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 mountainous, landlocked state in the Southern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. It is bordered by Pennsylvania and Maryland to the 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 1,769,979 residents. The capital and most populous city is Charleston with a population of 49,055.

West Virginia was admitted into the Union on June 20, 1863, and was a key border state during the American Civil War. It separated from Virginia and was one of two states (along with Nevada) admitted to the Union during the Civil War. Some of its residents held slaves, but most were propertied 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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Portrait Swisher, prior to 1897.

Howard Llewellyn Swisher (September 21, 1870 – August 27, 1945) was an American businessperson, real estate developer, orchardist, editor, writer, and historian. As a prominent businessman, he established several companies responsible for the development of businesses and real estate in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Swisher was born in 1870 near Levels, West Virginia. He became a schoolteacher there at the age of 18, then graduated from Fairmont State Normal School (present-day Fairmont State University) and West Virginia University. He then remained in Morgantown, where he established a bookstore and stationery shop. Following the success of his bookstore, Swisher organized the Main Street Building Company, the Howard L. Swisher Company, and the Morgantown Building Association, each of which constructed a large number of residences in the city. He was also the inaugural secretary-treasurer of the West Virginia Real Estate Dealers' Association. (Full article...)

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Spruce Mountain (in the distance) beyond the River Knobs (Judy Rocks, foreground) and the Fore Knobs (middle distance)

Spruce Mountain, located in eastern West Virginia, is the highest ridge of the Allegheny Mountains. The whale-backed ridge extends for only 16 miles (26 km) from northeast to southwest, but several of its peaks exceed 4,500 feet (1,400 m) in elevation. The summit, Spruce Knob (4,863 ft; 1,482 m), is the highest point both in West Virginia and in the entire Allegheny range, which spans four states. (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 2Bituminous coal seam in southwestern West Virginia (from West Virginia)
Image 3Thomas Lee, the first manager of the Ohio Company of Virginia (from History of West Virginia)
Image 4Counties (in blue) approving Virginia's secession from the U.S. in order to join the Confederacy. (from History of West Virginia)
Image 5Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, changed hands a dozen times during the American Civil War. (from History of West Virginia)
Image 6Köppen climate types of West Virginia, using 1991–2020 climate normals (from West Virginia)
Image 7Child laborer photographed by Lewis Hine in the coal mines of West Virginia, 1908 (from West Virginia)
Image 81751 Fry-Jefferson map showing early ferries and established colonial borders before the French And Indian War (from History of West Virginia)
Image 9Bluefield, a major center for coal mining, in 2014 (from West Virginia)
Image 10Saturday afternoon street scene, Welch, McDowell County, 1946 (from West Virginia)
Image 11Packed circles diagram showing estimates of the ethnic origins of people in West Virginia in 2021. (from West Virginia)
Image 12A view of the New River in West Virginia, the world's third-oldest river geologically (from History of West Virginia)
Image 13Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit (from West Virginia)
Image 14A slave woman tending to a white baby in West Virginia, 1865 (from West Virginia)
Image 15West Virginia Independence Hall, site of the Wheeling Convention (from History of West Virginia)
Image 16West Virginia is situated in the Appalachian Mountains, bounded by Allegheny Mountains, Ohio and Big Sandy rivers, and the Cumberland Mountains. (from West Virginia)
Image 17Harpers 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 18Poster by Albert M. Bender, produced by the Illinois WPA Art Project Chicago in 1935 for the CCC (from History of West Virginia)
Image 19Votes 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 21Percent of Americans living below the poverty line in each U.S. state, and the District of Columbia. West Virginia has one of the highest poverty rates. (from West Virginia)
Image 22Thomas Lee, the first manager of the Ohio Company of Virginia (from West Virginia)
Image 23State of Westsylvania proposed to the U.S. Congress (from West Virginia)
Image 24Seneca Rocks, Pendleton County (from West Virginia)
Image 251715 Nicolas de Fer map showing the Native American areas known as Tionontatacaga and Calicuas (from History of West Virginia)
Image 26Escaped slave broadside, Hampshire County, West Virginia, 1845 (from West Virginia)
Image 27West Virginia population density 2020 (from West Virginia)
Image 28The Linsly Institute building in Wheeling, West Virginia 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 29The West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston is home to the West Virginia Legislature. (from West Virginia)
Image 30Overdose death rates in the United States (from West Virginia)
Image 31The Veterans Memorial Bridge carries US 22 from Weirton into Ohio. (from West Virginia)
Image 32Turnout by county in the October 24, 1861, West Virginia statehood vote (from History of West Virginia)
Image 33John S. Carlile, a leader during the First Wheeling Convention (from History of West Virginia)
Image 34Shaded relief map of the Cumberland Plateau and Ridge-and-valley Appalachians (from West Virginia)
Image 35The iconic New River Gorge Bridge near Fayetteville (from West Virginia)
Image 36Spruce Knob (in the distance) is the highest point in West Virginia and the Allegheny Mountains. (from West Virginia)

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... that John F. Kennedy's pollster found many West Virginia voters concerned that a Pope in the White House would arrive by transatlantic tunnel?
... that the Vulcan Bridge, a bridge in Vulcan, West Virginia, was constructed after the mayor requested financial aid from the Soviet Union?
... that Babydog is "a fixture in West Virginia politics"?

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