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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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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Catherine Shipe East (May 15, 1916 – August 17, 1996) was a U.S. government researcher and feminist referred to as "the midwife to the women's movement". She was a powerful force behind the founding of the National Organization for Women (NOW) and held several influential federal government positions throughout her career. (Full article...)

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

Image 1Francis H. Pierpont, a leader during the Second Wheeling Convention (from West Virginia)
Image 2West Virginia population density map (from West Virginia)
Image 3The iconic New River Gorge Bridge near Fayetteville (from West Virginia)
Image 4Packed circles diagram showing estimates of the ethnic origins of people in West Virginia in 2021. (from West Virginia)
Image 5Seneca Rocks, Pendleton County (from West Virginia)
Image 6Bluefield, a major center for coal mining, in 2014 (from West Virginia)
Image 7Turnout by county in the October 24, 1861, West Virginia statehood vote (from History of West Virginia)
Image 8Saturday afternoon street scene, Welch, McDowell County, 1946 (from West Virginia)
Image 9A view of the New River in West Virginia, the world's third-oldest river geologically (from History of West Virginia)
Image 10Votes by county in the October 1861 statehood vote (from West Virginia)
Image 11Köppen climate types of West Virginia, using 1991-2020 climate normals (from West Virginia)
Image 12Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight, a statue on the grounds of the West Virginia State Capitol (from West Virginia)
Image 13The summit of Spruce Knob is often covered in clouds. (from West Virginia)
Image 14The 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)

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 16From left, Senator Joe Manchin, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Senator Shelley Moore Capito, and Representative David McKinley (2017) (from West Virginia)
Image 17Escaped slave broadside, Hampshire County, West Virginia, 1845 (from West Virginia)
Image 18State of Westylvania proposed to the U.S. Congress (from West Virginia)
Image 19John S. Carlile, a leader during the First Wheeling Convention (from History of West Virginia)
Image 20Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, changed hands a dozen times during the American Civil War. (from History of West Virginia)
Image 21Thomas Lee, the first manager of the Ohio Company of Virginia (from West Virginia)
Image 22Map of West Virginia counties (from West Virginia)
Image 23Child labor in the coal mines of West Virginia, 1908 (from West Virginia)
Image 241715 Nicolas de Fer map showing the Native American areas known as Tionontatacaga and Calicuas (from History of West Virginia)
Image 25The Veterans Memorial Bridge carries US 22 from Weirton WV into Ohio. (from West Virginia)
Image 26West Virginia Independence Hall, site of the Wheeling Convention (from History of West Virginia)
Image 27Historical coat of arms of West Virginia (illustrated, 1876) (from West Virginia)
Image 28A toll plaza on the West Virginia Turnpike (from West Virginia)
Image 29Bituminous coal seam in southwestern West Virginia (from West Virginia)
Image 30Map 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 31Counties (in blue) approving Virginia's secession from the U.S. (from History of West Virginia)
Image 321751 Fry-Jefferson map showing early ferries and established colonial borders before the French And Indian War (from History of West Virginia)
Image 33Harpers 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 34Thomas Lee, the first manager of the Ohio Company of Virginia (from History of West Virginia)
Image 35Slave woman tending to a white baby in West Virginia, 1865 (from West Virginia)
Image 36Shaded relief map of the Cumberland Plateau and Ridge-and-valley Appalachians (from West Virginia)

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... 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 American lawyer and politician Armistead Abraham Lilly was also a principal owner of Ruffner Hotel in Charleston, West Virginia, and resided in its penthouse?
... that professor Ruth Ann Davis made the largest-ever single contribution to Potomac State College of West Virginia University to support nursing scholarships in memory of her mother?
... that the first exhibit of the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame came from founder Michael Lipton's record collection?
... 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 part of West Virginia's Princeton–Deepwater District railway was so steep that only shortened coal trains could ascend it?

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