Difference between revisions of "West Virginia" - New World Encyclopedia

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{{Infobox U.S. state
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| Name = West Virginia
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| Fullname = State of West Virginia
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| Flag = Flag of West Virginia.svg
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| Flaglink = [[Flag of West Virginia|Flag]]
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| Seal = Westvirginiastateseal.jpg
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| Map =Map of USA WV.svg
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| Nickname = Mountain State
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| Motto = [[Montani semper liberi]] (Mountaineers Are Always Free)
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| Former = Virginia
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| Capital = [[Charleston, West Virginia|Charleston]]
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| LargestCity = Charleston (Capital)
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| LargestMetro = [[Charleston WV metropolitan area|Charleston metro area]]
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| Governor =  [[Earl Ray Tomblin]] (D)
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| Lieutenant Governor = [[Jeff Kessler]] (D)
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| Legislature = [[West Virginia Legislature]]
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| Upperhouse = [[West Virginia Senate|Senate]]
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| Lowerhouse = [[West Virginia House of Delegates|House of Delegates]]
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| Senators = [[Jay Rockefeller]] (D) <br/> [[Joe Manchin]] (D)
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|Representative=[[West Virginia's 1st congressional district|1]]: [[David McKinley]] (R)<br/>[[West Virginia's 2nd congressional district|2]]: [[Shelley Moore Capito]] (R)<br/>[[West Virginia's 3rd congressional district|3]]: [[Nick Rahall]] (D)
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| PostalAbbreviation = WV
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| OfficialLang = none (de facto English)
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| Demonym = [[List of U.S. state residents names|West Virginian]]
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| AreaRank = 41st
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| TotalAreaUS = 24,230
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| TotalArea = 62,755
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| LandAreaUS = 24,078
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| LandArea = 62,361
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| WaterAreaUS =  152
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| WaterArea = 394
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| PCWater = 0.6
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| PopRank = 37th
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| 2000Pop = 1,855,364 (2011 est)<ref name=PopEstUS>{{cite web|url=|title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for the United States, Regions, States, and Puerto Rico: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2011|format=[[comma-separated values|CSV]]|work=2011 Population Estimates|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]], Population Division|date=December 2011}}</ref>
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| DensityRank = 29th
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| 2000DensityUS = 77.1
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| 2000Density = 29.8
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| MedianHouseholdIncome = $38,029
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|  IncomeRank = 48th
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| AdmittanceOrder = 35
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| AdmittanceDate = June 20, 1863
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| TimeZone = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern]]: [[UTC]]-5/[[Daylight saving time|-4]]
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| Latitude = 37° 12′ N to 40° 39′ N
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| Longitude = 77° 43′ W to 82° 39′ W
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| WidthUS =  130
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| Width = 210
 +
| LengthUS = 240
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| Length = 385
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| HighestPoint = [[Spruce Knob]]<ref name=USGS>{{cite web|url=http://egsc.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html|title=Elevations and Distances in the United States|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|year=2001|accessdate=October 24, 2011}}</ref><ref name=NAVD88>Elevation adjusted to [[North American Vertical Datum of 1988]].</ref>
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| HighestElevUS = 4,862
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| HighestElev = 1482
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| MeanElevUS =  1,500
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| MeanElev = 460
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| LowestPoint = [[Potomac River]] <br/>at [[Virginia]] border<ref name=USGS/><ref name=NAVD88/>
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| LowestElevUS = 240
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| LowestElev = 73
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| ISOCode = US-WV
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| Website = wv.gov
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}}
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'''West Virginia''' is a state in the [[Appalachia]]/[[Upland South]] region of the [[United States]]. West Virginia broke away from [[Virginia]] during the [[American Civil War]] and was admitted to the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] as a separate state on June 20, 1863. It is the only state formed as a direct result of the Civil War, and the only state to form by seceding from a preexisting state.
  
{{US state |
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West Virginia is one of the Border States. The state's Northern Panhandle, and North-Central region, is tied to [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]]. Also, those in the Eastern Panhandle are connected with the [[Washington, D.C.]] suburbs in [[Maryland]] and [[Virginia]], and southern West Virginians often consider themselves [[Southern United States|Southerners]]. Finally, the towns and farms along the mid-[[Ohio River]] have an appearance and culture somewhat resembling the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]].<ref>''West Virginia Division of Culture and History,'' [http://www.wvculture.org/arts/ethnic/index.html An Introduction to West Virginia's Ethnic Communities.] Retrieved December 25, 2007.</ref>
Name = West Virginia |
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{{toc}}
Fullname = State of West Virginia |
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The state is noted for its great [[natural]] [[beauty]], its historically significant [[logging]] and [[coal]] [[mining]] industries, and its [[labor history]]. It is also well known as a [[tourism|tourist]] destination for those people interested in outdoor activities such as skiing, whitewater rafting, rock climbing, [[fishing]], hiking, and hunting.  
Flag = Flag of West Virginia.svg |
 
Flaglink = [[Flag of West Virginia]] |
 
Seal = Westvirginiastateseal.jpg |
 
Map = Map of USA WV.svg |
 
Nickname = Mountain State |
 
Motto = [[Montani semper liberi]] |
 
Capital = [[Charleston, West Virginia|Charleston]] |
 
LargestCity = [[Charleston, West Virginia|Charleston]] |
 
LargestMetro = [[Charleston WV metropolitan area|Charleston metro area]] |
 
Governor = [[Joe Manchin]] (D)|
 
Senators = [[Robert Byrd|Robert C. Byrd]] (D)<br />[[Jay Rockefeller]] (D) |
 
PostalAbbreviation = WV |
 
OfficialLang = [[English language|English]] |
 
AreaRank = 41<sup>st</sup> |
 
TotalAreaUS = 24,244  |
 
TotalArea = 62,809 |
 
LandAreaUS =  24,100  |
 
LandArea = 62,437 |
 
WaterAreaUS =  145 |
 
WaterArea = 376 |
 
PCWater = 0.6 |
 
PopRank = 37th |
 
2000Pop = 1,808,344 |
 
DensityRank = 27th |
 
2000DensityUS = 75.1 <!--census.gov —>    |
 
2000Density = 29.0 |
 
MedianHouseholdIncome = $32,589 |
 
  IncomeRank = 50th |
 
AdmittanceOrder = 35 |
 
AdmittanceDate = [[June 20]], [[1863]] |
 
TimeZone = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern]]: [[UTC]]-5/[[Daylight saving time|-4]] |
 
Latitude = 37°&#8202;12′ N to 40°&#8202;39′ N |
 
Longitude = 77°&#8202;43′ W to 82°&#8202;39′ W |
 
WidthUS =  130  |
 
Width = 210 |
 
LengthUS = 240  |
 
Length = 385 |
 
HighestPoint = [[Spruce Knob]]<ref name=usgs>{{cite web| year =[[29 April]] [[2005]] | url =http://erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html#Highest| title =Elevations and Distances in the United States| publisher =U.S Geological Survey| accessmonthday = November 9 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref> |
 
HighestElevUS = 4,863  |
 
HighestElev = 1,427 |
 
MeanElevUS =  1,500 |
 
MeanElev = 460 |
 
LowestPoint = [[Potomac River]]<ref name=usgs/> |
 
LowestElevUS =  240 |
 
LowestElev = 73 |
 
ISOCode = US-WV |
 
Website = www.wv.gov
 
}}'''West Virginia''' ({{IPAEng|ˌwɛstvɚˈdʒɪnjə}}) is a [[U.S. state|state]] in the [[Appalachia]] / [[Upland South]] region of the [[United States]]. West Virginia broke away from [[Virginia]] during the [[American Civil War]] and was admitted to the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] as a separate state on [[June 20]], [[1863]] (an anniversary now celebrated as [[West Virginia Day]] in the state). It is the only state formed as a direct result of the American Civil War. It is the only state to form by seceding from a pre-existing state.
 
West Virginia is one of the [[Border states (Civil War)|Border States]]. The [[United States Census Bureau|Census Bureau]] considers West Virginia part of the [[Southern United States|South]] because most of the state is below the [[Mason-Dixon Line]], though its northern panhandle extends adjacent to [[Pennsylvania]] and [[Ohio]] with [[Weirton]] on a parallel with [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]]. The unique position of West Virginia means that it is included in a wide variety of geographical regions (though often only marginally), such as the [[Upper South]], the [[Upland South]], the [[Southeastern United States]], the [[Southern United States]], the [[Mid-Atlantic]], [[Appalachia]] and even the [[Midwestern United States]] and [[Northeastern United States]]. While West Virginians recognize that their state is part of Appalachia, many do not welcome the term for purposes of self-identification.
 
[http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1779288 WVU Social and Cultural Study]
 
The state's [[Northern Panhandle of West Virginia|Northern Panhandle]], and [[North-Central West Virginia|North-Central]] region is tied to [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]]. Also, those in the [[Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia|Eastern Panhandle]] are connected with the [[Washington, DC]] [[suburb]]s in [[Maryland]] and [[Virginia]], and [[southern West Virginia]]ns often consider themselves [[Southern United States|Southerners]]. Finally, the towns and farms along the mid-[[Ohio River]] have an appearance and culture somewhat resembling the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]], see: [http://www.wvculture.org/arts/ethnic/index.html An Introduction to West Virginia's Ethnic Communities.] The capital and largest city is [[Charleston, West Virginia|Charleston]].
 
 
 
The state is noted for its great natural beauty, its historically significant [[logging]] and [[coal mining]] industries, and its [[labor history]]. It is also well known as a tourist destination for those people interested in outdoor activities such as skiing, whitewater rafting, rock climbing, fishing, hiking, and hunting.  
 
  
 
== Geography ==
 
== Geography ==
[[Image:WV plateau.jpg|right|thumb|Shaded relief map of the [[Cumberland Plateau]] and [[Ridge-and-valley Appalachians]].]]
 
[[Image:Spruce Knob.jpg|right|thumb|The summit of [[Spruce Knob]] is often covered in clouds.]]
 
{{main|Geography of West Virginia}}
 
{{seealso|List of counties in West Virginia|List of West Virginia county seats}}
 
 
West Virginia is bordered by [[Pennsylvania]] to the north; by [[Ohio]] to the north and west; by [[Kentucky]] to the west; by [[Maryland]] to the north and east; and by [[Virginia]] to the east and south. The [[Ohio River|Ohio]] and [[Potomac River|Potomac]] rivers form parts of the boundaries.
 
West Virginia is bordered by [[Pennsylvania]] to the north; by [[Ohio]] to the north and west; by [[Kentucky]] to the west; by [[Maryland]] to the north and east; and by [[Virginia]] to the east and south. The [[Ohio River|Ohio]] and [[Potomac River|Potomac]] rivers form parts of the boundaries.
  
West Virginia is the only state in the nation located entirely within the [[Appalachian Mountains|Appalachian Mountain range]], and in which all areas are mountainous; for this reason it is nicknamed ''The Mountain State''. About 75% of the state is within the [[Cumberland Plateau]] and [[Allegheny Plateau]] regions. Though the relief is not high, the plateau region is extremely rugged in most areas.
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West Virginia is the only state in the nation located entirely within the [[Appalachian Mountains|Appalachian Mountain range]], and in which all areas are mountainous; for this reason it is nicknamed "The Mountain State." About 75 percent of the state is within the [[Cumberland Plateau]] and [[Allegheny Plateau]] regions. Though the relief is not high, the plateau region is extremely rugged in most areas.
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[[Image:WV plateau.jpg|left|thumb|Shaded relief map of the [[Cumberland Plateau]] and [[Ridge-and-valley Appalachians]].]]
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On the eastern state line with [[Virginia]], high peaks in the [[Monongahela National Forest]] region give rise to an island of colder [[climate]] and [[ecosystem]]s similar to those of northern [[New England]] and eastern [[Canada]]. The highest point in the state is atop [[Spruce Knob]], which at 4,863 feet (1,482 m)<ref name=USGS/> is covered in a [[boreal forest]] of dense [[spruce]] trees at altitudes above 4,000 feet (1,220 m). Spruce Knob lies within the Monongahela National Forest and is a part of the [[Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area]].<ref>''Monongahela National Forest,'' [http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/mnf/sp/sksrnra.html Welcome to the Monongahela National Forest.] Retrieved December 25, 2007.</ref> A total of six [[wilderness]] areas can also be found within the [[forest]]. Outside the forest to the south, the [[New River Gorge]] is a 1,000-foot (304 m) deep canyon carved by the [[New River (Kanawha River)|New River]]. The [[National Park Service]] manages that part of the gorge and [[river]] designated as the [[New River Gorge National River]], one of only 15 rivers in the U.S. with this level of protection.  
  
On the eastern state line with [[Virginia]], high peaks in the [[Monongahela National Forest]] region give rise to an island of colder [[climate]] and [[ecosystem]]s similar to those of northern [[New England]] and eastern [[Canada]]. The highest point in the state is atop [[Spruce Knob]], which at 4,863 feet (1,482 m)<ref name=usgs/> is covered in a [[boreal forest]] of dense [[spruce]] trees at altitudes above 4,000 feet (1,220 m). Spruce Knob lies within the Monongahela National Forest and is a part of the [[Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area]]. [http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/mnf/sp/sksrnra.html] A total of six [[wilderness]] areas can also be found within the forest. Outside the forest to the south, the New River Gorge is a 1,000-foot (304 m) deep canyon carved by the [[New River (Kanawha River)|New River]]. The [[National Park Service]] manages that part of the gorge and river designated as the [[New River Gorge National River]], one of only 15 rivers in the U.S. with this level of protection.  
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The native [[vegetation]] for most of the state was originally mixed [[hardwood]] [[forest]] of [[oak]], [[chestnut]], [[maple]], [[beech]], and [[Eastern White Pine|white pine]], with [[willow]] and [[American sycamore]] along the state's waterways. Many of the areas are rich in [[biodiversity]] and scenic [[beauty]]. Ecologically, most of West Virginia falls into the [[Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests]] [[ecoregion]].
  
The native [[vegetation]] for most of the state was originally mixed [[hardwood]] [[forest]] of [[oak]], [[chestnut]], [[maple]], [[beech]], and [[Eastern White Pine|white pine]], with [[willow]] and [[American sycamore]] along the state's waterways. Many of the areas are rich in [[biodiversity]] and scenic beauty.  Ecologically, most of West Virginia falls into the [[Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests]] [[ecoregion]].
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The underlying rock strata are [[sandstone]]s, [[shale]]s, [[bituminous coal]] beds, and [[limestone]]s laid down in a near shore environment from sediments derived from mountains to the east, in a shallow inland sea on the west. Some beds illustrate a coastal [[swamp]] environment, some river delta, some shallow water. Sea level rose and fell many times during the [[Mississippian]] and [[Pennsylvanian]] eras, giving a variety of rock strata. The Appalachian Mountains are some of the oldest on earth, having formed over 300 million years ago.
  
The underlying rock strata are [[sandstone]]s, [[shale]]s, [[bituminous coal]] beds, and [[limestone]]s laid down in a near shore environment from sediments derived from mountains to the east, in a shallow inland sea on the west. Some beds illustrate a coastal swamp environment, some river delta, some shallow water. Sea level rose and fell many times during the [[Mississippian]] and [[Pennsylvanian]] eras, giving a variety of rock strata. The Appalachian Mountains are some of the oldest on earth, having formed over 300 million years ago.
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=== Climate ===
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[[Image:Spruce Knob.jpg|right|thumb|The summit of [[Spruce Knob]] is often covered in clouds.]]
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The [[climate]] of West Virginia borders on a [[humid subtropical climate]] ([[Koppen climate classification]] ''Cfa'') in the lower elevations of the extreme southwestern part of the state (including [[Huntington, West Virginia|Huntington]]) and parts of the Eastern Panhandle east of the Appalachians with hot, humid [[summer]]s and milder [[winter]]s. The rest of the state has a [[humid continental climate]] (Koppen climate classification ''Dfa,'' or ''Dfb'' at the higher elevations) with warm to hot, humid summers and cold winters, increasing in severity with elevation. However, the weather is subject in all parts of the state to change. The hardiness zones range from zone 5b in the central [[Appalachian]] mountains to zone 7a in the warmest parts of the lowest elevations. In the Eastern Panhandle and the [[Ohio River|Ohio River Valley]] temperatures are warm enough to see and grow subtropical [[plant]]s, such as Southern magnolia ''([[Magnolia grandiflora]])'', [[Crepe Myrtle]], [[Albizia julibrissin]], [[American Sweetgum]], and even the occasional [[needle palm]] and [[sabal minor]]. These plants don't thrive as well in other parts of the state.
  
