4 WEST VIRGINIA INTRODUCTION West Virginia justifies in every way its nickname the Mountain State With an average altitude of 1,500 feet above sea level it is the highest of any U S state east of the Mississippi River It boasts spectacular scenery beautiful farms and misty rolling hills West Virginia also has a rich history and culture that makes visiting the state a rewarding and memorable experience West Virginia is known for its unique rural mountain culture Since their mountain location was quite isolated early West Virginians developed a local culture that was uninfluenced by neighboring populations Many of these mountain traditions such as folksong and storytelling still exist today The Glade Creek Grist Mill continues to grind flour using traditional methods The mill is one of West Virginia’s most recognized landmarks September and October are beautiful months in West Virginia as forest covered hillsides come alive with splendid fall colors The state motto is Montani semper liberi which means Mountaineers are always free West Virginia has the highest mean altitude of any state east of the Mississippi 1,500 feet West Virginia was admitted to the Union in 1863 as the 35th state The state flower is the rhododendron also known as the big laurel
INTRODUCTION 5 West Virginia is nestled between Pennsylvania and Maryland on the north Virginia on the east and the south and Kentucky and Ohio on the west The Ohio River forms the border between Ohio and West Virginia The Potomac River forms West Virginia’s northern border with Maryland and flows to Washington D C then into Chesapeake Bay Drivers in West Virginia take advantage of the more than 37,370 miles of road that cross the state About 550 miles of these roads are interstate highways For those who prefer to fly Yeager Airport near Charleston is West Virginia’s main airport A railroad takes passengers through Charleston and the southern part of the state Yeager Airport is named after Air Force test pilot Charles Yeager the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound West Virginia Location Map West Virginia is nicknamed the Mountain State The state tree is the sugar maple West Virginia is a small state covering less than 25,000 square miles It is about one-fourth the size of Colorado West Virginia is divided into 55 counties Capital Charleston Interstate highways 0 0 16 25 32 50 Mi Km Scale Population 1,808,344 Size 24,232 square miles Highest peak Spruce Knob 4,861 feet
6 WEST VIRGINIA The capital of West Virginia is Charleston It is located in Kanawha County where the Elk and the Kanawha rivers meet It is the largest city in the state with a population of about 50,000 people Charleston is referred to as both the most northern of the Southern cities and the most southern of the Northern cities in the United States Like all of the other large West Virginia cities Charleston is located in a river valley where the land is flat Charleston has many historic buildings and grand mansions Many of these landmarks date back to the late 1800s West Virginia’s other major cities are Huntington Wheeling Parkersburg and Morgantown When Charleston was established in 1794 the total population was 35 The town itself was made up of only seven houses The cardinal was chosen as the state bird in 1949 The New River Gorge Bridge has the country’s longest single-arch steel bridge It is 3,030 feet long The Victorian district in Wheeling is a reminder of its prosperous past During the 1800s the city served as a major gateway to the West Illinois and South Carolina also have cities named Charleston
INTRODUCTION 7 Located in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains West Virginia is the most mountainous state east of the Rocky Mountains The state’s unusual boundaries created by mountains and rivers give it the shape of a pan with two large handles This shape inspired one of West Virginia’s nicknames the Panhandle State West Virginia separated from the state of Virginia during the American Civil War A series of disagreements between the eastern and western parts of Virginia caused the separation The people of western Virginia wanted to have their own state They felt unfairly taxed and believed that they were receiving few benefits There was also growing tension over the issue of slavery Many West Virginians were opposed to slave-owning while wealthy eastern planters had many slaves The new state was originally called Kanawha but the name West Virginia was later chosen During the fall battles from the American Civil War are reenacted in several state parks across West Virginia The Seneca Rocks formation rises nearly 900 feet above the North Fork River It is one of West Virginia’s most visited natural sites West Virginia has three official state songs The West Virginia Hills West Virginia My Home Sweet Home and This Is My West Virginia In 1859 John Brown raided the national armory at Harpers Ferry to get guns and ammunition for a slave rebellion Though he was unsuccessful this action was important to the growing antislavery movement in the United States
