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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Old Main at Marshall University

There are forty-four colleges and universities in the U.S. state of West Virginia that are listed under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. These institutions include two research universities, five master's universities, and fourteen baccalaureate colleges, as well as twenty-one associate's colleges. In addition, there are three institutions classified as special-focus institutions.

West Virginia's oldest surviving post-secondary institution is Bethany College, founded on March 2, 1840 by Alexander Campbell. Marshall University and West Liberty University were both established in 1837, but as private subscription schools. Founded in 1867, West Virginia University is the state's largest public institution of higher learning in terms of enrollment, as it had 29,707 students as of spring 2013. Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College is the state's smallest, with an enrollment of 822. With an enrollment of 1,549 students, Wheeling University is West Virginia's largest traditional private post-secondary institution, while Valley College–Princeton is the state's smallest, with an enrollment of 72. The American Public University System, a private for-profit, distance education institution based in Charles Town, has the largest enrollment of any post-secondary institution in West Virginia, with 31,331 students. Catholic Distance University, a fully online non-profit university in Charles Town, educates undergraduate students in Liberal Arts and theology and graduate students in theology and educational ministry. (Full article...)

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Thomas Albert Wilson (August 1, 1931 – September 16, 2011), was an American cartoonist. Wilson was the creator of the comic strip Ziggy, which he drew from 1971 to 1987. The strip was then continued by his son, Tom Wilson Jr.

After growing up in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, Wilson served in the U.S. Army from 1953 to 1955. He attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, graduating in 1955. He was a Cooper Union art instructor from 1961 to 1962. (Full article...)

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

Image 1John S. Carlile, a leader during the First Wheeling Convention (from History of West Virginia)
Image 2Seneca Rocks, Pendleton County (from West Virginia)
Image 3Thomas Lee, the first manager of the Ohio Company of Virginia (from History of West Virginia)
Image 41715 Nicolas de Fer map showing the Native American areas known as Tionontatacaga and Calicuas (from History of West Virginia)
Image 5A toll plaza on the West Virginia Turnpike (from West Virginia)
Image 6Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight, a statue on the grounds of the West Virginia State Capitol (from West Virginia)
Image 7Child labor in the coal mines of West Virginia, 1908 (from West Virginia)
Image 8Bluefield, a major center for coal mining, in 2014 (from West Virginia)
Image 9Escaped slave broadside, Hampshire County, West Virginia, 1845 (from West Virginia)
Image 10Historical coat of arms of West Virginia (illustrated, 1876) (from West Virginia)
Image 11Map 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 12A slave woman tending to a white baby in West Virginia, 1865 (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 14Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, changed hands a dozen times during the American Civil War. (from History of West Virginia)
Image 15The 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 16Shaded relief map of the Cumberland Plateau and Ridge-and-valley Appalachians (from West Virginia)
Image 17Packed circles diagram showing estimates of the ethnic origins of people in West Virginia in 2021. (from West Virginia)
Image 18Thomas Lee, the first manager of the Ohio Company of Virginia (from West Virginia)
Image 19Map of West Virginia counties (from West Virginia)
Image 20Votes by county in the October 1861 statehood vote (from West Virginia)
Image 21From left, Senator Joe Manchin, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Senator Shelley Moore Capito, and Representative David McKinley (2017) (from West Virginia)
Image 22State of Westylvania proposed to the U.S. Congress (from West Virginia)
Image 23The iconic New River Gorge Bridge near Fayetteville (from West Virginia)
Image 24West Virginia population density map (from West Virginia)
Image 25Bituminous coal seam in southwestern West Virginia (from West Virginia)
Image 26A view of the New River in West Virginia, the world's third-oldest river geologically (from History of West Virginia)
Image 27The summit of Spruce Knob is often covered in clouds. (from West Virginia)
Image 28Köppen climate types of West Virginia, using 1991-2020 climate normals (from West Virginia)
Image 29West Virginia Independence Hall, site of the Wheeling Convention (from History of West Virginia)
Image 30Saturday afternoon street scene, Welch, McDowell County, 1946 (from West Virginia)
Image 31Turnout by county in the October 24, 1861, West Virginia statehood vote (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 33The Veterans Memorial Bridge carries US 22 from Weirton WV into Ohio. (from West Virginia)
Image 34Harpers 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 35Francis H. Pierpont, a leader during the Second Wheeling Convention (from West Virginia)
Image 36Counties (in blue) approving Virginia's secession from the U.S. (from History of West Virginia)

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... that after nearly killing a man in a duel, Edgar P. Rucker went on to become the attorney general of West Virginia?
... that prior to becoming West Virginia's first African-American judge, Leon P. Miller was McDowell County's assistant prosecuting attorney, a Welch city councilman, and U.S. Attorney for the Virgin Islands?
... 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 the China Folk House Retreat dismantled a Chinese folk house and rebuilt it in West Virginia?
... that the Vulcan Bridge, a bridge in Vulcan, West Virginia, was constructed after the mayor requested financial aid from the Soviet Union?
... that the general manager of a West Virginia TV station called changing its network affiliation "the hardest decision I've ever had to make"?

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