== Climate ==
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Average January [[temperature]]s range from around 28°F (-2°C) near the Cheat River to 43°F (5°C) along sections of the border with Kentucky. July averages range from 67°F (19°C) along the North Branch Potomac River to 76°F (24°C) in the western part of the state. It is cooler in the [[mountain]]s than in the lower sections of the state.
The climate of West Virginia borders on a [[humid subtropical climate]] ([[Koppen climate classification]] ''Cfa'') in the lower elevations of the extreme southwestern part of the state (including [[Huntington, West Virginia|Huntington]]) and parts of the Eastern Panhandle east of the Appalachians with hot, humid summers and milder winters. The rest of the state has a [[humid continental climate]] ([[Koppen climate classification]] ''Dfa'', except ''Dfb'' at the higher elevations) with warm to hot, humid summers and cold winters, increasing in severity with elevation. However, the weather is subject in all parts of the state to change. The hardiness zones range from zone 5b in the central [[Appalachian]] mountains to zone 7a in the warmest parts of the lowest elevations. In the Eastern Panhandle and the [[Ohio River]] Valley temperatures are warm enough to see and grow subtropical plants such as Southern magnolia (''[[Magnolia grandiflora]]''), [[Crepe Myrtle]], [[Albizia julibrissin]], [[American Sweetgum]] and even the occasional [[needle palm]] and [[sabal minor]]. These plants don't thrive as well in other parts of the state.
 
  
Average January temperatures range from around 28°F (-2°C) near the Cheat River to 43°F (5°C) along sections of the border with Kentucky. July averages range from 67°F (19°C) along the [[Potomac River#North Branch Potomac River|North Branch Potomac River]] to 76°F (24°C) in the western part of the state. It is cooler in the mountains than in the lower sections of the state.
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Annual precipitation ranges from less than 32 inches (810 mm) in the lower eastern section to more than 56 inches (1,400 mm) in higher parts of the Allegheny Front. Slightly more than half the [[rain]]fall occurs from April to September. Dense fogs are common in many valleys of the [[Kanawha]] section, especially the [[Tygart Valley]]. [[Snow]] usually lasts only a few days in the lower sections but may persist for weeks in the higher mountain areas. An average of 34 inches (86 cm) of snow falls annually in Charleston, although during the winter of 1995-1996, more than three times that amount fell as several cities in the state established new records for snowfall.
  
Annual precipitation ranges from less than 32 inches (810 mm) in the lower eastern section to more than 56 inches (1,400 mm) in higher parts of the Allegheny Front. Slightly more than half the rainfall occurs from April to September. Dense fogs are common in many valleys of the [[Kanawha]] section, especially the [[Tygart Valley]]. Snow usually lasts only a few days in the lower sections but may persist for weeks in the higher mountain areas. An average of 34 inches (86 cm) of snow falls annually in Charleston, although during the winter of [[1995]]-[[1996]] more than three times that amount fell as several cities in the state established new records for snowfall.
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== History ==
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Many ancient human-made earthen mounds from various [[mound builder (people)|mound builder]] cultures survive, especially in the areas of [[Moundsville, West Virginia|Moundsville]], [[South Charleston, West Virginia|South Charleston]], and [[Romney, West Virginia|Romney]]. Although little is known about these [[civilization]]s, artifacts found there are evidence of a complex, stratified culture with metal tools and implements.
  
== History ==
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By 1600, organized tribes such as the [[Delaware people|Delaware]] and [[Shawnee]] had moved into the area. The Iroquois Confederacy of [[Cayuga]], [[Mohawk]], [[Oneida]], [[Onondaga]], and [[Seneca nation|Seneca]], and eventually the [[Tuscarora]] began to move into the area from present-day New York. This Six Nation Confederacy dominated the area, but allowed other tribes to remain in the area.
{{main|History of West Virginia}}
 
  
The area now known as West Virginia was a favorite hunting ground of numerous [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] peoples before the arrival of [[Europe]]an settlers. Many ancient man-made earthen mounds from various [[mound builder (people)|mound builder]] cultures survive, especially in the areas of [[Moundsville, West Virginia|Moundsville]], [[South Charleston, West Virginia|South Charleston]], and [[Romney, West Virginia|Romney]]. Although little is known about these civilizations, artifacts found there are evidence of a complex, stratified culture with metal tools and implements.
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The Ohio Valley area of what was then western Virginia began to attract [[Europe]]an colonists during the 1600s. As a result, the [[Native American]]s were forced west, while many succumbed to [[disease]] and [[warfare]]. The Six Nations tribes formed alliances with both the British and French, who were fighting each other for dominance of the "New World."<ref>''West Virginia Division of Culture and History,'' [http://www.wvculture.org/history/indland.html#tribes Native American Clashes with European Settlers.] Retrieved December 25, 2007.</ref>
  
 
===European exploration and settlement===
 
===European exploration and settlement===
Line 89: Line 94:
 
In 1671, General [[Abram Wood]], at the direction of Royal Governor [[William Berkeley]] of the [[Virginia Colony]], sent a party that discovered Kanawha Falls. In 1716, Governor [[Alexander Spotswood]] and about thirty horsemen made an excursion into what is now [[Pendleton County, West Virginia|Pendleton County]]. John Van Metre, an Indian trader, entered the northern region in 1725. The same year, [[Germans|German]] settlers from [[Pennsylvania]] founded New Mecklenburg, the present [[Shepherdstown, West Virginia|Shepherdstown]], on the [[Potomac River]].  
 
In 1671, General [[Abram Wood]], at the direction of Royal Governor [[William Berkeley]] of the [[Virginia Colony]], sent a party that discovered Kanawha Falls. In 1716, Governor [[Alexander Spotswood]] and about thirty horsemen made an excursion into what is now [[Pendleton County, West Virginia|Pendleton County]]. John Van Metre, an Indian trader, entered the northern region in 1725. The same year, [[Germans|German]] settlers from [[Pennsylvania]] founded New Mecklenburg, the present [[Shepherdstown, West Virginia|Shepherdstown]], on the [[Potomac River]].  
  
King [[Charles II of England]], in 1661, granted to a company of gentlemen the land between the Potomac and [[Rappahannock River|Rappahannock]] rivers, known as the [[Northern Neck]]. The grant finally came into the possession of [[Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron]], and in 1746, a [[Fairfax Stone|stone]] was erected at the source of the [[Potomac River#North Branch Potomac River|North Branch Potomac River]] to mark the western limit of the grant. A considerable part of this land was surveyed by [[George Washington]] between 1748 and 1751. his diary indicates that many squatters, mostly German, were living along the [[Potomac River#South Branch Potomac River|South Branch Potomac River]]. Christopher Gist, a surveyor for the first [[Ohio Company]], explored the country along the [[Ohio River]] north of the mouth of the [[Kanawha River]] between 1751 and 1752 with the aim of establishing a fourteenth colony named '''[[Ohio Company|Vandalia]]'''. Many settlers crossed the mountains after 1750, encountering Native American resistance. Apparently, few Native Americans lived within the present limits of the state, but the region was a common hunting ground, crossed also by many war trails. During the [[French and Indian War]] the scattered settlements were mostly destroyed.  
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King [[Charles II of England]], in 1661, granted to a company of gentlemen the land between the Potomac and [[Rappahannock River|Rappahannock]] rivers, known as the [[Northern Neck]]. The grant finally came into the possession of [[Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron]], and in 1746, a [[Fairfax Stone|stone]] was erected at the source of the [[Potomac River#North Branch Potomac River|North Branch Potomac River]] to mark the western limit of the grant. A considerable part of this land was surveyed by [[George Washington]] between 1748 and 1751. His diary indicates that many squatters, mostly German, were living along the [[Potomac River#South Branch Potomac River|South Branch Potomac River]]. Christopher Gist, a surveyor for the first [[Ohio Company]], explored the country along the [[Ohio River]] north of the mouth of the [[Kanawha River]], between 1751 and 1752, with the aim of establishing a fourteenth colony named '''Vandalia.''' Many settlers crossed the mountains after 1750, encountering Native American resistance. Apparently, few Native Americans lived within the present limits of the state, but the region was a common hunting ground, crossed also by many war trails. During the [[French and Indian War]], the scattered settlements were mostly destroyed.  
  
 
Native American attacks continued until after the [[American Revolutionary War]]. During the war, the settlers in Western Virginia were generally active Whigs and many served in the [[Continental Army]].
 
Native American attacks continued until after the [[American Revolutionary War]]. During the war, the settlers in Western Virginia were generally active Whigs and many served in the [[Continental Army]].
  
 
===Trans-Allegheny Virginia, 1776-1861===
 
===Trans-Allegheny Virginia, 1776-1861===
{{details|Virginia}}
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Social conditions in western [[Virginia]] were entirely unlike those in the eastern portion of the state. A movement to create a state beyond the Alleghenies was revived and a petition for the establishment of "Westsylvania" was presented to [[United States Congress|Congress]], with the argument that the mountains made an almost impassable barrier on the east. The rugged nature of the country made [[slavery]] unprofitable, and time only increased the social, political, economic, and cultural differences.
Social conditions in western Virginia were entirely unlike those in the eastern portion of the state. A movement to create a state beyond the Alleghenies was revived and a petition for the establishment of "Westsylvania" was presented to [[United States Congress|Congress]], with the argument that the mountains made an almost impassable barrier on the east. The rugged nature of the country made slavery unprofitable, and time only increased the social, political, economic and cultural differences (''see'' [[Tuckahoe-Cohee]]) between the two sections of Virginia.<!--Why did this attempt at separation fail?—>
 
  
The convention that met in 1829 to form a new constitution for Virginia, against the protest of the counties beyond the mountains, required a property qualification for [[suffrage]] and gave the slave-holding counties the benefit of three-fifths of their slave population in apportioning the state's representation in the U.S. House of Representatives. As a result, every county beyond the Alleghenies except one voted to reject the constitution, which nevertheless passed because of eastern support. Though the Virginia Constitution of 1850 provided for white male suffrage, the distribution of representation among the counties continued to give control to the section east of the [[Blue Ridge Mountains]].  
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The convention that met in 1829, to form a new constitution for Virginia, against the protest of the counties beyond the mountains, required a property qualification for [[suffrage]] and gave the slave-holding counties the benefit of three-fifths of their slave population in apportioning the state's representation in the U.S. House of Representatives. As a result, every county beyond the Alleghenies except one voted to reject the constitution, which nevertheless passed because of eastern support. Though the Virginia Constitution of 1850 provided for white male suffrage, the distribution of representation among the counties continued to give control to the section east of the [[Blue Ridge Mountains]].
  
 
===Separation from Virginia===
 
===Separation from Virginia===
{{see also|West Virginia in the American Civil War}}
 
 
[[Image:JCarlile.jpg|thumb|right|[[John S. Carlile]], a leader during the First [[Wheeling Convention]]]]
 
[[Image:JCarlile.jpg|thumb|right|[[John S. Carlile]], a leader during the First [[Wheeling Convention]]]]
West Virginia is the only state in the Union to secede from another state, [[Virginia]], in U.S.
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West Virginia is the only state in the Union to secede from another state, [[Virginia]], in U.S. history.<ref>''West Virginia Division of Culture and History,'' [http://www.wvculture.org/history/statehood/statehood12.html A State of Convenience, the Creation of West Virginia, Reorganized Government of Virginia Approves Separation.] Retrieved December 25, 2007.</ref> On April 17, 1861, fifteen of the forty-six delegates from the area located in the present state of West Virginia voted to secede from the [[United States]].<ref>Charles Ambler, ''The History of West Virginia'' (1933), p. 309. </ref> Almost immediately after the vote to proceed with [[secession]] prevailed in the Virginia General Assembly, a mass meeting at the town of Clarksburg recommended that each county in northwestern Virginia send delegates to a convention to meet in Wheeling on May 13, 1861. When this First [[Wheeling Convention]] met, 425 delegates from 25 counties were present, with more than one-third of the delegates from the northern panhandle area.<ref>J. McGregor, ''The Disruption of Virginia,'' p. 193. </ref> On May 23 1861, secession from the U.S. was ratified by a large majority in the state as a whole, with the western counties voting approximately 34,677 against and 19,121 for.<ref>Richard O. Curry, ''A House Divided,'' p. 147.</ref>
history.<ref>http://www.wvculture.org/history/statehood/statehood12.html " Chapter Twelve
 
"Reorganized Government of Virginia  
 
Approves Separation"</ref> On [[April 17]], [[1861]] fifteen of the forty-six delegates from the area located in the present state of West Virginia voted to secede from the United States.<ref>Charles Ambler "The History of West Virginia", 1933, pg. 309</ref> Almost immediately after the vote to proceed with [[secession]] prevailed in the Virginia General Assembly, a mass meeting at [[Clarksburg, West Virginia|Clarksburg]] recommended that each county in northwestern Virginia send delegates to a convention to meet in [[Wheeling, West Virginia|Wheeling]] on [[May 13]] [[1861]]. When this First [[Wheeling Convention]] met, 425 delegates from 25 counties were present, though more than one-third of the delegates were from the northern panhandle area,<ref>J. McGregor "The Disruption of Virginia", pg. 193</ref> but soon there was a division of sentiment. Some delegates favored the immediate formation of a new state, while others argued that, as Virginia's secession had not yet been passed by the required referendum, such action would constitute revolution against the United States.<ref> The [[United States Constitution]] provides that no state may be divided without its consent.</ref> It was decided that if the ordinance were adopted (of which there was little doubt), another convention including the members-elect of the legislature should meet at Wheeling in June. At the election on [[May 23]] [[1861]], secession was ratified by a large majority in the state as a whole, but in the western counties approximately 34,677 voted against and 19,121 voted for the Ordinance.<ref>Richard O. Curry "A House Divided", pg. 147</ref>
 
  
The Second Wheeling Convention met as agreed on [[June 11]] and declared that, since the Secession Convention had been called without the consent of the people, all its acts were void, and that all who adhered to it had vacated their offices. The Wheeling Conventions, and the delegates themselves, were never actually elected by public ballot to act on behalf of western Virginia.<ref> C. Ambler "The History of West Virginia", pg. 318</ref> An act for the reorganization of the government was passed on [[June 19]]. The next day [[Francis H. Pierpont]] was chosen by other delegates at the convention to be governor of Virginia, other officers were elected and the convention adjourned. The legislature was composed of 103 members, 33 of whom had been elected to the Virginia General Assembly<ref>Virgil Lewis "How West Virginia Was Made" pgs. 79-80</ref> on [[May 23]]. This number included some hold-over Senators from 1859, and as such had vacated their offices to convene in Wheeling. The other members "were chosen even more irregularly-some in mass meetings, others by county committee, and still others were seemingly self-appointed"<ref>Charles Ambler "The History of West Virginia", pg. 318</ref> They met on [[June 20]] and filled the remainder of the state offices, organized a state government and elected two United States senators who were recognized at [[Washington, D.C.]] At that point, therefore, there were two state governments in Virginia, one pledging allegiance to the United States and one to the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]].  
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The Second Wheeling Convention met as agreed on June 11, and declared that, since the Secession Convention had been called without the consent of the people, all its acts were void, and that all who adhered to it had vacated their offices. The Wheeling Conventions, and the delegates themselves, were never actually elected by public ballot to act on behalf of western Virginia.<ref>Ambler, p. 318.</ref> An act for the reorganization of the government was then passed on June 19. The Wheeling Convention members met on June 20, and organized a state government, electing two U.S. senators who were recognized at [[Washington, D.C.]] At that point, therefore, there were two state governments in Virginia, one pledging allegiance to the United States and one to the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]].
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The Wheeling Convention, which had taken a recess until August 6, then reassembled on August 20, and called for a popular vote on the formation of a new state and for a convention to frame a constitution if the vote should be favorable. At the election on October 24, 1861, 18,489 votes were cast for the new state and only 781 against.<ref>Curry, p. 86.</ref> The convention began on November 26, 1861, and finished its work on February 18, 1862, and the instrument was ratified (18,162 for and 514 against) on April 11, 1862.  
  
