Gainsboro is located in central Roanoke and is bound by Shenandoah Avenue, 5th Street, Orange Avenue and Interstate 581. Resting just to the southwest of the original 1835 Gainesborough settlement, the present day Gainsboro began to develop in the 1850s following the arrival of the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad. Incorporated as part of the original Roanoke in 1882, most of its development occurred between 1890 and 1940. Serving as the historic center of Roanoke's African-American community, the area is also notable as the location of the Hotel Roanoke.