Geography and History

Springwood is located in the Northern half of Botetourt County, about halfway between

Buchanan Buchanan may refer to: People * Buchanan (surname) Places Africa * Buchanan, Liberia, a large coastal town Antarctica * Buchanan Point, Laurie Island Australia * Buchanan, New South Wales * Buchanan, Northern Territory, a locality * Buchanan ...

and Fincastle. It is primarily rural, with Springwood road serving as the main thoroughfare. The community is defined by the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains and the presence of the James River that flows near the historic center of town. It was called Hickory, or Jackson, before it was renamed to Springwood. Lifelong resident Lynwood Hayth was quoted by the Roanoke Times in 1978, saying: “The place was called Old Hickory then, and it was also known as Jackson, in honor of Andrew Jackson. But they changed the name to Springwood because in those days they did a lot of tomato canning in this country, and one time later the railroad took the cans to Jackson, KY, by mistake.” Springwood formerly hosted a post office and a small downtown area that straddled Springwood Road, though all that remains are a few churches and the Odd Fellows Lodge. There is also a small airport and glider strip located on a hill overlooking the James River that regularly has small local flights. Springwood is best known, however, for its prominence in watersports. Given the community's location on the banks of the

, it is a popular spot for fishing, canoeing, and kayaking, with a canoeing/kayaking route connecting Springwood with neighboring Arcadia and Buchanan. The Springwood area is also a popular

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the ...

and

turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

hunting Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/ tusks, horn/ a ...

spot in the Roanoke Valley given its abundance of fields, farm lands, and

woods Woods or The Woods may refer to: Common meanings * Woodland * Forest * Wood, solid material from trees or shrubs Places United States * Woods, Kentucky * Woods, Oregon * Woods, a municipality in Liberty County, Florida * The Woods, a ...

Education

Springwood is served by Botetourt County Public Schools. Most notably, it is the location of James River High School, which has a Buchanan mailing address due to Springwood's lack of a post office. Students living in Springwood will attend either Breckinridge Elementary School in Fincastle or Buchanan Elementary School in Buchanan, and Central Academy Middle School (also in Fincastle) before attending James River.

References

Unincorporated communities in Botetourt County, Virginia Unincorporated communities in Virginia {{BotetourtCountyVA-geo-stub