The Wheeling Convention, which had taken a recess until [[August 6]], then reassembled on [[August 20]], and called for a popular vote on the formation of a new state and for a convention to frame a constitution if the vote should be favorable. At the election on [[October 24]] [[1861]], 18,489 votes were cast for the new state and only 781 against. Most of the affirmative votes came from ten counties in the Wheeling area.<ref>Richard O. Curry "A House Divided", pgs. 141-152</ref> Over 50,000 votes had been cast on the Ordinance of Secession, yet the vote on statehood gathered only a little over 19,000. In Ohio County, home to Wheeling, a little over one-quarter of the voters cast a vote.<ref>Richard O. Curry "A House Divided", pg. 149</ref> At the Constitutional Convention in November 1861, Mr. Lamb of Ohio County and Mr. Carskadon said that in Hampshire County, out of 195 votes only 39 were cast by citizens of the state, the rest by Union soldiers.<ref>J. McGregor "The Disruption of Virginia", pg. 270</ref> In most of what would become West Virginia, there was no vote at all as two-thirds of the territory of West Virginia had voted for secession and county officers were still loyal to Richmond.<ref>Richard O. Curry "A House Divided" map, pg. 49</ref> Votes recorded from Secession counties were mostly cast in the northwest by Unionist refugees from those counties.<ref>Richard O. Curry "A House Divided", pg. 86</ref> The convention began on [[November 26]] [[1861]], and finished its work on [[February 18]] [[1862]], and the instrument was ratified (18,162 for and 514 against) on [[April 11]] [[1862]].
 
 
[[Image:Harper's Ferry seen from Maryland side of Potomac River.jpg|left|thumb|[[Harpers Ferry]] (as it appears today) changed hands a dozen times during the [[American Civil War]].]]
 
[[Image:Harper's Ferry seen from Maryland side of Potomac River.jpg|left|thumb|[[Harpers Ferry]] (as it appears today) changed hands a dozen times during the [[American Civil War]].]]
  
On [[May 13]], the state legislature of the reorganized government approved the formation of the new state. An application for admission to the Union was made to Congress, and on [[December 31]] [[1862]], an enabling act was approved by President [[Abraham Lincoln]] admitting West Virginia, on the condition that a provision for the gradual abolition of slavery be inserted in the Constitution. The Convention was reconvened on [[February 12]] [[1863]], and the demand was met. The revised constitution was adopted on [[March 26]] [[1863]], and on [[April 20]] [[1863]], President Lincoln issued a proclamation admitting the state at the end of sixty days ([[June 20]] [[1863]]). Meanwhile officers for the new state were chosen and Governor Pierpont moved his capital to [[Alexandria, Virginia|Alexandria]] where he asserted jurisdiction over the counties of Virginia within the Federal lines.  
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On May 13, the state legislature of the reorganized government approved the formation of the new state. An application for admission to the Union was made to Congress, and on December 31, 1862, an enabling act was approved by President [[Abraham Lincoln]] admitting West Virginia, on the condition that a provision for the gradual [[abolitionism|abolition]] of [[slavery]] be inserted in the Constitution. The Convention was reconvened on February 12, 1863, and the demand was met. The revised constitution was adopted on March 26 1863, and on April 20 1863, President Lincoln issued a proclamation admitting the state at the end of sixty days (June 20 1863).  
  
[[Image:FirstConfederateMemorial.JPG|thumb|right|[[First Confederate Memorial]], [[Romney, West Virginia|Romney]].]]
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The question of the constitutionality of the formation of the new state was brought before the [[Supreme Court of the United States]]: The [[Virginia General Assembly]] repealed the act of secession and, in 1866, brought suit against West Virginia asking the court to declare the counties a part of Virginia. The U.S. Congress, however, passed a joint resolution recognizing the transfer on March 10, 1866. The Supreme Court, in 1870, decided in favor of West Virginia.<ref>''Find Law,'' [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=us&vol=78&page=39 Virginia v. West Virginia,] 78 U.S. 39 (1870). Retrieved June 16, 2008.</ref>
The question of the constitutionality of the formation of the new state was brought before the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] in the following manner: [[Berkeley County, West Virginia|Berkeley]] and [[Jefferson County, West Virginia|Jefferson]] counties lying on the Potomac east of the mountains, in 1863, with the consent of the reorganized government of Virginia voted in favor of annexation to West Virginia. Many voters absent in the Confederate Army when the vote was taken refused to acknowledge the transfer upon their return. The [[Virginia General Assembly]] repealed the act of secession and in 1866 brought suit against West Virginia asking the court to declare the counties a part of Virginia. Meanwhile, Congress, on [[March 10]] [[1866]], passed a joint resolution recognizing the transfer. The Supreme Court, in 1870, decided in favor of West Virginia.<ref>[http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=us&vol=78&page=39 Virginia v. West Virginia,] 78 U.S. 39 (1870)</ref>
 
  
During the [[American Civil War]], West Virginia suffered comparatively little. [[George B. McClellan]]'s forces gained possession of the greater part of the territory in the summer of 1861, and Union control was never seriously threatened, in spite of the attempt by [[Robert E. Lee]] in the same year. In 1863, General [[John D. Imboden]], with 5,000 Confederates, overran a considerable portion of the state. Bands of guerrillas burned and plundered in some sections, and were not entirely suppressed until after the war ended.
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During the [[American Civil War]], West Virginia suffered comparatively little. [[George B. McClellan]]'s forces gained possession of the greater part of the territory in the summer of 1861, and Union control was never seriously threatened, in spite of the attempt by [[Robert E. Lee]] in the same year. In 1863, General [[John D. Imboden]], with 5,000 Confederates, overran a considerable portion of the state. Bands of [[Guerrilla war|guerrillas]] burned and plundered in some sections, and were not entirely suppressed until after the war ended.
  
The area which became West Virginia furnished about an equal amount of soldiers to the Federal and Confederate governments[http://www.wvculture.org/History/civwaran.html], approximately 22-25,000 each. The Wheeling government found it necessary in 1865 to strip voting rights from returning Confederates. James Ferguson, who proposed the law, said that if it was not enacted he would lose election by 500 votes.<ref>Charles Ambler "Disfranchisement in West Virginia", Yale Review, 1905, pg. 41</ref> The property of Confederates might be confiscated, and in 1866 a constitutional amendment disfranchising all who had given aid and comfort to the Confederacy was adopted. The addition of the [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourteenth]] and [[Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fifteenth Amendments]] to the United States Constitution caused a reaction, the [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic party]] secured control in 1870, and in 1871, the constitutional amendment of 1866 was abrogated. The first steps toward this change had been taken, however, by the [[United States Republican Party|Republicans]] in 1870. On [[August 22]] [[1872]], an entirely new constitution was adopted.
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The area which became West Virginia furnished about an equal amount of soldiers to the Federal and Confederate governments, approximately 22-25,000 each.<ref>''West Virginia Division of Culture and History,'' [http://www.wvculture.org/History/civwaran.html Researching your Civil War Ancestor.] Retrieved December 25, 2007. </ref> The Wheeling government disenfranchised returning Confederate soldiers in 1865.<ref>Charles Ambler, "Disfranchisement in West Virginia," ''Yale Review,'' 1905, p. 41 </ref> In addition, Confederates' property could be confiscated, and in 1866, a constitutional amendment disfranchised all who had given aid and comfort to the Confederacy. Shifting political control in the state led to the abrogation of the 1866 amendment, and eventually, an entirely new state constitution was adopted on August 22, 1872.
 
 
Beginning in [[Reconstruction]], and for several decades thereafter, the two states disputed the new state's share of the pre-war Virginia government's debt, which had mostly been incurred to finance public infrastructure improvements, such as canals, roads, and railroads under the [[Virginia Board of Public Works]]. Virginians, led by former Confederate General [[William Mahone]], formed a political coalition which was based upon this theory, the [[Readjuster Party]]. Although West Virginia's first constitution provided for the assumption of a part of the Virginia debt, negotiations opened by Virginia in 1870 were fruitless, and in 1871, that state funded two-thirds of the debt and arbitrarily assigned the remainder to West Virginia. The issue was finally settled in 1915, when the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] ruled that West Virginia owed Virginia $12,393,929.50. The final installment of this sum was paid off in 1939.
 
 
 
=== Hidden resources ===
 
{{Expand-section|date=January 2007}}
 
After [[Reconstruction]], the new 35th state benefited from development of its mineral resources more than any other single economic activity.
 
 
 
[[Salt]] mining had been underway since the 18th century, though it had largely played out by the time of the American Civil War, when the red salt of [[Kanawha County, West Virginia|Kanawha County]] was a valued commodity of first Confederate, and later Union forces. Later, more sophisticated mining methods would restore West Virginia's role as a major producer of salt.
 
 
 
However, in the second half of the 19th century, there was an even greater treasure not yet developed, however. It was one that would fuel much of the [[Industrial Revolution]] in the U.S. and the steamships of many of the world's navies: [[bituminous coal]].
 
 
 
The residents (both Native Americans and early European settlers) had long-known of the underlying coal, and that it could be used for heating and fuel. However, for a long time, very small "personal" mines were the only practical development. After the War, with the new [[railroad]]s came a practical method to transport large quantities of coal to expanding U.S. and export markets. As the [[anthracite]] mines of northwestern New Jersey and Pennsylvania began to play out during this same time period, investors and industrialists focused new interest in West Virginia. [[Geologist]]s such as Dr. [[David T. Ansted]] surveyed potential coal fields and invested in land and early mining projects.
 
 
 
The completion of the [[Chesapeake and Ohio Railway]] (C&O) across the state to the new city of [[Huntington, West Virginia|Huntington]] on the [[Ohio River]] in 1872 opened access to the [[New River (West Virginia)|New River]] Coal Field. Soon, the C&O was building its huge [[coal pier]] at [[Newport News, Virginia]] on the large harbor of [[Hampton Roads]]. In 1881, the new Philadelphia-based owners of the former [[Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad]] (AM&O) which stretched across Virginia's southern tier from [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]], had sights clearly set on the Mountain State, where the owners had large land holdings. Their railroad was renamed [[Norfolk and Western]] (N&W), and a new railroad city was developed at [[Roanoke, Virginia|Roanoke]] to handle planned expansion. After its new president [[Frederick J. Kimball]] and a small party journeyed by horseback and saw firsthand the rich bituminous coal seam which his wife named "Pocahontas", the N&W redirected its planned westward expansion to reach it. Soon, the N&W was also shipping from new coal piers at Hampton Roads.
 
 
 
In 1889, in the southern part of the state, along the Norfolk and Western rail lines, the important coal center of [[Bluefield, West Virginia]] was founded. The "capital" of the [[Pocahontas coalfield]], this city would remain the largest city in the southern portion of the state for several decades. It shares a sister city with the same name, Bluefield, in Virginia.
 
 
 
In the northern portion of the state and elsewhere, the older [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]] (B&O) and other lines also expanded to take advantage of coal opportunities as well. The B&O developed coal piers in [[Baltimore, Maryland|Baltimore]] and at several points on the [[Great Lakes]]. Other significant rail carriers of coal were the [[Western Maryland Railway]] (WM), [[Southern Railway (US)|Southern Railway]] (SOU), and the [[Louisville and Nashville Railroad]] (L&N).
 
 
 
Particularly notable was a latecomer, the [[Virginian Railway]] (VGN). By 1900, only a large area of the most rugged terrain of southern West Virginia was any distance from the existing railroads and mining activity. Within this area west of the New River Coalfield in Raleigh and Wyoming counties lay the [[Winding Gulf Coalfield]], later promoted as the "Billion Dollar Coalfield." 
 
 
 
A protégé of Dr. Ansted was [[William N. Page|William Nelson Page]] (1854-1932), a [[civil engineer]] and mining manager in [[Fayette County, West Virginia|Fayette County]]. Former West Virginia Governor [[William A. MacCorkle]] described him as a man who knew the land "as a farmer knows a field." Beginning in 1898, Page teamed with northern and European-based investors to take advantage of the undeveloped area. They acquired large tracts of land in the area, and Page began the [[Deepwater Railway]], a [[short-line railroad]] which was chartered to stretch between the C&O at its line along the [[Kanawha River]] and the N&W at [[Matoaka, West Virginia|Matoaka]], a distance of about 80 miles.
 
 
 
Although the Deepwater plan should have provided a competitive shipping market via either railroad, leaders of the two large railroads did not appreciate the scheme. In secret collusion, each declined to negotiate favorable rates with Page, nor did they offer to purchase his railroad, as they had many other short-lines. However, if the C&O and N&W presidents thought they could thus kill the Page project, they were to be proved mistaken. One of the [[silent partner]] investors Page had enlisted was millionaire industrialist [[Henry H. Rogers|Henry Huttleston Rogers]], a principal in [[John D. Rockefeller]]'s [[Standard Oil Trust]] and an old hand at developing natural resources, transportation. A master at competitive "warfare", Henry Rogers did not like to lose in his endeavors, and also had [[deep pocket|"deep pockets"]].
 
 
 
Instead of giving up, Page (and Rogers) quietly planned and then built their tracks all the way east across Virginia, using Rogers' private fortune to finance the $40 million cost. When the renamed [[Virginian Railway]] (VGN) was completed in 1909, no less than three railroads were shipping ever-increasing volumes of coal to export from Hampton Roads. West Virginia coal was also under high demand at [[Great Lakes]] ports as well. The VGN and the N&W) ultimately became parts of the modern [[Norfolk Southern]] system, and the VGN's well-engineered 20th century tracks continue to offer a favorable gradient to Hampton Roads.
 
 
As coal mining and related work became a major employment activities in the state, there was considerable labor strife as working conditions, safety issues, and economic concerns arose. Even in the 21st century, mining safety and ecological concerns were challenging to the state whose coal continued to power electrical generating plants in many other states.
 
 
 
Coal is not the only valuable mineral found in West Virginia, as the state was the site of the 1928 discovery of the 34.48 carat (6.896 g) [[Jones Diamond]]..
 
 
 
== Demographics ==
 
[[Image:West Virginia population map.png|thumb|left|West Virginia population density map.]]
 
 
 
The [[center of population]] of West Virginia is located in [[Braxton County, West Virginia|Braxton County]], in the town of [[Gassaway, West Virginia|Gassaway]] [http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cenpop/statecenters.txt].
 
 
 
As of 2005, West Virginia has an estimated population of 1,816,856, which is an increase of 4,308, or 0.2%, from the prior year and an increase of 8,506, or 0.5%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural decrease since the last census of 3,296 people (that is 108,292 births minus 111,588 deaths) and an increase from net [[Human migration|migration]] of 14,209 people into the state. [[Immigration to the United States|Immigration]] from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 3,691 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 10,518 people.
 
 
 
Only 1.1% of the state's residents were foreign-born, placing West Virginia last among the 50 states in that statistic. It has the lowest percentage of residents that speak a language other than English in the home (2.7%).
 
 
 
The five largest ancestry groups in West Virginia are: [[American ancestry|American]] (23.2%), [[German American|German]] (17.2%), [[Irish American|Irish]] (13.5%) (Most actually [[Scots-Irish American|Scots-Irish]]), [[English American|English]] (12%), [[Italian American|Italian]] (4.8%).
 
 
 
Large numbers of people of [[Germans|German]] ancestry are present in the northeastern counties of the state.
 
 
 
5.6% of West Virginia's population were reported as under 5, 22.3% under 18, and 15.3% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51.4% of the population.
 
{{US Demographics}}
 
 
 
== Economy ==
 
{{main|Economy of West Virginia}}
 
The economy of West Virginia is one of the most fragile of any [[U.S. state]]. According to [[U.S. Census Bureau]] data, West Virginia is the third lowest in per capita income [http://www.census.gov/statab/ranks/rank29.html], ahead of only [[Arkansas]] and [[Mississippi]]. It also ranks last in median household income. [http://www.census.gov/statab/ranks/rank33.html] The proportion of West Virginia's adult population with a bachelor's degree is the lowest in the U.S. at 15.3%. [http://www.census.gov/statab/ranks/rank19.html]
 
 
 
One of the major resources in West Virginia's economy is [[coal]]. West Virginia also engaged in oil drilling, but currently only has a few small to medium sized oil and natural gas fields. Farming is also practiced in West Virginia, but on a limited basis because of the mountainous terrain over much of the state.
 
