Portal:West Virginia

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The West Virginia Portal

Panorama northwest, northeast and east from a ridge along West Virginia Route 42 between Elk Garden and Sulphur City in Mineral County, West Virginia (2016)

West Virginia is a state in the Southern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. It is bordered by Pennsylvania to the north and east, Maryland to the east and northeast, Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, and Ohio to the northwest. West Virginia is the 10th-smallest state by area and ranks as the 12th-least populous state, with a population of 1,793,716 residents. The capital and most populous city is Charleston with a population of 49,055.

West Virginia was admitted to the Union on June 20, 1863, and was a key border state during the American Civil War. It was the only state to form by separating from a Confederate state, one of two states (along with Nevada) admitted to the Union during the Civil War, and the second state to separate from another state, after Maine separated from Massachusetts in 1820. Some of its residents held slaves, but most were yeoman farmers, and the delegates provided for the gradual abolition of slavery in the new state constitution. The state legislature abolished slavery in the state, and at the same time ratified the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery nationally on February 3, 1865.

West Virginia's northern panhandle extends adjacent to Pennsylvania and Ohio to form a tristate area, with Wheeling, Weirton, and Morgantown just across the border from the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Huntington in the southwest is close to Ohio and Kentucky, while Martinsburg and Harpers Ferry in the eastern panhandle region are considered part of the Washington metropolitan area, between Maryland and Virginia. West Virginia is often included in several U.S. geographical regions, including the Mid-Atlantic, the Upland South, and the Southeastern United States. It is the only state entirely within the area served by the Appalachian Regional Commission; the area is commonly defined as "Appalachia". (Full article...)

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Valley View from the southeast, with Mill Creek Mountain in the background

Valley View is a mid-19th-century Greek Revival residence and farm overlooking the South Branch Potomac River northwest of Romney, West Virginia. The house is atop a promontory where Depot Valley joins the South Branch Potomac River valley.

The Valley View property was part of the South Branch Survey of the Northern Neck Proprietary, a large tract that was inherited by Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, in 1719. It was settled by John Collins and his family in 1749, and acquired by the Parsons family before 1772. The Valley View house was built by James Parsons Jr. in 1855. After the Civil War, Parsons' widow sold the farm to Charles Harmison. His wife, Elizabeth Harmison, inspired by her childhood Virginia home, Western View, and the scenic South Branch Potomac River views, named the farm Valley View. The most recent of a series of owners, the Mayhew family, bought the property in 1979. Valley View's current proprietors, Robert and Kim Mayhew, have restored the historic residence and grounds. (Full article...)

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Charleston Skyline

Charleston is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of West Virginia and the seat of Kanawha County. Located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 2020 census and an estimated population of 48,018 in 2021. The Charleston metropolitan area had 210,605 residents in 2020.

The first permanent settlement in the Kanawha Valley, Fort Morris, was built approximately 20 miles upstream of Charleston at the confluence of Kellys Creek near the burned ruins of Walter Kelly's cabin in the fall of 1773 by William Morris prior to Lord Dunmore's War, and was used extensively during the American Revolution.

