On 2 July 1889, a heavy storm turned nearby Wolf Creek into a raging river, saturating the railroad embankment known as Newman’s Fill just north of here. About 1:25 AM, it collapsed under the weight of Norfolk & Western Passenger Train Number Two, heading east from Roanoke, and the train plunged into the washout. Survivors remained stranded for hours, while passengers trapped inside died in a fire that ripped through the wreckage. At least 18 people perished in one of Virginia’s worst railroad accidents, and in Cleveland, Tennessee, a monument was erected to honor three young residents killed in the wreck.