[[Image:Coalseam 8618.JPG|right|thumb|Bituminous coal seam in southwestern West Virginia]]
 
 
 
West Virginia personal [[income tax]] is based on federal adjusted gross income (not taxable income), as modified by specific items in West Virginia law. Citizens are taxed within 5 income brackets, which range from 3.0% to 6.5%. The state's consumer [[sales tax]] is levied at 6%. Effective [[January 1]], [[2004]] calculation of WV consumer sales tax has been converted to a calculated figure from the bracket system, and remains at six percent for most goods (food goods are now taxable at five percent). The computation of tax is carried out to the third decimal place and rounded up when the third decimal place is five (.005) or higher; and similarly rounded down if the third place is four (.004) or lower. By virtue of this method, sales totaling $0.08 and below would not have a sales tax associated with them. [http://www.state.wv.us/taxrev/taxdoc/tsd1.htm]
 
 
 
West Virginia counties administer and collect [[property tax]]es, although property tax rates reflect levies for state government, county governments, county boards of education, and municipalities. Counties may also impose a [[hotel occupancy tax]] on lodging places not located within the city limits of any municipality that levies such a tax. Municipalities may levy license and [[gross receipts tax]]es on businesses located within the city limits and a hotel occupancy tax on lodging places in the city. Although the Department of Tax and Revenue plays a major role in the administration of this tax, less than one-half of one percent of the property tax collected goes to state government. The primary beneficiaries of the property tax are county boards of education. Property taxes are paid to the [[sheriff]] of each of the state's 55 counties. Each county and municipality can impose its own rates of property taxation within the limits set by the West Virginia Constitution. The West Virginia legislature sets the rate of tax of county boards of education. This rate is used by all county boards of education statewide. However, the total tax rate for county boards of education may differ from county to county because of excess levies. The Department of Tax and Revenue supervises and otherwise assists counties and municipalities in their work of assessment and tax rate determination. The total tax rate is a combination of the tax levies from four state taxing authorities: state, county, schools, and municipal. This total tax rate varies for each of the four classes of property, which consists of personal, real, and intangible properties. Property is assessed according to its use, location, and value as of [[July 1]]. All property is reappraised every three years; annual adjustments are made to assessments for property with a change of value.
 
West Virginia does not impose an [[inheritance tax]]. Because of the phase-out of the federal [[estate tax]] credit, West Virginia's estate tax is not imposed on estates of persons who died in 2005.
 
 
 
== Transportation ==
 
[[Image:WVtollbooth.jpg|thumb|left|A toll plaza [[West Virginia Turnpike]].]]
 
[[Image:NewRiverGorgeBridgeWV.jpg|thumb|right|The [[New River Gorge Bridge]].]]
 
[[Image:Weirton-Steubenville Bridge pic 1.jpg|thumb|right|The Veterans Memorial Bridge, which carries [[U.S. Route 22]].]]
 
{{main|Transportation in West Virginia}}
 
 
 
Highways form the backbone of transportation systems in West Virginia, with over 37,300 miles of public roads in the state.<ref>[http://www.wvdot.com/3_roadways/3_roadways.htm West Virginia Department of Transportation, accessed 9 June 2006]</ref>  Airports, railroads, and rivers complete the commercial transportation modes for West Virginia. Commercial air travel is facilitated by airports in Charleston, Huntington, Beckley, Bluefield, Lewisburg, Clarksburg, Martinsburg, Morgantown, Wheeling, and Parkersburg. Cities like Charleston, Huntington, Clarksburg, Fairmont, Bluefield, and Logan have bus-based public transit systems. Charleston also has a limited number of [[tram|trolley]] cars that run primarily through the downtown area. [[West Virginia University]] in Morgantown boasts a [[Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit|PRT (personal rapid transit) system]], the state's only [[single rail]] public transit system. Developed by [[Boeing]], the WVU School of Engineering and the [[United States Department of Transportation|Department of Transportation]], it was a model for low-capacity light transport designed for smaller cities. It was also the model for DisneyWorld's tram system. Recreational transportation opportunities abound in West Virginia, including hiking trails,<ref>de Hart, A, and Sundquist, B., Monongahela National Forest Hiking Guide, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, Charleston, WV 1993.</ref> [[rail trails]],<ref>[http://www.wvrtc.org West Virginia Rails-to-Trails Council, accessed 9 June 9, 2006]</ref> ATV off road trails,<ref>[http://www.trailsheaven.com/ Hatfield and McCoys Trail web site, accessed 6 June 2006]</ref> white water rafting rivers,<ref>[http://www.wvwhitewater.com/ WV White Water web site, access 6 June 2006]</ref> and two tourist railroads ([[Cass Scenic Railroad]],<ref>[http://www.cassrailroad.com/ Cass Scenic Railroad web site, accessed 6 June 9, 2006]</ref> and the [[South Branch Valley Railroad|Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad]].<ref>[http://www.potomaceagle.info/ Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad, accessed 6 June 2006]</ref>)
 
 
 
West Virginia is crossed by several [[interstate highways]]. [[I-64]] enters the state near [[White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia|White Sulphur Springs]] in the mountainous east, and exits for [[Kentucky]] in the west, near [[Huntington, West Virginia|Huntington]]. [[I-77]] enters from [[Virginia]] in the south, near [[Bluefield, West Virginia|Bluefield]]. It runs north past [[Parkersburg, West Virginia|Parkersburg]] before it crosses into [[Ohio]]. [[I-64]] and [[I-77]] are merged in a stretch of toll road known as the [[West Virginia Turnpike]], on which construction began in 1952. It runs from just east of [[Charleston, West Virginia|Charleston]] south to the exit for [[Princeton, West Virginia|Princeton]]. [[I-68]]'s western terminus is in [[Morgantown, West Virginia|Morgantown]]. From there it runs east into [[Maryland]]. At the [[I-68]] terminus, it meets [[I-79]], which enters from Pennsylvania and runs through the state to its southern terminus in [[Charleston, West Virginia|Charleston]]. [[I-70]] briefly runs through West Virginia, crossing the northern panhandle through [[Wheeling, West Virginia|Wheeling]]. I-81 also briefly runs through the eastern panhandle where it goes through Martinsburg.
 
 
 
Rail lines in the state used to be more prevalent, but many lines have been discontinued because of increased automobile traffic. Many old tracks have been converted to [[rail trails]] for recreational use, and the state is still served by a few commercial lines for hauling coal and by [[Amtrak]]. In 2006 [[Norfolk Southern]] along with the West Virginia and U.S. Government approved a plan to modify many of the rail tunnels in West Virginia, espeically in the southern half of the state, to allow for double stacked cars (see [[Intermodal freight transport#Variations| intermodal freight]]). This is expected to also help bring economic growth to the southern half of the state.
 
 
 
Because of the mountainous nature of the entire state, West Virginia has several notable tunnels and bridges. The most famous of these is the [[New River Gorge Bridge]], which was at a time the longest steel single-arch bridge in the world with a 3,031-foot (924 m) span. The bridge is also pictured on the West Virginia [[state quarter]]. The Veterans Memorial Bridge (Weirton-Steubenville Bridge) was at its time of construction one of only three cable-stayed steel girder trusses in the United States. It connects [[Steubenville, Ohio]] with [[Weirton, West Virginia]] along US Route 22.
 
  
 
== Law and government ==
 
== Law and government ==
{{main|Law and government of West Virginia}}
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=== State and local ===
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[[Image:WV Capitolbuilding.jpg|thumb|right|The West Virginia State Capitol.]]
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West Virginia's capital and seat of government is the city of '''Charleston,''' located in the southwest area of the state. Charleston, founded in 1794, was built on a settlement near the mouth of the Elk River dating from 1788. Once West Virginia was finally proclaimed a state by President Lincoln, a new state capital had to be named. The capital shifted between Charleston and Wheeling for several years until Charleston was finally chosen by popular vote in 1877. The first capitol building was built in 1885. The current structure was dedicated in 1932, after the first burned down.<ref>''Charleston Convention & Visitors Bureau,'' [http://www.charlestonwv.com/about/history.asp Your Doorway to West Virginia.] Retrieved December 25, 2007.</ref>
  
West Virginia's capital and seat of government is the city of [[Charleston, West Virginia|Charleston]], located in the southwest area of the state.  
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The governor of West Virgina is elected every four years, on the same day as the U.S. Presidential election, and is sworn in during the following January. Governors of West Virginia can serve two consecutive terms, but must sit out a term before serving a third term in office. Other elected officials in the executive branch include the Agriculture Commissioner, Auditor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, and Treasurer.<ref>''State of West Virginia,'' [http://www.wv.gov/sec.aspx?pgID=44 Executive Branch.] Retrieved December 25, 2007.</ref>
  
=== Legislative Branch ===
+
The West Virginia Legislature is [[bicameral]], consisting of the House of Delegates and the Senate. It is a citizen's legislature, meaning that legislative office is not a full-time occupation, but rather a part-time position. Consequently, the legislators often hold a full-time job in their community of residence. Typically, the legislature is in session for 60 days between January and early April, closing at midnight on the last day of the session. During the remainder of the year, monthly interim sessions are held in preparation for the regular session. Legislators also gather periodically for "special" sessions when called by the governor.
{{see|West Virginia Legislature}}
 
The West Virginia Legislature is [[bicameral]], consisting of the [[West Virginia House of Delegates|House of Delegates]] and the [[West Virginia Senate|Senate]]. It is a citizen's legislature, meaning that legislative office is not a full-time occupation, but rather a part-time position. Consequently, the legislators often hold a full-time job in their community of residence.
 
  
Typically, the legislature is in session for 60 days between January and early April. The final day of the regular session ends in a bewildering fury of last-minute legislation in order to meet a constitutionally imposed deadline of midnight. During the remainder of the year, monthly interim sessions are held in preparation for the regular session. Legislators also gather periodically for 'special' sessions when called by the governor.
+
West Virginia’s highest court is the Supreme Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia is the busiest appellate court of its type in the United States. West Virginia is one of 11 states with a single appellate court. The state constitution allows for the creation of an intermediate court of appeals, but the Legislature has never created one. The Supreme Court is made up of five justices, elected in partisan elections to 12-year terms.
 
+
For the purpose of courts of general jurisdiction, the state is divided into 31 judicial circuits. Each circuit is made up of one or more counties. Circuit judges are elected in partisan elections to serve eight-year terms.
=== Executive Branch ===
 
{{see|List of Governors of West Virginia}}
 
 
 
The governor, elected every four years on the same day as the U.S. Presidential election, is sworn in during the following January.
 
 
 
Governors of West Virginia can serve two consecutive terms but must sit out a term before serving a third term in office.
 
  
=== Judicial Branch ===
+
West Virginia is one of twelve states that does not have a [[Capital punishment|death penalty]].
{{see|Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia}}
 
West Virginia is one of twelve states that does not have a [[Capital punishment in the United States|death penalty]].
 
  
For the purpose of courts of general jurisdiction, the state is divided into 31 judicial circuits. Each circuit is made up of one or more counties. Circuit judges are elected in partisan elections to serve eight-year terms.
+
West Virginia is an [[alcoholic beverage control state]]. It retains a monopoly on wholesaling of distilled spirits and does not operate retail outlets.
  
West Virginia’s highest court is the Supreme Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia is the busiest appellate court of its type in the United States. West Virginia is one of 11 states with a single appellate court. The state constitution allows for the creation of an intermediate court of appeals, but the Legislature has never created one. The Supreme Court is made up of five justices, elected in partisan elections to 12-year terms.
+
West Virginia counties administer and collect [[property tax]]es. Municipalities may levy license and [[gross receipts tax]]es on businesses located within the city limits and a hotel occupancy tax on lodging places in the city. Although the Department of Tax and Revenue plays a major role in the administration of this tax, less than one-half of one percent of the property tax collected goes to state government. The primary beneficiaries of the property tax are county boards of education. The WV Department of Tax and Revenue supervises and otherwise assists counties and municipalities in their work of assessment and tax rate determination.
 
 
West Virginia is an [[alcoholic beverage control state]]. However, unlike most such states, it does not operate retail outlets, having exited that business in 1990. It retains a monopoly on wholesaling of distilled spirits only.
 
  
 
=== Politics ===
 
=== Politics ===
[[Image:WV Capitolbuilding.jpg|thumb|right|The West Virginia State Capitol.]]
+
West Virginia has a history of supporting Democratic candidates in state and local elections. It also has a very strong tradition of union membership. While the state continued its Democratic tradition by supporting [[Bill Clinton]] by large margins in 1992 and 1996, a majority of West Virginia voters supported [[George W. Bush]] in 2000 and 2004.  
{{main|Politics of West Virginia}}
 
West Virginia's politics are largely dominated by the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] as Democrats dominate most local and state offices. West Virginia also has a very strong tradition of union membership. While the state continued its Democratic tradition by supporting [[Bill Clinton]] by large margins in 1992 and 1996, a majority of West Virginia voters supported [[George W. Bush]] in 2000 and 2004. Bush won the state's five electoral votes in 2004 by a margin of 13 percentage points with 56.1% of the vote.  
 
  
The most consistent support for Democrats is found in the [[coal field]]s of [[southern West Virginia]] (especially [[McDowell County, West Virginia|McDowell]], [[Mingo County, West Virginia|Mingo]], [[Logan County, West Virginia|Logan]], [[Wyoming County, West Virginia|Wyoming]], and [[Boone County, West Virginia|Boone]] Counties), while [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] are most numerous to the east of the [[Allegheny Mountains]], especially in the state's [[Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia|Eastern Panhandle]] and [[Potomac Highlands]]. The [[Northern Panhandle]] and [[North-Central West Virginia]] regions usually split right down the middle in terms of being Republican or Democrat.
+
The most consistent support for Democrats is found in the coal region of [[southern West Virginia]] (especially [[McDowell County, West Virginia|McDowell]], [[Mingo County, West Virginia|Mingo]], [[Logan County, West Virginia|Logan]], [[Wyoming County, West Virginia|Wyoming]], and [[Boone County, West Virginia|Boone]] Counties). [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] dominate east of the [[Allegheny Mountains]], especially in the state's [[Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia|Eastern Panhandle]] and [[Potomac Highlands]]. The [[Northern Panhandle]] and [[North-Central West Virginia]] regions usually split right down the middle in terms of being Republican or Democrat.
  
== Important cities and towns ==
+
== Economy ==
:''See also: [[List of cities in West Virginia]], [[List of towns in West Virginia]], [[List of villages in West Virginia]], [[List of census-designated places in West Virginia]]''
+
{{MetaSidebar|250px|#ffffaa|right|[[West Virginia State Symbols]]|
[[Image:Charleston WV skyline.jpg|thumb|Charleston is West Virginia's most populous city]]
+
*'''Motto:''' ''[[Montani semper liberi]]'' ([[Latin]], "Mountaineers are Always Free")
===Large cities (+ 10,000 population)===
+
*'''Slogan:''' ''Open for Business''
{| border="0"
+
:''Wild and Wonderful''
|-
+
:''Almost Heaven''
|valign="top"|
+
*'''Bird:'''   [[Northern Cardinal]], ''(Cardinalis cardinalis)''
*[[Charleston, West Virginia|Charleston]], 53,421 (2005 estimate: 51,176)
+
*'''Animal:''' [[American black bear|Black Bear]], ''(Ursus americanus)''
*[[Huntington, West Virginia|Huntington]], 51,475 (2005 estimate: 49,198)
+
*'''Fish:'''   [[Brook trout|Brook Trout]], ''(Salvelinus fontinalis)''
*[[Parkersburg, West Virginia|Parkersburg]], 33,099 (2005 estimate: 32,020)
+
*'''Insect:''' [[Western honey bee|European Honey Bee]], ''(Apis mellifera)''
*[[Wheeling, West Virginia|Wheeling]], 31,419 (2005 estimate: 29,639)
+
*'''Flower:''' [[Rhododendron]], ''(Rhododendron maximum)''
*[[Morgantown, West Virginia|Morgantown]], 26,809 (2005 estimate: 28,292)
+
*'''Tree:'''   [[Acer saccharum|Sugar Maple]], ''(Acer saccharum)''
*[[Weirton, West Virginia|Weirton]], 20,411 (2005 estimate: 19,544)
+
*'''Song:'''  "The West Virginia Hills"  
*[[Fairmont, West Virginia|Fairmont]], 19,097 (2005 estimate: 19,049)
+
:"This Is My West Virginia"
*[[Beckley, West Virginia|Beckley]], 17,254 (2005 estimate: 16,936)
+
:"West Virginia, My Home Sweet Home"  
|valign="top"|
+
*'''Gemstone:''' [[Coral#Geological history|Silicified Mississippian Fossil Coral]]''(Lithostrotionella)''  
*[[Clarksburg, West Virginia|Clarksburg]], 16,743 (2005 estimate: 16,439)
+
*'''Colors:''' [[Old Gold]] and [[Blue]]  
*[[Martinsburg, West Virginia|Martinsburg]], 14,972 (2005 estimate: 15,996)
+
*'''Butterfly:''' [[Monarch Butterfly]], ''(Danaus plexippus)''  
*[[South Charleston, West Virginia|South Charleston]], 13,390 (2005 estimate: 12,700)
+
*'''Fruit:''' [[Golden Delicious|Golden Delicious Apple]], ''(Malus domestica)''  
*[[Teays Valley, West Virginia|Teays Valley]], 12,704 (2005 estimate: N/A)
 
*[[St. Albans, West Virginia|St. Albans]], 11,567 (2005 estimate: 11,105)
 