The town of Charleston was incorporated by the Virginia House of Delegates in 1794 with the trustees being William Morris, Leonard Morris, and Daniel Boone. Early industries important to Charleston included salt and the first natural gas well. Later, coal became central to economic prosperity in the city and the surrounding area. Today, trade, utilities, government, medicine, and education play central roles in the city's economy. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various West Virginia-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Köppen climate types of West Virginia, using 1991-2020 climate normals (from West Virginia)
Image 2The Linsly Institute building in Wheeling, West Virginia, which served as the state's first capitol building from statehood in 1863 until March 28, 1870, when the capitol was transferred to Charleston, West Virginia (from History of West Virginia)
Image 3West Virginia Independence Hall, site of the Wheeling Convention (from History of West Virginia)
Image 41751 Fry-Jefferson map showing early ferries and established colonial borders before the French And Indian War (from History of West Virginia)
Image 5A toll plaza on the West Virginia Turnpike (from West Virginia)
Image 6Escaped slave broadside, Hampshire County, West Virginia, 1845 (from West Virginia)
Image 7Packed circles diagram showing estimates of the ethnic origins of people in West Virginia in 2021. (from West Virginia)
Image 8Saturday afternoon street scene, Welch, McDowell County, 1946 (from West Virginia)
Image 9Shaded relief map of the Cumberland Plateau and Ridge-and-valley Appalachians (from West Virginia)
Image 10Bituminous coal seam in southwestern West Virginia (from West Virginia)
Image 11State of Westylvania proposed to the U.S. Congress (from West Virginia)
Image 12Slave woman tending to a white baby in West Virginia, 1865 (from West Virginia)
Image 13Seneca Rocks, Pendleton County (from West Virginia)
Image 14Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, changed hands a dozen times during the American Civil War. (from History of West Virginia)
Image 15Thomas Lee, the first manager of the Ohio Company of Virginia (from West Virginia)
Image 16A view of the New River in West Virginia, the world's third-oldest river geologically (from History of West Virginia)
Image 17West Virginia population density map (from West Virginia)

Racial plurality in West Virginia by county, per the 2020 U.S. census

Legend

Non-Hispanic White

70–80%

80–90%

90%+

(from West Virginia)

Image 19Map of Virginia dated June 13, 1861, featuring the percentage of slave population within each county at the 1860 census and the proposed state of Kanawha (from West Virginia)
Image 20The Veterans Memorial Bridge carries US 22 from Weirton WV into Ohio. (from West Virginia)
Image 21Harpers Ferry alternated between Confederate and Union rule eight times during the American Civil War, and was finally annexed by West Virginia. (from West Virginia)
Image 22Francis H. Pierpont, a leader during the Second Wheeling Convention (from West Virginia)
Image 23Counties (in blue) approving Virginia's secession from the U.S. (from History of West Virginia)
Image 24Bluefield, a major center for coal mining, in 2014 (from West Virginia)
Image 25The iconic New River Gorge Bridge near Fayetteville (from West Virginia)
Image 26John S. Carlile, a leader during the First Wheeling Convention (from History of West Virginia)
Image 27Turnout by county in the October 24, 1861, West Virginia statehood vote (from History of West Virginia)
Image 281715 Nicolas de Fer map showing the Native American areas known as Tionontatacaga and Calicuas (from History of West Virginia)
Image 29Child labor in the coal mines of West Virginia, 1908 (from West Virginia)
Image 30The summit of Spruce Knob is often covered in clouds. (from West Virginia)
Image 31From left, Senator Joe Manchin, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Senator Shelley Moore Capito, and Representative David McKinley (2017) (from West Virginia)
Image 32Historical coat of arms of West Virginia (illustrated, 1876) (from West Virginia)
Image 33Thomas Lee, the first manager of the Ohio Company of Virginia (from History of West Virginia)
Image 34Map of West Virginia counties (from West Virginia)
Image 35Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight, a statue on the grounds of the West Virginia State Capitol (from West Virginia)
Image 36Votes by county in the October 1861 statehood vote (from West Virginia)

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... that West Virginia lawyer Arthur G. Froe served as D.C. Recorder of Deeds under three presidents and was appointed by President Wilson as a draft board legal advisor during World War I?
... that prior to becoming West Virginia's first African-American judge, Leon P. Miller was McDowell County's assistant prosecuting attorney, a Welch city councilman, and U.S. Attorney for the Virgin Islands?
... that the 1967 Fairmont State Falcons won West Virginia's first national title in football?
... that after nearly killing a man in a duel, Edgar P. Rucker went on to become the attorney general of West Virginia?
... that after Lew Dickey Sr. broke into the radio business by buying a station in West Virginia, his son would go on to own Cumulus Media?
... that James Dillon Armstrong was a Virginia state senator, a delegate to West Virginia's constitutional convention, and a circuit court judge while serving for more than 43 years as a Presbyterian church elder?

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