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 landlocked 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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The Fort Steuben Bridge, originally the Weirton-Steubenville Bridge, was a suspension bridge which spanned the Ohio River from Steubenville, Ohio to Weirton, West Virginia and carried U.S. Route 22 and then Ohio State Route 822 during its existence. Completed in 1928 and opened as a toll bridge, the Fort Steuben Bridge was a more direct route for the flow of traffic across the river; particularly for trucks and heavy vehicles from the industrial area. The Fort Steuben Bridge was weight-restricted in 2006 and closed in 2009 due to deterioration. The bridge was demolished by Joseph B. Fay Co. on February 21, 2012. (Full article...)

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The protohistoric period of the state of West Virginia in the United States began in the mid-sixteenth century with the arrival of European trade goods. Explorers and colonists brought these goods to the eastern and southern coasts of North America and were brought inland by native trade routes. This was a period characterized by increased intertribal strife, rapid population decline, the abandonment of traditional life styles, and the extinction and migrations of many Native American groups.

Written accounts of the area begin by the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century with the scattered documentation and journals of early explorers. These accounts frequently portray a sparsely inhabited area, possibly due to the Iroquois wars to monopolize the European fur trade or the devastating effects of new diseases introduced by Europeans. (Full article...)

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

Image 1Map 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 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 3Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight, a statue on the grounds of the West Virginia State Capitol (from West Virginia)
Image 4Seneca Rocks, Pendleton County (from West Virginia)
Image 5Köppen climate types of West Virginia, using 1991-2020 climate normals (from West Virginia)
Image 6Bituminous coal seam in southwestern West Virginia (from West Virginia)
Image 7Turnout by county in the October 24, 1861, West Virginia statehood vote (from History of West Virginia)
Image 8The summit of Spruce Knob is often covered in clouds. (from West Virginia)
Image 9Votes by county in the October 1861 statehood vote (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 11Thomas Lee, the first manager of the Ohio Company of Virginia (from History of West Virginia)
Image 12West Virginia population density map (from West Virginia)
Image 13The Veterans Memorial Bridge carries US 22 from Weirton WV into Ohio. (from West Virginia)
Image 14Thomas Lee, the first manager of the Ohio Company of Virginia (from West Virginia)
Image 15West Virginia Independence Hall, site of the Wheeling Convention (from History of 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 17A toll plaza on the West Virginia Turnpike (from West Virginia)
Image 181751 Fry-Jefferson map showing early ferries and established colonial borders before the French And Indian War (from History of West Virginia)
Image 19Harpers 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 20Child labor in the coal mines of West Virginia, 1908 (from West Virginia)
Image 21Map of West Virginia counties (from West Virginia)
Image 22Francis H. Pierpont, a leader during the Second Wheeling Convention (from West Virginia)
Image 23Shaded relief map of the Cumberland Plateau and Ridge-and-valley Appalachians (from West Virginia)
Image 24Historical coat of arms of West Virginia (illustrated, 1876) (from West Virginia)
Image 25Slave woman tending to a white baby in West Virginia, 1865 (from West Virginia)
Image 26Counties (in blue) approving Virginia's secession from the U.S. (from History of West Virginia)
Image 27Packed circles diagram showing estimates of the ethnic origins of people in West Virginia in 2021. (from West Virginia)
Image 28From left, Senator Joe Manchin, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Senator Shelley Moore Capito, and Representative David McKinley (2017) (from West Virginia)
Image 29Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, changed hands a dozen times during the American Civil War. (from History of West Virginia)
Image 301715 Nicolas de Fer map showing the Native American areas known as Tionontatacaga and Calicuas (from History of West Virginia)
Image 31State of Westylvania proposed to the U.S. Congress (from West Virginia)
Image 32Bluefield, a major center for coal mining, in 2014 (from West Virginia)
Image 33The iconic New River Gorge Bridge near Fayetteville (from West Virginia)
Image 34John S. Carlile, a leader during the First Wheeling Convention (from History of West Virginia)
Image 35Escaped slave broadside, Hampshire County, West Virginia, 1845 (from West Virginia)
Image 36Saturday afternoon street scene, Welch, McDowell County, 1946 (from West Virginia)

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... that after nearly killing a man in a duel, Edgar P. Rucker went on to become the attorney general of West Virginia?
... that William H. Davis was the first teacher of Booker T. Washington and the first African American to be nominated as a candidate for West Virginia governor in 1888?
... that the general manager of a West Virginia TV station called changing its network affiliation "the hardest decision I've ever had to make"?
... that the first exhibit of the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame came from founder Michael Lipton's record collection?
... 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?
... 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?

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