*[[Bluefield, West Virginia|Bluefield]], 11,451 (2005 estimate: 11,119)
 
*[[Vienna, West Virginia|Vienna]], 10,861 (2005 estimate: 10,770)
 
*[[Cross Lanes, West Virginia|Cross Lanes]], 10,353 (2005 estimate: N/A)
 
|}
 
 
 
===Towns and small cities===
 
{| border="0"
 
|-
 
|valign="top"|
 
*[[Barboursville, West Virginia|Barboursville]]
 
*[[Bath (Berkeley Springs), West Virginia|Berkeley Springs]]
 
*[[Bridgeport, West Virginia|Bridgeport]]
 
*[[Buckhannon, West Virginia|Buckhannon]]
 
*[[Charles Town, West Virginia|Charles Town]]
 
*[[Dunbar, West Virginia|Dunbar]]
 
*[[Elkins, West Virginia|Elkins]]
 
*[[Fayetteville, West Virginia|Fayetteville]]
 
*[[Follansbee, West Virginia|Follansbee]]
 
|valign="top"|
 
*[[Grafton, West Virginia|Grafton]]
 
*[[Harpers Ferry, West Virginia|Harpers Ferry]]
 
*[[Hinton, West Virginia|Hinton]]
 
*[[Kenova, West Virginia|Kenova]]
 
*[[Keyser, West Virginia|Keyser]]
 
*[[Kingwood, West Virginia|Kingwood]]
 
*[[Lewisburg, West Virginia|Lewisburg]]
 
*[[Madison, West Virginia|Madison]]
 
*[[Mannington, West Virginia|Mannington]]
 
|valign="top"|
 
*[[Marlinton, West Virginia|Marlinton]]
 
*[[Moorefield, West Virginia|Moorefield]]
 
*[[Moundsville, West Virginia|Moundsville]]
 
*[[New Martinsville, West Virginia|New Martinsville]]
 
*[[Nitro, West Virginia|Nitro]]
 
*[[Oak Hill, West Virginia|Oak Hill]]
 
*[[Paden City, West Virginia|Paden City]]
 
*[[Petersburg, West Virginia|Petersburg]]
 
*[[Philippi, West Virginia|Philippi]]
 
|valign="top"|
 
*[[Pleasant Valley, West Virginia|Pleasant Valley]]
 
*[[Point Pleasant, West Virginia|Point Pleasant]]
 
*[[Princeton, West Virginia|Princeton]]
 
*[[Corporation of Ranson, West Virginia|Ranson]]
 
*[[Ravenswood, West Virginia|Ravenswood]]
 
*[[Ripley, West Virginia|Ripley]]
 
*[[Romney, West Virginia|Romney]]
 
*[[Salem, West Virginia|Salem]]
 
*[[Shepherdstown, West Virginia|Shepherdstown]]
 
|valign="top"|
 
*[[Shinnston, West Virginia|Shinnston]]
 
*[[Spencer, West Virginia|Spencer]]
 
*[[Summersville, West Virginia|Summersville]]
 
*[[Webster Springs, West Virginia|Webster Springs]]
 
*[[Welch, West Virginia|Welch]]
 
*[[Wellsburg, West Virginia|Wellsburg]]
 
*[[Weston, West Virginia|Weston]]
 
*[[Westover, West Virginia|Westover]]
 
*[[White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia|White Sulphur Springs]]
 
|valign="top"|
 
*[[Williamson, West Virginia|Williamson]]
 
*[[Williamstown, West Virginia|Williamstown]]
 
|}
 
 
 
===Metropolitan Statistical Areas===
 
{| border="0"
 
|-
 
|valign="top"|
 
*[[Charleston WV metropolitan area|Charleston, WV MSA]]
 
*[[Cumberland, MD-WV MSA]]
 
*Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV MSA
 
*[[Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH MSA]]
 
*[[Morgantown, WV MSA]]
 
*Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna, WV-OH MSA
 
|valign="top"|
 
*[[Pittsburgh metropolitan area|Pittsburgh, PA-WV MSA]]
 
*[[Washington Metropolitan Area]]
 
*Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH MSA
 
*[[Wheeling, WV]]-OH MSA
 
*[[Winchester, VA-WV MSA]]
 
|}
 
 
 
===Micropolitan Statistical Areas===
 
{| border="0"
 
|-
 
|valign="top"|
 
*[[Beckley, WV]] [[United States micropolitan area|Micropolitan Statistical Area]] (MSA)
 
*[[Bluefield, WV]]-VA MSA
 
*[[Clarksburg, WV]] MSA
 
|valign="top"|
 
*[[Fairmont, WV]] MSA
 
*[[Oak Hill, WV]] MSA
 
*[[Point Pleasant, WV]]-OH MSA
 
|}
 
 
 
== Education ==
 
{{main|Education in West Virginia}}
 
 
 
=== Colleges and universities ===
 
{{see|List of colleges and universities in West Virginia}}
 
{|
 
|valign="top"|
 
*[[Alderson-Broaddus College]]
 
*[[Appalachian Bible College]]
 
*[[Bethany College (West Virginia)|Bethany College]]
 
*[[Bluefield State College]]
 
*[[Concord University]]
 
*[[Davis and Elkins College]]
 
*[[Fairmont State University]]
 
*[[Glenville State College]]
 
*[[Marshall University]]
 
*[[Mountain State University]]
 
*[[Ohio Valley University]]
 
*[[Salem International University]]
 
|valign="top"|
 
*[[Shepherd University]]
 
*[[University of Charleston]]
 
*[[West Liberty State College]]
 
*[[West Virginia Northern Community College]]
 
*[[West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine]]
 
*[[West Virginia State University]]
 
*[[West Virginia University]]
 
**[[Potomac State College of West Virginia University]]
 
**[[West Virginia University Institute of Technology]]
 
**[[West Virginia University at Parkersburg]]
 
*[[West Virginia Wesleyan College]]
 
*[[Wheeling Jesuit University]]
 
|}
 
 
 
== Sports ==
 
{{main|Sports in West Virginia}}
 
{| class="wikitable"
 
!Club
 
!Sport
 
!League
 
|-
 
|[[West Virginia Mountaineers]]
 
|[[American football|Football]]
 
|[[College Football]]
 
|-
 
|[[Marshall Thundering Herd]]
 
|[[American football|Football]]
 
|[[College Football]]
 
|-
 
|[[Bluefield Orioles]]
 
|[[Baseball]]
 
|[[Appalachian League]]
 
|-
 
|[[Princeton Devil Rays]]
 
|Baseball
 
|Appalachian League
 
|-
 
|[[West Virginia Power]]
 
|Baseball
 
|[[South Atlantic League]]
 
|-
 
|[[Wheeling Nailers]]
 
|[[Ice hockey]]
 
|[[ECHL]]
 
|-
 
|[[West Virginia Wild]]
 
|[[Basketball]]
 
|[[International Basketball League]]
 
|-
 
|[[Huntington Heroes]]
 
|[[Indoor football]]
 
|[[American Indoor Football Association]]
 
|-
 
|[[Ohio Valley Greyhounds]]
 
|Indoor football
 
|[[United Indoor Football]]
 
|-
 
|[[West Virginia Chaos]]
 
|[[Soccer]]
 
|[[USL Premier Development League]]
 
|}
 
 
 
==Miscellaneous topics==
 
{{US state insignia |
 
  Name        = West Virginia |
 
  Motto  = ''[[Montani semper liberi]]'' ([[Latin]], "Mountaineers are Always Free") |
 
  Slogan = ''Open for Business''<br>''Wild and Wonderful''<br>''Almost Heaven'' (former) |
 
  Bird  = [[Northern Cardinal]]<br>(''Cardinalis cardinalis'') |
 
  Animal = [[American black bear|Black Bear]] <br>(''Ursus americanus'') |
 
  Fish  = [[Brook trout|Brook Trout]]<br>(''Salvelinus fontinalis'') |
 
  Insect = [[Western honey bee|European Honey Bee]]<br>(''Apis mellifera'') |
 
  Flower = [[Rhododendron]]<br>(''Rhododendron maximum'') |
 
  Tree  = [[Acer saccharum|Sugar Maple]]<br>(''Acer saccharum'') |
 
  Fossil = |
 
  Song   = "The West Virginia Hills" <br>"This Is My West Virginia"<br> "West Virginia, My Home Sweet Home" |
 
  Folk Dance =  |
 
  Gemstone = [[Coral#Geological history|Silicified Mississippian Fossil Coral]]<br>(''Lithostrotionella'') |
 
  Mineral  =  |
 
  StateRock      =  |
 
  Colors = [[Old Gold]] and [[Blue]] |
 
  Butterfly = [[Monarch Butterfly]]<br>(''Danaus plexippus'') |
 
  Fruit = [[Golden Delicious|Golden Delicious Apple]]<br>(''Malus domestica'') |
 
  Grass =  |
 
  Soil = [[Monongahela Silt Loam]] |
 
  Tartan  =  |
 
  Quarter = West Virginia quarter, reverse side, 2005.jpg |
 
  QuarterReleaseDate = Released in 2005
 
 
}}
 
}}
The state has a rich, lush beauty reflecting its temperate [[topography]]. [[Tourism|Tourist]] sites include the [[New River Gorge Bridge]],<ref>The New River Gorge Bridge is one of just two U.S. sites which have granted explicit permission for [[BASE jumping]]. This occurs each year on the third Saturday in October, known as "Bridge Day". [http://www.wvbridgeday.com/ Bridge Day website], accessed [[January 17]], [[2006]].</ref> [[Harpers Ferry National Historical Park]] and many [[state park]]s. [[The Greenbrier]] [[hotel]] and [[resort]], originally built in 1778, has long been considered a premier hotel frequented by numerous world leaders and [[U.S. President]]s over the years. West Virginia is also home to the [[Green Bank Telescope]] at the [[National Radio Astronomy Observatory]].  
+
The economy of West Virginia is now one of the most fragile of any state in the U.S. According to [[U.S. Census Bureau]] data, West Virginia is the third lowest in per capita income,<ref>''U.S. Census Bureau,'' State Rankings—Personal Income Per Capita In Constant (2000) Dollars 2004. </ref> ahead of only [[Arkansas]] and [[Mississippi]]. It also ranks last in median household income.<ref>''U.S. Census Bureau,''State Rankings—Median Household Income, 2003.</ref> The proportion of West Virginia's adult population with a bachelor's degree is the lowest in the U.S., at 15.3 percent.<ref>''U.S. Census Bureau,'' State Rankings—Persons 25 Years Old And Over With A Bachelor's Degree Or More, 2004.</ref>
  
A common story told about West Virginia is the folktale about how it got the nickname "West, By God, Virginia". According to the legend, a West Virginia native who was being inducted into the US Army during the [[First World War]] (some versions make it as early as the [[Spanish-American War]]), was repeatedly asked by his induction officer, "What part of Virginia?"  And the soldier, finally getting fed up with the confusion, said "Not Virginia!  West Virginia!  West, by God, Virginia!". This story, whether true or not, has entered American folklore, and it is not unusual to hear not only West Virginians themselves, but other Americans, refer to the state as "West, By God, Virginia", or often as "West By-God", or sometimes simply as "By-God". Many West Virginians, when travelling outside the state, or when abroad, enjoy paying homage to the legend by referring to their home state in this manner.  
+
=== Resources ===
 +
[[Salt]] mining had been underway since the eighteenth century, though it had largely played out by the time of the [[American Civil War]], when the red salt of [[Kanawha County, West Virginia|Kanawha County]] was a valued commodity of first Confederate, and later Union forces. Later, more sophisticated [[mining]] methods would restore West Virginia's role as a major producer of salt.  
  
=== Film ===
+
In the second half of the nineteenth century, the discovery of major deposits on bituminous [[coal]] led to the development of extensive transport networks and the expansion of [[industry]] throughout the U.S. The residents (both Native Americans and early European settlers) had known of the underlying coal and used it for heating and fuel. These very small "personal" mines were the only practical development, pre-railroads. After the Civil War, the new [[railroad]]s were a practical means to transport large quantities of coal to expanding U.S. and export markets. As the [[anthracite]] mines of northwestern [[New Jersey]] and [[Pennsylvania]] were playing out, investors and industrialists focused on new interest in West Virginia's coal. [[Geology|Geologists]] such as Dr. [[David T. Ansted]] surveyed potential coal fields and invested in land and early mining projects.
{{seealso|List of television shows and movies in West Virginia}}
 
  
''[[The Night of the Hunter]]'' (1955): filmed in [[Moundsville, West Virginia|Moundsville]] and [[Hollywood, California|Hollywood]].
+
The completion of the [[Chesapeake and Ohio Railway]] (C&O) across the state to the new city of [[Huntington, West Virginia|Huntington]] on the [[Ohio River]], in 1872, opened access to the [[New River (West Virginia)|New River]] Coal Field. The C&O built a huge [[coal pier]] at [[Newport News, Virginia]] at the Virginia port of [[Hampton Roads]]. In 1881, the owners of the newly re-named Norfolk and Western Railroad (N & W) built the line to capture the coal production. Roanoke, Virginia, emerged as a trans-shipment point for West Virginia's coal on its way to the ports. In 1889, in the southern part of the state, along the Norfolk and Western rail lines, the coal center of [[Bluefield, West Virginia]], was founded. The "capital" of the enormous [[Pocahontas coalfield]], Bluefield would be the largest city in the southern part of the state for decades.
 +
[[Image:Coalseam 8618.JPG|left|thumb|Bituminous coal seam in southwestern West Virginia]]
 +
After [[Reconstruction]], the new 35th state benefited from development of its [[mineral]] resources more than any other single economic activity.
 +
In northern West Virgina, and elsewhere, the older [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]] (B&O) and other lines expanded to take advantage of coal opportunities as well. The B&O developed coal piers in [[Baltimore, Maryland|Baltimore]] and at several ports on the [[Great Lakes]]. Other significant carriers of WV coal were the [[Western Maryland Railway]] (WM), [[Southern Railway (US)|Southern Railway]] (SOU), and the [[Louisville and Nashville Railroad]] (L&N).  
  
''[[Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!]]'' (2004): set in Fraziers Bottom, West Virginia.
+
By 1900, only the coalfields in the most rugged terrain of southern West Virginia were untapped. Within this area west of the New River Coalfield in Raleigh and Wyoming counties lay the [[Winding Gulf Coalfield]], later promoted as the "Billion Dollar Coalfield."  A [[short-line railroad]] was chartered to stretch between the C&O, along the [[Kanawha River]], and the N&W at [[Matoaka, West Virginia|Matoaka]], a distance of about 80 miles. With financial support from major industrialists, this railroad was eventually built across the state to the Hampton Roads port. After merging with the N & W, the two railroads created the modern Norfok Southern system.  
  
''[[Live Free or Die Hard]]'' (2007): One scene is set in Middleton, West Virginia.
+
As coal mining and related work became a major employment activities in the state, there was considerable labor strife as working conditions, safety issues, and economic concerns arose. Even in the twenty-first century, mining safety and ecological concerns are challenging the state whose coal continued to power electrical generating plants in many other states.  
  
''[[Walk the Line]]'' (2005): Actors Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon played Johnny Cash and June Cater in a scene featuring Wheeling, West Virginia in which they talk to locals and perform a concert.  
+
Coal is not the only valuable [[mineral]] found in West Virginia, as the state was the site of the 1928 discovery of the 34.48 carat (6.896 g) [[Jones Diamond]]. West Virginia also has some oil reserves but currently only has a few small to medium sized oil and [[natural gas]] fields being tapped.
  
