[3] Roane County was created by an act of the Virginia General Assembly on March 11, 1856.

The county's seat Spencer was also named for Judge Roane.

Later that year, the state's counties were divided into civil townships, with the intention of encouraging local government.

This proved impractical in the heavily rural state, and in 1872 the townships were converted into magisterial districts.

[4] Roane County was divided into seven districts: Curtis, Geary, Harper, Reedy, Smithfield, Spencer, and Walton.

[6] As of the census of 2000, there were 15,446 people, 6,161 households, and 4,479 families living in the county.

23.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 14,926 people, 6,195 households, and 4,193 families living in the county.

[12] In terms of ancestry, 20.7% were American, 17.9% were Irish, 15.3% were German, and 9.1% were English.