![]() ![]() Its residents were discontented for years with their position in Virginia, as the government was dominated by the planter elite of the Tidewater and Piedmont areas. The United States considered this area the western part of the state of Virginia (commonly called Trans-Allegheny Virginia) from 1776 to 1863, before West Virginia's formation. The Crown considered the area of West Virginia part of the British Virginia Colony from 1607 to 1776. With the federal settlement of the Pennsylvania and Virginia border dispute, creating Kentucky County, Virginia, Kentuckians "were satisfied and the inhabitants of a large part of West Virginia were grateful." This rivalry resulted in some settlers petitioning the Continental Congress to create a new territory called Westsylvania. Some speculative land companies, such as the Vandalia Company, the Ohio Company and the Indiana Company, tried but failed to legitimize their claims to land in parts of West Virginia and present-day Kentucky. Siouan language tribes, such as the Moneton, had previously been recorded in the area.Ī century later, the area now identified as West Virginia was contested territory among Anglo-Americans as well, with the colonies of Pennsylvania and Virginia claiming territorial rights under their colonial charters to this area before the American Revolutionary War. In the 1670s, during the Beaver Wars, the powerful Iroquois, five allied nations based in present-day New York and Pennsylvania, drove out other American Indian tribes from the region to reserve the upper Ohio Valley as a hunting ground. Artifacts uncovered in these give evidence of village societies with a tribal trade system culture that crafted cold-worked copper pieces. Many ancient manmade earthen mounds from various prehistoric mound builder cultures survive in West Virginia, especially in the areas of present-day Moundsville, South Charleston, and Romney. The capital was originally Wheeling, before switching to Charleston, moving back to Wheeling, and finally back to Charleston. Other nominated names for the state included Vandalia, Kanawha, Appalachia, and Western Virginia. Since then, the state has become heavily Republican, and is considered a "deep red" state at the federal level. From the Great Depression to the 1990s, the state voted heavily for the Democratic Party due to its tradition of union-based politics. It is also known for a wide range of outdoor recreational opportunities, including skiing, whitewater rafting, fishing, hiking, backpacking, mountain biking, rock climbing, and hunting. The state is noted for its mountains and rolling hills, its historically significant coal mining and logging industries, and its political and labor history. It is the only state entirely within the area served by the Appalachian Regional Commission the area is commonly defined as " Appalachia". geographical regions, including the Mid-Atlantic, the Upland South, and the Southeastern United States. West Virginia is often included in several U.S. 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'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. The state legislature abolished slavery in the state, and at the same time ratified the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery nationally on February 3, 1865. ![]() 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. 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. West Virginia was admitted to the Union on June 20, 1863, and was a key border state during the American Civil War. The capital and largest city is Charleston which has a population of 49,055. 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. 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 a state in the Southern United States. ![]()
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