''[[Silent Hill]]'' (2006): adapted from the [[Konami]] video game series of the same name, this film is set in the fictional Toluca County, West Virginia.
+
===Agriculture and industry===
 +
[[Image:Weirton-Steubenville Bridge pic 1.jpg|thumb|right|The Veterans Memorial Bridge, which carries [[U.S. Route 22]].]]
 +
Farming is very limited in West Virginia because of the state's mountainous terrain. The chemical industry has its roots in the earliest salt mining carried out by [[Native American]]s in the 1700s, using the salt brines of the Little Kanawha River. After the Civil War, when the salt mines started to run out, the manufacture of simple salt compounds like bromine and potassium salts began. Eventually, more complex manufacturing developed. Abundant [[natural resource]]s, including [[carbon]] from coal, and hydropower from mountainous rivers fueled the expansion of the chemical industry all along the Kanawha Valley. The start of [[World War I]] led to increased demand for chemical compounds, and with the closing off of [[Germany]]'s chemical industry, the allies and the rest of the world turned to West Virginia. DuPont, Carbide, and Monsanto, among others, expanded throughout the twentieth century. The chemical industry has expanded to include [[petrochemicals]] and synthetic materials. The industry has provided thousands of jobs and extensive infrastructure to West Virginia, however, concerns about exposure and epidemiologic evidence of [[cancer]] and other [[disease]]s resulting from air- and water-borne pollution, and more recently, potential [[terrorism|terrorist]] threats have led to considerable regulation of the industry.<ref>Nathan Cantrell, [http://www.wvculture.org/history/wvhs1821.pdf West Virginia's chemical Industry,] ''West Virginia Historical Society''. Retrieved December 25, 2007.</ref> 
  
''[[Paradise Park (film)|Paradise Park]]'' (1990): set and filmed in [[West Virginia]].
+
=== Transportation ===
 +
[[Image:NewRiverGorgeBridgeWV.jpg|thumb|right|The [[New River Gorge Bridge]].]]
 +
Highways form the backbone of transportation systems in West Virginia, with over 37,300 miles of public roads in the state.<ref>''West Virginia Department of Transportation,'' [http://www.wvdot.com/3_roadways/3_roadways.htm Roadways.] Retrieved December 25, 2007. </ref>  [[Airport]]s, [[railroad]]s, and [[river]]s complete the commercial transportation modes for West Virginia. Commercial air travel is facilitated by airports in Charleston, Huntington, Beckley, Bluefield, Lewisburg, Clarksburg, Martinsburg, Morgantown, Wheeling, and Parkersburg. [[West Virginia University]] in Morgantown boasts a [[Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit|PRT (personal rapid transit) system]], the state's only [[single rail]] public transit system. Developed by [[Boeing]], the WVU School of Engineering and the U.S. Department of Transportation, it was a model for low-capacity light transport designed for smaller cities.  
  
''[[We Are Marshall]]'' (2006): set at [[Marshall University]] in [[Huntington, West Virginia|Huntington]]. Filmed in Huntington and [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]].
+
Rail lines in the state were once more prevalent, but many have been discontinued because of increased [[automobile]] traffic. Many old tracks have been converted to [[rail trails]] for recreational use, and the state is still served by a few commercial lines for hauling coal and by [[Amtrak]]. In 2006, [[Norfolk Southern]], along with the West Virginia and U.S. Government approved a plan to modify many of the rail tunnels in West Virginia, especially in the southern half of the state, to allow for double stacked cars. This is expected to also help bring economic growth to the southern half of the state.
  
''[[Wrong Turn]]'' (2003): set in West Virginia, although the movie was filmed in [[Ontario]], [[Canada]].
+
Because of the [[mountain]]ous nature of the entire state, West Virginia has several notable [[tunnel]]s and [[bridge]]s. The most famous of these is the [[New River Gorge Bridge]], which was at a time the longest steel single-arch bridge in the world with a 3,031-foot (924 m) span. The bridge is also pictured on the West Virginia [[state quarter]]. The Veterans Memorial Bridge (Weirton-Steubenville Bridge) was at its time of construction one of only three cable-stayed steel girder trusses in the United States. It connects [[Steubenville, Ohio]], with [[Weirton, West Virginia]], along U.S. Route 22.
  
''[[Bubble (film)|Bubble]]'' (2005): set and filmed in [[Belpre, Ohio]] and [[Parkersburg, West Virginia|Parkersburg]].
+
==Education==
 +
Education is overseen at the state level by the West Virginia Department of Education, which controls the State Board of Education, the WV Schools for the Deaf and Blind, Office of Education Performance Audits, and the Regional Education Service Agencies.  
  
''[[The Mothman Prophecies (film)|The Mothman Prophecies]]'' (2002): set in [[Point Pleasant, West Virginia|Point Pleasant]], but filmed in [[Pennsylvania]].
+
West Virginia University in Morgantown, Marshall University in Huntington, and West Virgina State University in Institute are among the public colleges and universities in the state.
  
''[[October Sky]]'' (1999): set in [[Coalwood, West Virginia|Coalwood]] in [[McDowell County, West Virginia|McDowell County]], but filmed in [[Tennessee]].
+
== Demographics ==
 
+
[[Image:West Virginia population map.png|thumb|West Virginia population density map.]]
''[[Matewan]]'' (1987): set in [[Matewan, West Virginia|Matewan]], filmed in [[Thurmond, West Virginia|Thurmond]].
+
As of 2005, West Virginia had an estimated population of 1,816,856, an increase of 4,308, or 0.2 percent, from the prior year and an increase of 8,506, or 0.5 percent, since the year 2000. This includes a natural decrease since the last census of 3,296 people (that is 108,292 births minus 111,588 deaths) and an increase from net [[Human migration|migration]] of 14,209 people into the state. [[Immigration to the United States|Immigration]] from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 3,691 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 10,518 people.
 
 
''[[Reckless]]'' (1984): partially filmed in [[Weirton, West Virginia|Weirton]].
 
 
 
''[[The Deer Hunter]]'' (1978): partially filmed in [[Weirton, West Virginia|Weirton]], but is set in Western Pennsylvania.
 
 
 
''[[Fools' Parade (film)|Fool's Parade]]'' (1971): set in 1930s West Virginia, filmed in [[Moundsville, West Virginia|Moundsville]].
 
 
 
''[[Holy Ghost People]]'' (1967): documentary on a congregation in Scrabble Creek, West Virginia.
 
 
 
''[[The Silence of the Lambs (film)|The Silence of the Lambs]]'' (1991): Partly filmed in Weirton, West Virginia.
 
 
 
''[[Rocket Science]]''  (2007)
 
 
 
=== Music ===
 
{{main|Music of West Virginia}}
 
 
 
====Appalachian Music====
 
West Virginia's folk heritage is a part of the [[Appalachian folk music]] tradition, and includes styles of [[Musical styles (violin)#Fiddle|fiddling]], ballad singing, and other styles that draw on [[Ulster-Scots|Scots-Irish]] music. [[Camp Washington-Carver]], a Mountain Cultural Arts Center located at [[Clifftop, Fayette County, West Virginia|Clifftop]] in [[Fayette County, West Virginia|Fayette County]], hosts an annual Appalachian String Band Festival [http://www.wvculture.org/stringband/]. The Capitol Complex in Charleston hosts The Vandalia Gathering, where traditional Appalachian musicians compete in contests and play in impromptu jam sessions and evening concerts over the course of the weekend [http://www.wvculture.org/vandalia/].
 
 
 
====Classical Music====
 
The West Virginia Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1939, as the ''Charleston Civic Orchestra'', before becoming the ''Charleston Symphony Orchestra'' in 1943. The first conductor was William R. Wiant, followed by the prominent conductor Antonio Modarelli, who was written about in the [[November 7]], [[1949]] ''Time Magazine'' for his composition of the ''River Saga'', a six-section program piece about the Kanawha River according to the Charleston Gazette's [[November 6]], [[1999]] photo essay, "Snapshots of the 20th Century".[http://www.wvgazette.com/static/century/gz1106.html]. Prior to coming to Charleston, Modarelli had conducted the [[Wheeling Symphony Orchestra]] and the [[Philadelphia Orchestra]], according to the orchestra's website. [http://www.wvsymphony.org/orchestra.php]
 
 
 
====Musical Innovation====
 
The West Virginia Cultural Center in Charleston<ref>[http://www.wvculture.org/agency/cultcenter.html West Virginia Cultural Center] accessed [[January 19]], [[2006]].</ref> is home to the West Virginia Division of Culture and History<ref>[http://www.wvculture.org/ West Virginia Division of Culture and History] accessed [[January 19]], [[2006]]</ref> which helps underwrite and coordinate a large number of musical activities. The Center is also home to [[Mountain Stage]], the internationally broadcast live-performance music radio program established in 1983.<ref>In 2001, Mountain Stage debuted a television show featuring many of the radio program's guests. [http://www.mountainstage.org/ Mountain Stage], accessed [[January 20]], [[2006]].</ref> The program also travels to other venues in the state such as the [[West Virginia University]] Creative Arts Center in Morgantown.<ref>[http://www.tourmorgantown.com/ Greater Morgantown Convention & Visitors Bureau], accessed [[January 20]], [[2006]].</ref>
 
 
 
The Center hosts concerts sponsored by the Friends of Old Time Music and Dance, which brings an assortment of acoustic roots music to West Virginians.<ref>A list of events can be found on the FOOTMAD website [http://www.footmad.org].</ref> The Center also hosts the West Virginia Dance Festival, which features classical and modern dance.<ref>[http://www.wvculture.org/dance/index.html West Virginia Dance Festival], accessed [[January 20]], [[2006]].</ref>
 
  
Huntington's historic [[Keith-Albee Theatre]], built by brothers A.B. and S.J. Hyman, was originally opened to the public on [[May 7]], [[1928]], and hosts a variety of performing arts and music attractions. The theatre was eventually gifted to [[Marshall University]] and is currently going through renovation to restore it to its original splendor.
+
Only 1.1 percent of the state's residents were foreign-born, placing West Virginia last among the 50 states in that statistic. It has the lowest percentage of residents that speak a language other than English in the home (2.7 percent).
  
The town of [[Glenville, West Virginia|Glenville]] has long been home to the annual West Virginia State Folk Festival. [http://www.etc4u.com/folkfest/]
+
The five largest ancestry groups in West Virginia are: [[American ancestry|American]] (23.2 percent), [[German American|German]] (17.2 percent), [[Irish American|Irish]] (13.5 percent) (Most actually [[Scots-Irish American|Scots-Irish]]), [[English American|English]] (12 percent), [[Italian American|Italian]] (4.8 percent).
  
The Mountaineer Opera House in [[Milton, West Virginia|Milton]] hosts a variety of musical acts.
+
== Culture and points of interest ==
 +
West Virgina has a [[culture]] of strong self-reliance developed through its early, and continued, isolation. Largely unaffected by circumstances taking place outside the mountain settlements, its rural regions retain a unique culture. Musical instruments, ballads, and handicrafts from generations past remain. The state has taken advantage of its unique cultural heritage and traditions, promoting them through [[tourism]].  
  
==See also==
+
One of West Virginia's greatest [[natural resource]]s is its pristine mountain environment. There are over 35 state parks. Numerous festivals—ethnic, heritage, craft, and food, among others—take place annually in these parks and throughout the state.<ref>''Encyclopædia Britannica,'' West Virginia, Encyclopædia Britannica Online.</ref>
{| border="0"
 
|-
 
|valign="top"|
 
*[[List of airports in West Virginia|Airports in West Virginia]]
 
*[[West Virginia census statistical areas|Census statistical areas in West Virginia]]
 
*[[List of census-designated places in West Virginia|Census-designated places in West Virginia]]
 
*[[List of cities and towns along the Potomac River|Cities and towns along the Potomac River]]
 
*[[List of cities in West Virginia|Cities in West Virginia]]
 
*[[List of colleges and universities in West Virginia|Colleges and universities in West Virginia]]
 
*[[List of communities in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia|Communities in the Eastern Panhandle]]
 
*[[List of counties in West Virginia|Counties in West Virginia]]
 
*[[List of West Virginia county seats|County seats in West Virginia]]
 
*[[List of West Virginia county name etymologies|West Virginia county name etymologies]]
 
*[[List of Governors of West Virginia|Governors of West Virginia]]
 
*[[List of high schools in West Virginia|High schools in West Virginia]]
 
*[[List of islands of West Virginia|Islands of West Virginia]]
 
*[[List of lakes in West Virginia|Lakes in West Virginia]]
 
*[[List of people from West Virginia|People from West Virginia]]
 
|valign="top"|
 
*[[List of primary state highways in West Virginia|Primary state highways in West Virginia]]
 
*[[List of radio stations in West Virginia|Radio stations in West Virginia]]
 
*[[List of radio stations in West Virginia by market area|Radio stations in West Virginia by market area]]
 
*[[List of West Virginia railroads|Railroads in West Virginia]]
 
*[[List of Registered Historic Places in West Virginia|Registered Historic Places in West Virginia]]
 
*[[List of West Virginia rivers|Rivers in West Virginia]]
 
*[[List of school districts in West Virginia|School districts in West Virginia]]
 
*[[List of secondary state highways in West Virginia|Secondary state highways in West Virginia]]
 
*[[List of West Virginia state forests|State forests in West Virginia]]
 
*[[List of West Virginia state parks|State parks in West Virginia]]
 
*[[List of television shows and movies in West Virginia|Television shows and movies in West Virginia]]
 
*[[List of towns in West Virginia|Towns in West Virginia]]
 
*[[List of villages in West Virginia|Villages in West Virginia]]
 
*[[List of West Virginia wildlife management areas|Wildlife management areas in West Virginia]]
 
|}
 
  
 
==Notes==
 
==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}
+
<references/>
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
 +
* Ambler, Charles Henry. 1951. ''A History of Education in West Virginia; From Early Colonial Times to 1949''. Huntington, West Virginia: Standard Print. & Pub. Co.
 +
* Ambler, Charles Henry. 1947. ''West Virginia the Mountain State''. New York: Prentice-Hall.
 +
* Becker, Jane S. 1998. ''Selling Tradition Appalachia and the Construction of an American Folk, 1930-1940''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 080786031X.
 +
* Brisbin, Richard A. 1996. ''West Virginia Politics and Government''. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0803212712.
 +
* Callahan, James Morton. 1923. ''History of West Virginia, Old and New''. Chicago: American Historical Society.
 +
* Campbell, John C. 1921. ''The Southern Highlander and his Homeland''. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
 +
* Cometti, Elizabeth, and Festus P. Summers. 1966. ''The Thirty-Fifth State; a Documentary History of West Virginia''. Morgantown: West Virginia University Library.
 +
* Curry, Richard Orr. 1964. ''A House Divided; A Study of Statehood Politics and the Copperhead Movement in West Virginia''. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.
 +
* Davis, Donald Edward. 2000. ''Where There are Mountains an Environmental History of the Southern Appalachians''. Athens: University of Georgia Press. ISBN 0820321257.
 +
* Eller, Ronald D. 1982. ''Miners, Millhands, and Mountaineers Industrialization of the Appalachian South, 1880-1930''. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press. ISBN 087049340X.
 +
* Feather, Carl E. 1998. ''Mountain People in a Flat Land a Popular History of Appalachian Migration to Northeast Ohio, 1940-1965''. Athens: Ohio University Press. ISBN 0821440381
 +
* Ford, Thomas R., and Rupert Bayless Vance. 1982. ''The Southern Appalachian Region a Survey''. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press.
 +
* Kephart, Horace. 1976. ''Our Southern Highlanders a Narrative of Adventure in the Southern Appalachians and a Study of Life Among the Mountaineers''. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press. ISBN 0870491970.
 +
* Milnes, Gerald. 1999. ''Play of a Fiddle Traditional Music, Dance, and Folklore in West Virginia''. Lexington, Ky: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0813120802.
 +
* Rice, Otis K. 1970. ''The Allegheny Frontier: West Virginia Beginnings, 1730-1830''. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0813111900.
 +
* Rice, Otis K. 1985. ''West Virginia a History''. Lexington, Ky: University of Kentucky. ISBN 081311540X.
 +
* Seltzer, Curtis. 1985. ''Fire in the Hole Miners and Managers in the American Coal Industry''. Lexington, Ky: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0813115264.
 +
* Trotter, Joe William. 1990. ''Coal, Class, and Color Blacks in Southern West Virginia, 1915-32''. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0252061195.
 +
* Williams, John Alexander, and Topper Sherwood. 1993. ''West Virginia a History for Beginners''. Charleston, [W. Va.]: Appalachian Editions. ISBN 0962748633.
 +
* Williams, John Alexander. 1976. ''West Virginia a Bicentennial History''. New York: Norton. ISBN 0393055906.
 +
* Williams, John Alexander. 1976. ''West Virginia and the Captains of Industry''. Morgantown: West Virginia University Library. ISBN 0870122371.
 +
* Williams, John Alexander. 2002. ''Appalachia a History''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0807860522.
 
*{{1911}}
 
*{{1911}}
* Ambler, Charles Henry. 1951. ''A history of education in West Virginia; from early Colonial times to 1949''. Huntington, West Virginia: Standard Print. & Pub. Co.
 
* Ambler, Charles Henry. 1947. ''West Virginia the mountain state''. Prentice-Hall books on history. New York: Prentice-Hall.
 
* Becker, Jane S. 1998. ''Selling tradition Appalachia and the construction of an American folk, 1930-1940''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 080786031X and ISBN 9780807860311
 
* Brisbin, Richard A. 1996. ''West Virginia politics and government''. Politics and governments of the American states. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0803212712 and ISBN 9780803212718
 
* Callahan, James Morton. 1923. ''History of West Virginia, old and new''. Chicago: American Historical Society.
 
