Christiansburg leaders have given thumbs up to a proposal by a citizen’s group to seek a sister city with another locality that has a familiar name.
Christiansburg, Ohio, is a village in Champaign County and as of the 2010 U.S. Census had a population of 526 and was organized after residents of Christiansburg, Virginia, moved there to start a farm and orchard.
Christiansburg councilman Brad Stipes said it only makes sense the Virginia town looked to become a sister city with its Ohio counterpart.
In 1817, the Ohio town took the same name after Joshua Howell and his wife, Mary, took their eight children to the Jackson Township
A resolution passed by council says the establishment of the sister idea speaks to the progressive believe that it holds close.
“The citizens of Christiansburg, Virginia,” according to the resolution, “wish to encourage educational, cultural, athletic, trade, tourism, business, technology and governmental exchanges to help acquaint themselves with other communities around the country.”
Council unanimously passed the resolution with the following goals: 1) Building people-to-people relationships, 2) Provide educational opportunities, 3) Promote trade and tourism opportunities, including the exchange of business practices, and 4) Enhance the understanding of cultural awareness and sensitivity between the two communities.
Currently a citizens’ committee is being formed to expand on the sister city program and to reach out to the government and public of Christiansburg, Ohio, which celebrated its bicentennial Oct. 8 with a parade and country fair type of activities.
Blacksburg also has a sister. In 1989 Blacksburg Town Council designated San José de Bocay, a remote town in Nicaragua’s northern mountains, as its official sister city.
Blacksburg’s relationship with San José de Bocay is sustained through the Blacksburg-San José de Bocay Sister City Committee, a local volunteer organization that has raised money for Bocay schools and has organized annual visits by Blacksburg area residents and Virginia Tech students.
