Christiansburg (formerly Hans Meadows) is a town in the southwestern portion of the commonwealth of Virginia, in the county of Montgomery.

The town of "Christiansburgh" – as it was originally spelled – was named in honor of Colonel William Christian, who was an early settler in the region.

Theodore Roosevelt, in his history The Winning of the West, later wrote that Colonel Christian was a "noted Indian fighter" and a "very gallant and honorable man."

Developing from a concentration of taverns and rest stops along the Great Wagon Road (present-day U.S. Route 11), the original 1.1-square mile town was established on November 10, 1792, by an act passed by the Virginia General Assembly.

Davy Crockett lived in Christiansburg and served as an apprentice to a local newspaper printer for a short time.

Crockett also worked at John Snider's Hattery Shop, located on W. Main Street, for 18 months.

He lived in downtown Christiansburg in the existing house at 109 E. Main Street, which is commonly known as the Montague home.

New streets were laid out during the early 1800s, and additional construction included a number of churches and a public well and pumps, which were placed just north of the Courthouse in 1826.

Former town resident Dr. John Floyd was the attending surgeon at the Lewis-McHenry duel and later governor of Virginia, as well as a member of Congress.

Pennsylvanian artist Lewis Miller was fascinated with Montgomery County's scenery, and throughout the 1830s through the 1850s, he often stayed in Christiansburg to depict town scenes.

After the Civil War, Miller retired to Christiansburg and spent his last 20 years living with relatives and friends.

The Montgomery Museum and Lewis Miller Regional Art Center, located at 300 Pepper Street SE, is named for him.

During the Civil War, many men from the Christiansburg area served in the Confederate army in the Shenandoah Valley under General T.J. "Stonewall" Jackson .

The nearby Montgomery White Sulphur Springs resort in Ellett Valley was utilized as a hospital from 1861 to 1865.

Near the end of the war, Union General George B. Stoneman and his men were in Christiansburg and had established headquarters in the Rice D. Montague home, which still stands at 109 E. Main Street.

The school was relocated to Lattimer Plantation in 1898 and was significantly expanded in the following years, growing to 14 buildings and 185 acres.

By the early 1900s, Christiansburg had taken on many of the functions of a regional center, with a bank, newspaper, Temperance Hall and photographer.

Agriculture played an important part in the local and regional economy, and livestock were regularly driven to market down Main Street or taken to the Christiansburg Depot.

The success of the Norfolk and Western Railroad's Christiansburg Depot, which served as the main shipping point for much of Montgomery County, contributed to much of this growth.

The completion of U.S. Route 11 – the first interstate highway in America – was celebrated in Christiansburg when the last link passing through downtown was hard surfaced in 1926.

By 1929, Virginia Polytechnic Institute was providing employment for the area's citizens through academic positions and mining jobs related to the school's coal-operated power plant.

The Southern Dairies Plant (which later became a part of Sealtest) opened, and The Roberts' Motel – the first of its kind in Southwestern Virginia – also debuted after the war.

Virginia Tech continued to expand, and by the mid-1950s, the school owned 2,000 acres in Montgomery County and employed more than 1,400 individuals.

In a single fire, the town lost the City Market, Royal Cafe, Smith & Jones, Jennings Barber Shop and Interiors by Richard.

In 2000, the Spradlin Farms area began development, providing an additional retail space to the town.

Christiansburg is one of two incorporated towns within Montgomery County and is a member of the New River Valley Planning District.

U.S. Route 460 goes north from Christiansburg to Blacksburg, the location of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Historically, several Norfolk and Western/Southern Railway trains a day, the Birmingham Special, the Pelican and the Tennessean, made stops at Christiansburg station.