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 flag of West Virginia is the official flag of the U.S. State of West Virginia and was officially adopted by the West Virginia Legislature on March 7, 1929. The present flag consists of a pure white field bordered by a blue stripe with the coat of arms of West Virginia in the center, wreathed by Rhododendron maximum and topped by an unfurled red ribbon reading, "State of West Virginia." It is the only state flag to bear crossing rifles, meant to illustrate the importance of the state's fight for liberty during the Civil War as the southern unionist 35th state.

The first flags to represent West Virginia following statehood were battle flags utilized by West Virginia regiments during the American Civil War. West Virginia's first official state flag was adopted in 1905, based upon the flag designed and used by the West Virginia State Commission at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904. This flag was altered in 1907 for the Jamestown Exposition and featured the coat of arms on the obverse and a sprig of Rhododendron maximum on the reverse. In order to reproduce the flag more inexpensively, the West Virginia Legislature ratified the current flag with the state's coat of arms integrated with the rhododendron, which appears on both the obverse and the reverse. The "Pledge of Allegiance to the West Virginia State Flag" was unanimously adopted by the office of the Secretary of State of West Virginia in 1977. (Full article...)

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Publicity photo, 1958

Virginia Ruth "Jennie" Lewis (née Egnor; November 29, 1921 – October 9, 2001), known professionally as Dagmar, was an American actress, model, and television personality. In the 1950s she became one of the first major female stars of television, receiving much press coverage. (Full article...)

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

Image 1Thomas Lee, the first manager of the Ohio Company of Virginia (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 3Bituminous coal seam in southwestern West Virginia (from West Virginia)
Image 4Historical coat of arms of West Virginia (illustrated, 1876) (from West Virginia)
Image 5Slave woman tending to a white baby in West Virginia, 1865 (from West Virginia)
Image 6Child labor in the coal mines of West Virginia, 1908 (from West Virginia)
Image 7Thomas Lee, the first manager of the Ohio Company of Virginia (from History of West Virginia)
Image 8Shaded relief map of the Cumberland Plateau and Ridge-and-valley Appalachians (from West Virginia)
Image 9West Virginia population density map (from West Virginia)
Image 10West Virginia Independence Hall, site of the Wheeling Convention (from History of West Virginia)
Image 11Turnout by county in the October 24, 1861, West Virginia statehood vote (from History of West Virginia)
Image 12Seneca Rocks, Pendleton County (from West Virginia)
Image 13From left, Senator Joe Manchin, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Senator Shelley Moore Capito, and Representative David McKinley (2017) (from West Virginia)
Image 14The summit of Spruce Knob is often covered in clouds. (from West Virginia)
Image 15Packed circles diagram showing estimates of the ethnic origins of people in West Virginia in 2021. (from West Virginia)
Image 161751 Fry-Jefferson map showing early ferries and established colonial borders before the French And Indian War (from History of West Virginia)
Image 17Köppen climate types of West Virginia, using 1991-2020 climate normals (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 19Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight, a statue on the grounds of the West Virginia State Capitol (from West Virginia)
Image 20A view of the New River in West Virginia, the world's third-oldest river geologically (from History of 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 23State of Westylvania proposed to the U.S. Congress (from West Virginia)
Image 24Map 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 25Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, changed hands a dozen times during the American Civil War. (from History of West Virginia)
Image 26Harpers 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 27Votes by county in the October 1861 statehood vote (from West Virginia)
Image 28Counties (in blue) approving Virginia's secession from the U.S. (from History of West Virginia)
Image 29The Veterans Memorial Bridge carries US 22 from Weirton WV into Ohio. (from West Virginia)
Image 30Bluefield, a major center for coal mining, in 2014 (from West Virginia)
Image 31Escaped slave broadside, Hampshire County, West Virginia, 1845 (from West Virginia)
Image 32A toll plaza on the West Virginia Turnpike (from West Virginia)
Image 33Saturday afternoon street scene, Welch, McDowell County, 1946 (from West Virginia)
Image 341715 Nicolas de Fer map showing the Native American areas known as Tionontatacaga and Calicuas (from History of West Virginia)
Image 35John S. Carlile, a leader during the First Wheeling Convention (from History of West Virginia)
Image 36The iconic New River Gorge Bridge near Fayetteville (from West Virginia)

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... 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 part of West Virginia's Princeton–Deepwater District railway was so steep that only shortened coal trains could ascend it?
... that after nearly killing a man in a duel, Edgar P. Rucker went on to become the attorney general of West Virginia?
... that West Virginia lawyer Arthur G. Froe served as D.C. Recorder of Deeds under three presidents and was appointed by President Wilson as a draft board legal advisor during World War I?
... that the California Golden Bears men's basketball team won the 1959 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game by a single point over West Virginia?
... that the first exhibit of the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame came from founder Michael Lipton's record collection?

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