* Campbell, John C. 1921. ''The southern highlander and his homeland''. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
 
* Curry, Richard Orr. 1964. ''A house divided; a study of statehood politics and the Copperhead movement in West Virginia''. [Pittsburgh]: University of Pittsburgh Press.
 
* Davis, Donald Edward. 2000. ''Where there are mountains an environmental history of the southern Appalachians''. Athens: University of Georgia Press. ISBN 0820321257 and ISBN 9780820321257
 
* Eller, Ronald D. 1982. ''Miners, millhands, and mountaineers industrialization of the Appalachian South, 1880-1930''. Twentieth-century America series. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press. ISBN 087049340X and ISBN 9780870493409
 
* Feather, Carl E. 1998. ''Mountain people in a flat land a popular history of Appalachian migration to northeast Ohio, 1940-1965''. Athens: Ohio University Press. ISBN 0821440381 and ISBN 9780821440384
 
* Ford, Thomas R., and Rupert Bayless Vance. 1982. ''The Southern Appalachian region a survey''. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press.
 
* Kephart, Horace. 1976. ''Our southern highlanders a narrative of adventure in the southern Appalachians and a study of life among the mountaineers''. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press. ISBN 0870491970 and ISBN 9780870491979
 
* Milnes, Gerald. 1999. ''Play of a fiddle traditional music, dance, and folklore in West Virginia''. Lexington, Ky: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0813120802 and ISBN 9780813120805
 
* Rice, Otis K. 1970. ''The Allegheny frontier: West Virginia beginnings, 1730-1830''. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0813111900 and ISBN 9780813111902
 
* Rice, Otis K. 1985. ''West Virginia a history''. Lexington, Ky: University of Kentucky. ISBN 081311540X and ISBN 9780813115405
 
* Seltzer, Curtis. 1985. ''Fire in the hole miners and managers in the American coal industry''. Lexington, Ky: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0813115264 and ISBN 9780813115269
 
* Trotter, Joe William. 1990. ''Coal, class, and color Blacks in southern West Virginia, 1915-32''. Blacks in the New World. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0252061195 and ISBN 9780252061196
 
* Williams, John Alexander, and Topper Sherwood. 1993. ''West Virginia a history for beginners''. Charleston, [W. Va.]: Appalachian Editions. ISBN 0962748633 and ISBN 9780962748639
 
* Williams, John Alexander. 1976. ''West Virginia a Bicentennial history''. New York: Norton. ISBN 0393055906 and ISBN 9780393055900
 
* Williams, John Alexander. 1976. ''West Virginia and the captains of industry''. Morgantown: West Virginia University Library. ISBN 0870122371 and ISBN 9780870122378
 
* Williams, John Alexander. 2002. ''Appalachia a history''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0807860522 and ISBN 9780807860526
 
'''Primary sources'''
 
* Cometti, Elizabeth, and Festus P. Summers. 1966. ''The thirty-fifth State; a documentary history of West Virginia''. Morgantown: West Virginia University Library.
 
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
{{sisterlinks|West Virginia}}
+
All links retrieved May 4, 2023.
* ''West Virginia Legislature''. [http://www.legis.state.wv.us/WVCODE/WV_CON.cfm Constitution of West Virginia]. Retrieved November 7, 2007.
+
* ''West Virginia Legislature''. [http://www.legis.state.wv.us/WVCODE/WV_CON.cfm Constitution of West Virginia].  
* ''United States Geological Survey''. [http://www.usgs.gov/state/state.asp?State=WV Science In Your Backyard: West Virginia]. Retrieved November 7, 2007.
+
* ''United States Geological Survey''. [http://www.usgs.gov/state/state.asp?State=WV Science In Your Backyard: West Virginia]. R
* ''United States Department of Agriculture''. [http://www.ers.usda.gov/statefacts/wv.htm State Fact Sheets: West Virginia]. Retrieved November 7, 2007.
+
* ''West Virginia Wild and Wonderful''. http://www.wvtourism.com/default.aspx West Virginia Division of Tourism].  
* ''West Virginia is Calling''. [http://www.wviscalling.com/videoplayer/default.aspx?videoid=565&cpage=0&sort=ViewbyDate Friday Morning, Dolly Sods Wilderness]. Retrieved November 7, 2007.
 
  
 
<br clear=all/>
 
<br clear=all/>
{{West Virginia|expand}}
+
{{United States|expand}}
  
 
[[Category:Geography]]
 
[[Category:Geography]]

Latest revision as of 17:17, 4 May 2023

State of West Virginia
Flag of West Virginia State seal of West Virginia
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): Mountain State
Motto(s): Montani semper liberi (Mountaineers Are Always Free)
Before Statehood Known as
The Virginia
Map of the United States with West Virginia highlighted
Official language(s) none (de facto English)
Capital Charleston
Largest city Charleston (Capital)
Largest metro area Charleston metro area
Area  Ranked 41st
 - Total 24,230 sq mi
(62,755 km²)
 - Width 130 miles (210 km)
 - Length 240 miles (385 km)
 - % water 0.6
 - Latitude 37° 12′ N to 40° 39′ N
 - Longitude 77° 43′ W to 82° 39′ W
Population  Ranked 37th in the U.S.
 - Total 1,855,364 (2011 est)[1]
- Density 77.1/sq mi  (29.8/km2)
Ranked 29th in the U.S.


 - Median income  $38,029 (48th)
Elevation  
 - Highest point Spruce Knob[2][3]
4,862 ft  (1482 m)
 - Mean 1,500 ft  (460 m)
 - Lowest point Potomac River
at Virginia border[2][3]
240 ft  (73 m)
Admission to Union  June 20, 1863 (35)
Governor Earl Ray Tomblin (D)
Lieutenant Governor Jeff Kessler (D)
U.S. Senators Jay Rockefeller (D)
Joe Manchin (D)
Time zone Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Abbreviations WV US-WV
Web site wv.gov

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachia/Upland South region of the United States. West Virginia broke away from Virginia during the American Civil War and was admitted to the Union as a separate state on June 20, 1863. It is the only state formed as a direct result of the Civil War, and the only state to form by seceding from a preexisting state.

West Virginia is one of the Border States. The state's Northern Panhandle, and North-Central region, is tied to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Also, those in the Eastern Panhandle are connected with the Washington, D.C. suburbs in Maryland and Virginia, and southern West Virginians often consider themselves Southerners. Finally, the towns and farms along the mid-Ohio River have an appearance and culture somewhat resembling the Midwest.[4]

The state is noted for its great natural beauty, its historically significant logging and coal mining industries, and its labor history. It is also well known as a tourist destination for those people interested in outdoor activities such as skiing, whitewater rafting, rock climbing, fishing, hiking, and hunting.

Geography

West Virginia is bordered by Pennsylvania to the north; by Ohio to the north and west; by Kentucky to the west; by Maryland to the north and east; and by Virginia to the east and south. The Ohio and Potomac rivers form parts of the boundaries.

West Virginia is the only state in the nation located entirely within the Appalachian Mountain range, and in which all areas are mountainous; for this reason it is nicknamed "The Mountain State." About 75 percent of the state is within the Cumberland Plateau and Allegheny Plateau regions. Though the relief is not high, the plateau region is extremely rugged in most areas.

Shaded relief map of the Cumberland Plateau and Ridge-and-valley Appalachians.

On the eastern state line with Virginia, high peaks in the Monongahela National Forest region give rise to an island of colder climate and ecosystems similar to those of northern New England and eastern Canada. The highest point in the state is atop Spruce Knob, which at 4,863 feet (1,482 m)[2] is covered in a boreal forest of dense spruce trees at altitudes above 4,000 feet (1,220 m). Spruce Knob lies within the Monongahela National Forest and is a part of the Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area.[5] A total of six wilderness areas can also be found within the forest. Outside the forest to the south, the New River Gorge is a 1,000-foot (304 m) deep canyon carved by the New River. The National Park Service manages that part of the gorge and river designated as the New River Gorge National River, one of only 15 rivers in the U.S. with this level of protection.

The native vegetation for most of the state was originally mixed hardwood forest of oak, chestnut, maple, beech, and white pine, with willow and American sycamore along the state's waterways. Many of the areas are rich in biodiversity and scenic beauty. Ecologically, most of West Virginia falls into the Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests ecoregion.

The underlying rock strata are sandstones, shales, bituminous coal beds, and limestones laid down in a near shore environment from sediments derived from mountains to the east, in a shallow inland sea on the west. Some beds illustrate a coastal swamp environment, some river delta, some shallow water. Sea level rose and fell many times during the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian eras, giving a variety of rock strata. The Appalachian Mountains are some of the oldest on earth, having formed over 300 million years ago.

Climate

The summit of Spruce Knob is often covered in clouds.

The climate of West Virginia borders on a humid subtropical climate (Koppen climate classification Cfa) in the lower elevations of the extreme southwestern part of the state (including Huntington) and parts of the Eastern Panhandle east of the Appalachians with hot, humid summers and milder winters. The rest of the state has a humid continental climate (Koppen climate classification Dfa, or Dfb at the higher elevations) with warm to hot, humid summers and cold winters, increasing in severity with elevation. However, the weather is subject in all parts of the state to change. The hardiness zones range from zone 5b in the central Appalachian mountains to zone 7a in the warmest parts of the lowest elevations. In the Eastern Panhandle and the Ohio River Valley temperatures are warm enough to see and grow subtropical plants, such as Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), Crepe Myrtle, Albizia julibrissin, American Sweetgum, and even the occasional needle palm and sabal minor. These plants don't thrive as well in other parts of the state.

Average January temperatures range from around 28°F (-2°C) near the Cheat River to 43°F (5°C) along sections of the border with Kentucky. July averages range from 67°F (19°C) along the North Branch Potomac River to 76°F (24°C) in the western part of the state. It is cooler in the mountains than in the lower sections of the state.

Annual precipitation ranges from less than 32 inches (810 mm) in the lower eastern section to more than 56 inches (1,400 mm) in higher parts of the Allegheny Front. Slightly more than half the rainfall occurs from April to September. Dense fogs are common in many valleys of the Kanawha section, especially the Tygart Valley. Snow usually lasts only a few days in the lower sections but may persist for weeks in the higher mountain areas. An average of 34 inches (86 cm) of snow falls annually in Charleston, although during the winter of 1995-1996, more than three times that amount fell as several cities in the state established new records for snowfall.

History

Many ancient human-made earthen mounds from various mound builder cultures survive, especially in the areas of Moundsville, South Charleston, and Romney. Although little is known about these civilizations, artifacts found there are evidence of a complex, stratified culture with metal tools and implements.

By 1600, organized tribes such as the Delaware and Shawnee had moved into the area. The Iroquois Confederacy of Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and Seneca, and eventually the Tuscarora began to move into the area from present-day New York. This Six Nation Confederacy dominated the area, but allowed other tribes to remain in the area.

The Ohio Valley area of what was then western Virginia began to attract European colonists during the 1600s. As a result, the Native Americans were forced west, while many succumbed to disease and warfare. The Six Nations tribes formed alliances with both the British and French, who were fighting each other for dominance of the "New World."[6]

European exploration and settlement

Thomas Lee, the first manager of the Ohio Company of Virginia.

In 1671, General Abram Wood, at the direction of Royal Governor William Berkeley of the Virginia Colony, sent a party that discovered Kanawha Falls. In 1716, Governor Alexander Spotswood and about thirty horsemen made an excursion into what is now Pendleton County. John Van Metre, an Indian trader, entered the northern region in 1725. The same year, German settlers from Pennsylvania founded New Mecklenburg, the present Shepherdstown, on the Potomac River.

King Charles II of England, in 1661, granted to a company of gentlemen the land between the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers, known as the Northern Neck. The grant finally came into the possession of Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, and in 1746, a stone was erected at the source of the North Branch Potomac River to mark the western limit of the grant. A considerable part of this land was surveyed by George Washington between 1748 and 1751. His diary indicates that many squatters, mostly German, were living along the South Branch Potomac River. Christopher Gist, a surveyor for the first Ohio Company, explored the country along the Ohio River north of the mouth of the Kanawha River, between 1751 and 1752, with the aim of establishing a fourteenth colony named Vandalia. Many settlers crossed the mountains after 1750, encountering Native American resistance. Apparently, few Native Americans lived within the present limits of the state, but the region was a common hunting ground, crossed also by many war trails. During the French and Indian War, the scattered settlements were mostly destroyed.

Native American attacks continued until after the American Revolutionary War. During the war, the settlers in Western Virginia were generally active Whigs and many served in the Continental Army.

Trans-Allegheny Virginia, 1776-1861

Social conditions in western Virginia were entirely unlike those in the eastern portion of the state. A movement to create a state beyond the Alleghenies was revived and a petition for the establishment of "Westsylvania" was presented to Congress, with the argument that the mountains made an almost impassable barrier on the east. The rugged nature of the country made slavery unprofitable, and time only increased the social, political, economic, and cultural differences.

The convention that met in 1829, to form a new constitution for Virginia, against the protest of the counties beyond the mountains, required a property qualification for suffrage and gave the slave-holding counties the benefit of three-fifths of their slave population in apportioning the state's representation in the U.S. House of Representatives. As a result, every county beyond the Alleghenies except one voted to reject the constitution, which nevertheless passed because of eastern support. Though the Virginia Constitution of 1850 provided for white male suffrage, the distribution of representation among the counties continued to give control to the section east of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Separation from Virginia

John S. Carlile, a leader during the First Wheeling Convention

West Virginia is the only state in the Union to secede from another state, Virginia, in U.S. history.[7] On April 17, 1861, fifteen of the forty-six delegates from the area located in the present state of West Virginia voted to secede from the United States.[8] Almost immediately after the vote to proceed with secession prevailed in the Virginia General Assembly, a mass meeting at the town of Clarksburg recommended that each county in northwestern Virginia send delegates to a convention to meet in Wheeling on May 13, 1861. When this First Wheeling Convention met, 425 delegates from 25 counties were present, with more than one-third of the delegates from the northern panhandle area.[9] On May 23 1861, secession from the U.S. was ratified by a large majority in the state as a whole, with the western counties voting approximately 34,677 against and 19,121 for.[10]

The Second Wheeling Convention met as agreed on June 11, and declared that, since the Secession Convention had been called without the consent of the people, all its acts were void, and that all who adhered to it had vacated their offices. The Wheeling Conventions, and the delegates themselves, were never actually elected by public ballot to act on behalf of western Virginia.[11] An act for the reorganization of the government was then passed on June 19. The Wheeling Convention members met on June 20, and organized a state government, electing two U.S. senators who were recognized at Washington, D.C. At that point, therefore, there were two state governments in Virginia, one pledging allegiance to the United States and one to the Confederacy.

The Wheeling Convention, which had taken a recess until August 6, then reassembled on August 20, and called for a popular vote on the formation of a new state and for a convention to frame a constitution if the vote should be favorable. At the election on October 24, 1861, 18,489 votes were cast for the new state and only 781 against.[12] The convention began on November 26, 1861, and finished its work on February 18, 1862, and the instrument was ratified (18,162 for and 514 against) on April 11, 1862.

Harpers Ferry (as it appears today) changed hands a dozen times during the American Civil War.

On May 13, the state legislature of the reorganized government approved the formation of the new state. An application for admission to the Union was made to Congress, and on December 31, 1862, an enabling act was approved by President Abraham Lincoln admitting West Virginia, on the condition that a provision for the gradual abolition of slavery be inserted in the Constitution. The Convention was reconvened on February 12, 1863, and the demand was met. The revised constitution was adopted on March 26 1863, and on April 20 1863, President Lincoln issued a proclamation admitting the state at the end of sixty days (June 20 1863).

The question of the constitutionality of the formation of the new state was brought before the Supreme Court of the United States: The Virginia General Assembly repealed the act of secession and, in 1866, brought suit against West Virginia asking the court to declare the counties a part of Virginia. The U.S. Congress, however, passed a joint resolution recognizing the transfer on March 10, 1866. The Supreme Court, in 1870, decided in favor of West Virginia.[13]

During the American Civil War, West Virginia suffered comparatively little. George B. McClellan's forces gained possession of the greater part of the territory in the summer of 1861, and Union control was never seriously threatened, in spite of the attempt by Robert E. Lee in the same year. In 1863, General John D. Imboden, with 5,000 Confederates, overran a considerable portion of the state. Bands of guerrillas burned and plundered in some sections, and were not entirely suppressed until after the war ended.

