Following action taken by the General Assembly in March 1871 to establish the Corporation of the Town of Blacksburg, the town's Board of Trustees met for organization under the town's charter, which was granted by the state legislature. The first town election was held on the fourth Tuesday in May 1871, at which time Blacksburg's first mayor, Thomas W. Jones, and six members of council were elected.
Since 1871 the town has had as many as thirty mayors, who have served terms ranging from as little as one month to as long as thirty-four years. Mayors serving the town and the length of their respective terms in office include:
| Mayor | Years In Office |
|---|---|
| Thomas W. Jones | 1871-1872 |
| John Lybrook | 1872-1874 |
| 1882-1884 | |
| 1889-1891 | |
| Giles D. Thomas | 1874-1876 |
| 1884-1885 | |
| W. Francis Henderson | 1876-1877 |
| 1880-1882 | |
| Robert T. Ellett | 1877-1880 |
| William B. Conway | 1882 (three months) |
| Thomas Nelson Conrad | 1882 (three months) |
| 1887 (one month) |
|
| Tipton B. Evans | 1885-1887 |
| Stewart Argabright | 1887-1888 |
| 1889 (nine months) |
|
| A. T. Keister | 1888 (four months) |
| Charles Wesley Gardner | 1891-1893 |
| Edward D. Bodell | 1893-1894 |
| 1895-1896 | |
| D. O. Matthews | 1894-1895 |
| Allen Coperton Pack | 1896 (five months) |
| Wirt Dunlap | 1896-1899 |
| 1902-1904 | |
| George W. Walker | 1899-1902 |
| Thomas A. Helms | 1904 |
| J. F. Cook | 1904-1905 (acting mayor, eleven months) |
| J. P. Harvey | 1905-1906 |
| records not available | 1907-1909 |
| Frank Waylon Eheart | 1910-1918 |
| 1930-1940 | |
| 1940-1942 | |
| V. C. Austin | 1940 (mayor pro tem, four months) |
| D. H. Keister | 1918-1919 |
| John Davis Stanger | 1919-1924 |
| Henry E. Argabrite | 1924 (mayor pro tem, one month) |
| W. G. Chrisman | 1924 (four months) |
| William L. Lancaster | 1924-1930 |
| William Wesley Argabrite | 1942-1943 (seven months) |
| John M. Barringer | 1943 - 1978 |
| Arthur J. Walrath | 1978 - 1982 |
| Roger E. Hedgepeth | 1982 - Present |
Since Blacksburg's incorporation in 1871, the town government has undergone significant changes. For almost eighty years, the mayor and fellow councilmen made all the decisions regarding town business. Numerous town sergeants were hired during the early years to carry out necessary-and sometimes unpopular-tasks of day to day operations. Eventually some departments were established to carry out particular functions, such as public safety, finance and tax collection, and public utilities. In 1952 the town council appointed the first town manager to oversee and manage Blacksburg's government services. With the hiring of a full-time administrator, town council could then concentrate more on setting policy and adopting legislation, while the town manager focused on town operations.
Donna Boone-Caldwell is the town clerk for Blacksburg.
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Last updated January 22, 1998