The area which became West Virginia furnished about an equal amount of soldiers to the Federal and Confederate governments, approximately 22-25,000 each.[14] The Wheeling government disenfranchised returning Confederate soldiers in 1865.[15] In addition, Confederates' property could be confiscated, and in 1866, a constitutional amendment disfranchised all who had given aid and comfort to the Confederacy. Shifting political control in the state led to the abrogation of the 1866 amendment, and eventually, an entirely new state constitution was adopted on August 22, 1872.

Law and government

State and local

The West Virginia State Capitol.

West Virginia's capital and seat of government is the city of Charleston, located in the southwest area of the state. Charleston, founded in 1794, was built on a settlement near the mouth of the Elk River dating from 1788. Once West Virginia was finally proclaimed a state by President Lincoln, a new state capital had to be named. The capital shifted between Charleston and Wheeling for several years until Charleston was finally chosen by popular vote in 1877. The first capitol building was built in 1885. The current structure was dedicated in 1932, after the first burned down.[16]

The governor of West Virgina is elected every four years, on the same day as the U.S. Presidential election, and is sworn in during the following January. Governors of West Virginia can serve two consecutive terms, but must sit out a term before serving a third term in office. Other elected officials in the executive branch include the Agriculture Commissioner, Auditor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, and Treasurer.[17]

The West Virginia Legislature is bicameral, consisting of the House of Delegates and the Senate. It is a citizen's legislature, meaning that legislative office is not a full-time occupation, but rather a part-time position. Consequently, the legislators often hold a full-time job in their community of residence. Typically, the legislature is in session for 60 days between January and early April, closing at midnight on the last day of the session. During the remainder of the year, monthly interim sessions are held in preparation for the regular session. Legislators also gather periodically for "special" sessions when called by the governor.

West Virginia’s highest court is the Supreme Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia is the busiest appellate court of its type in the United States. West Virginia is one of 11 states with a single appellate court. The state constitution allows for the creation of an intermediate court of appeals, but the Legislature has never created one. The Supreme Court is made up of five justices, elected in partisan elections to 12-year terms. For the purpose of courts of general jurisdiction, the state is divided into 31 judicial circuits. Each circuit is made up of one or more counties. Circuit judges are elected in partisan elections to serve eight-year terms.

West Virginia is one of twelve states that does not have a death penalty.

West Virginia is an alcoholic beverage control state. It retains a monopoly on wholesaling of distilled spirits and does not operate retail outlets.

West Virginia counties administer and collect property taxes. Municipalities may levy license and gross receipts taxes on businesses located within the city limits and a hotel occupancy tax on lodging places in the city. Although the Department of Tax and Revenue plays a major role in the administration of this tax, less than one-half of one percent of the property tax collected goes to state government. The primary beneficiaries of the property tax are county boards of education. The WV Department of Tax and Revenue supervises and otherwise assists counties and municipalities in their work of assessment and tax rate determination.

Politics

West Virginia has a history of supporting Democratic candidates in state and local elections. It also has a very strong tradition of union membership. While the state continued its Democratic tradition by supporting Bill Clinton by large margins in 1992 and 1996, a majority of West Virginia voters supported George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004.

The most consistent support for Democrats is found in the coal region of southern West Virginia (especially McDowell, Mingo, Logan, Wyoming, and Boone Counties). Republicans dominate east of the Allegheny Mountains, especially in the state's Eastern Panhandle and Potomac Highlands. The Northern Panhandle and North-Central West Virginia regions usually split right down the middle in terms of being Republican or Democrat.

Economy

West Virginia State Symbols
  • Motto: Montani semper liberi (Latin, "Mountaineers are Always Free")
  • Slogan: Open for Business
Wild and Wonderful
Almost Heaven
  • Bird: Northern Cardinal, (Cardinalis cardinalis)
  • Animal: Black Bear, (Ursus americanus)
  • Fish: Brook Trout, (Salvelinus fontinalis)
  • Insect: European Honey Bee, (Apis mellifera)
  • Flower: Rhododendron, (Rhododendron maximum)
  • Tree: Sugar Maple, (Acer saccharum)
  • Song: "The West Virginia Hills"
"This Is My West Virginia"
"West Virginia, My Home Sweet Home"

The economy of West Virginia is now one of the most fragile of any state in the U.S. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, West Virginia is the third lowest in per capita income,[18] ahead of only Arkansas and Mississippi. It also ranks last in median household income.[19] The proportion of West Virginia's adult population with a bachelor's degree is the lowest in the U.S., at 15.3 percent.[20]

Resources

Salt mining had been underway since the eighteenth century, though it had largely played out by the time of the American Civil War, when the red salt of Kanawha County was a valued commodity of first Confederate, and later Union forces. Later, more sophisticated mining methods would restore West Virginia's role as a major producer of salt.

In the second half of the nineteenth century, the discovery of major deposits on bituminous coal led to the development of extensive transport networks and the expansion of industry throughout the U.S. The residents (both Native Americans and early European settlers) had known of the underlying coal and used it for heating and fuel. These very small "personal" mines were the only practical development, pre-railroads. After the Civil War, the new railroads were a practical means to transport large quantities of coal to expanding U.S. and export markets. As the anthracite mines of northwestern New Jersey and Pennsylvania were playing out, investors and industrialists focused on new interest in West Virginia's coal. Geologists such as Dr. David T. Ansted surveyed potential coal fields and invested in land and early mining projects.

The completion of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) across the state to the new city of Huntington on the Ohio River, in 1872, opened access to the New River Coal Field. The C&O built a huge coal pier at Newport News, Virginia at the Virginia port of Hampton Roads. In 1881, the owners of the newly re-named Norfolk and Western Railroad (N & W) built the line to capture the coal production. Roanoke, Virginia, emerged as a trans-shipment point for West Virginia's coal on its way to the ports. In 1889, in the southern part of the state, along the Norfolk and Western rail lines, the coal center of Bluefield, West Virginia, was founded. The "capital" of the enormous Pocahontas coalfield, Bluefield would be the largest city in the southern part of the state for decades.

Bituminous coal seam in southwestern West Virginia

After Reconstruction, the new 35th state benefited from development of its mineral resources more than any other single economic activity. In northern West Virgina, and elsewhere, the older Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) and other lines expanded to take advantage of coal opportunities as well. The B&O developed coal piers in Baltimore and at several ports on the Great Lakes. Other significant carriers of WV coal were the Western Maryland Railway (WM), Southern Railway (SOU), and the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N).

By 1900, only the coalfields in the most rugged terrain of southern West Virginia were untapped. Within this area west of the New River Coalfield in Raleigh and Wyoming counties lay the Winding Gulf Coalfield, later promoted as the "Billion Dollar Coalfield." A short-line railroad was chartered to stretch between the C&O, along the Kanawha River, and the N&W at Matoaka, a distance of about 80 miles. With financial support from major industrialists, this railroad was eventually built across the state to the Hampton Roads port. After merging with the N & W, the two railroads created the modern Norfok Southern system.

As coal mining and related work became a major employment activities in the state, there was considerable labor strife as working conditions, safety issues, and economic concerns arose. Even in the twenty-first century, mining safety and ecological concerns are challenging the state whose coal continued to power electrical generating plants in many other states.

Coal is not the only valuable mineral found in West Virginia, as the state was the site of the 1928 discovery of the 34.48 carat (6.896 g) Jones Diamond. West Virginia also has some oil reserves but currently only has a few small to medium sized oil and natural gas fields being tapped.

Agriculture and industry

The Veterans Memorial Bridge, which carries U.S. Route 22.

Farming is very limited in West Virginia because of the state's mountainous terrain. The chemical industry has its roots in the earliest salt mining carried out by Native Americans in the 1700s, using the salt brines of the Little Kanawha River. After the Civil War, when the salt mines started to run out, the manufacture of simple salt compounds like bromine and potassium salts began. Eventually, more complex manufacturing developed. Abundant natural resources, including carbon from coal, and hydropower from mountainous rivers fueled the expansion of the chemical industry all along the Kanawha Valley. The start of World War I led to increased demand for chemical compounds, and with the closing off of Germany's chemical industry, the allies and the rest of the world turned to West Virginia. DuPont, Carbide, and Monsanto, among others, expanded throughout the twentieth century. The chemical industry has expanded to include petrochemicals and synthetic materials. The industry has provided thousands of jobs and extensive infrastructure to West Virginia, however, concerns about exposure and epidemiologic evidence of cancer and other diseases resulting from air- and water-borne pollution, and more recently, potential terrorist threats have led to considerable regulation of the industry.[21]

Transportation

The New River Gorge Bridge.

Highways form the backbone of transportation systems in West Virginia, with over 37,300 miles of public roads in the state.[22] Airports, railroads, and rivers complete the commercial transportation modes for West Virginia. Commercial air travel is facilitated by airports in Charleston, Huntington, Beckley, Bluefield, Lewisburg, Clarksburg, Martinsburg, Morgantown, Wheeling, and Parkersburg. West Virginia University in Morgantown boasts a PRT (personal rapid transit) system, the state's only single rail public transit system. Developed by Boeing, the WVU School of Engineering and the U.S. Department of Transportation, it was a model for low-capacity light transport designed for smaller cities.

Rail lines in the state were once more prevalent, but many have been discontinued because of increased automobile traffic. Many old tracks have been converted to rail trails for recreational use, and the state is still served by a few commercial lines for hauling coal and by Amtrak. In 2006, Norfolk Southern, along with the West Virginia and U.S. Government approved a plan to modify many of the rail tunnels in West Virginia, especially in the southern half of the state, to allow for double stacked cars. This is expected to also help bring economic growth to the southern half of the state.

Because of the mountainous nature of the entire state, West Virginia has several notable tunnels and bridges. The most famous of these is the New River Gorge Bridge, which was at a time the longest steel single-arch bridge in the world with a 3,031-foot (924 m) span. The bridge is also pictured on the West Virginia state quarter. The Veterans Memorial Bridge (Weirton-Steubenville Bridge) was at its time of construction one of only three cable-stayed steel girder trusses in the United States. It connects Steubenville, Ohio, with Weirton, West Virginia, along U.S. Route 22.

Education

Education is overseen at the state level by the West Virginia Department of Education, which controls the State Board of Education, the WV Schools for the Deaf and Blind, Office of Education Performance Audits, and the Regional Education Service Agencies.

West Virginia University in Morgantown, Marshall University in Huntington, and West Virgina State University in Institute are among the public colleges and universities in the state.

Demographics

West Virginia population density map.

As of 2005, West Virginia had an estimated population of 1,816,856, an increase of 4,308, or 0.2 percent, from the prior year and an increase of 8,506, or 0.5 percent, since the year 2000. This includes a natural decrease since the last census of 3,296 people (that is 108,292 births minus 111,588 deaths) and an increase from net migration of 14,209 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 3,691 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 10,518 people.

Only 1.1 percent of the state's residents were foreign-born, placing West Virginia last among the 50 states in that statistic. It has the lowest percentage of residents that speak a language other than English in the home (2.7 percent).

The five largest ancestry groups in West Virginia are: American (23.2 percent), German (17.2 percent), Irish (13.5 percent) (Most actually Scots-Irish), English (12 percent), Italian (4.8 percent).

Culture and points of interest

West Virgina has a culture of strong self-reliance developed through its early, and continued, isolation. Largely unaffected by circumstances taking place outside the mountain settlements, its rural regions retain a unique culture. Musical instruments, ballads, and handicrafts from generations past remain. The state has taken advantage of its unique cultural heritage and traditions, promoting them through tourism.

One of West Virginia's greatest natural resources is its pristine mountain environment. There are over 35 state parks. Numerous festivals—ethnic, heritage, craft, and food, among others—take place annually in these parks and throughout the state.[23]

Notes

  1. Error on call to template:cite web: Parameters url and title must be specified (CSV). 2011 Population Estimates. United States Census Bureau, Population Division (December 2011).
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Elevations and Distances in the United States. United States Geological Survey (2001). Retrieved October 24, 2011.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Elevation adjusted to North American Vertical Datum of 1988.
  4. West Virginia Division of Culture and History, An Introduction to West Virginia's Ethnic Communities. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  5. Monongahela National Forest, Welcome to the Monongahela National Forest. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  6. West Virginia Division of Culture and History, Native American Clashes with European Settlers. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  7. West Virginia Division of Culture and History, A State of Convenience, the Creation of West Virginia, Reorganized Government of Virginia Approves Separation. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  8. Charles Ambler, The History of West Virginia (1933), p. 309.
  9. J. McGregor, The Disruption of Virginia, p. 193.
  10. Richard O. Curry, A House Divided, p. 147.
  11. Ambler, p. 318.
  12. Curry, p. 86.
  13. Find Law, Virginia v. West Virginia, 78 U.S. 39 (1870). Retrieved June 16, 2008.
  14. West Virginia Division of Culture and History, Researching your Civil War Ancestor. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  15. Charles Ambler, "Disfranchisement in West Virginia," Yale Review, 1905, p. 41
  16. Charleston Convention & Visitors Bureau, Your Doorway to West Virginia. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  17. State of West Virginia, Executive Branch. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  18. U.S. Census Bureau, State Rankings—Personal Income Per Capita In Constant (2000) Dollars 2004.
  19. U.S. Census Bureau,State Rankings—Median Household Income, 2003.
  20. U.S. Census Bureau, State Rankings—Persons 25 Years Old And Over With A Bachelor's Degree Or More, 2004.
  21. Nathan Cantrell, West Virginia's chemical Industry, West Virginia Historical Society. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  22. West Virginia Department of Transportation, Roadways. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  23. Encyclopædia Britannica, West Virginia, Encyclopædia Britannica Online.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Ambler, Charles Henry. 1951. A History of Education in West Virginia; From Early Colonial Times to 1949. Huntington, West Virginia: Standard Print. & Pub. Co.
  • Ambler, Charles Henry. 1947. West Virginia the Mountain State. New York: Prentice-Hall.
  • Becker, Jane S. 1998. Selling Tradition Appalachia and the Construction of an American Folk, 1930-1940. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 080786031X.
  • Brisbin, Richard A. 1996. West Virginia Politics and Government. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0803212712.
  • Callahan, James Morton. 1923. History of West Virginia, Old and New. Chicago: American Historical Society.
  • Campbell, John C. 1921. The Southern Highlander and his Homeland. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
  • Cometti, Elizabeth, and Festus P. Summers. 1966. The Thirty-Fifth State; a Documentary History of West Virginia. Morgantown: West Virginia University Library.
  • Curry, Richard Orr. 1964. A House Divided; A Study of Statehood Politics and the Copperhead Movement in West Virginia. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.
  • Davis, Donald Edward. 2000. Where There are Mountains an Environmental History of the Southern Appalachians. Athens: University of Georgia Press. ISBN 0820321257.
  • Eller, Ronald D. 1982. Miners, Millhands, and Mountaineers Industrialization of the Appalachian South, 1880-1930. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press. ISBN 087049340X.
  • Feather, Carl E. 1998. Mountain People in a Flat Land a Popular History of Appalachian Migration to Northeast Ohio, 1940-1965. Athens: Ohio University Press. ISBN 0821440381
  • Ford, Thomas R., and Rupert Bayless Vance. 1982. The Southern Appalachian Region a Survey. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press.
  • Kephart, Horace. 1976. Our Southern Highlanders a Narrative of Adventure in the Southern Appalachians and a Study of Life Among the Mountaineers. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press. ISBN 0870491970.
  • Milnes, Gerald. 1999. Play of a Fiddle Traditional Music, Dance, and Folklore in West Virginia. Lexington, Ky: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0813120802.
  • Rice, Otis K. 1970. The Allegheny Frontier: West Virginia Beginnings, 1730-1830. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0813111900.
  • Rice, Otis K. 1985. West Virginia a History. Lexington, Ky: University of Kentucky. ISBN 081311540X.
  • Seltzer, Curtis. 1985. Fire in the Hole Miners and Managers in the American Coal Industry. Lexington, Ky: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0813115264.
  • Trotter, Joe William. 1990. Coal, Class, and Color Blacks in Southern West Virginia, 1915-32. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0252061195.
  • Williams, John Alexander, and Topper Sherwood. 1993. West Virginia a History for Beginners. Charleston, [W. Va.]: Appalachian Editions. ISBN 0962748633.
  • Williams, John Alexander. 1976. West Virginia a Bicentennial History. New York: Norton. ISBN 0393055906.
  • Williams, John Alexander. 1976. West Virginia and the Captains of Industry. Morgantown: West Virginia University Library. ISBN 0870122371.
  • Williams, John Alexander. 2002. Appalachia a History. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0807860522.
  • This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

External links

All links retrieved May 4, 2023.



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