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WEST
VIRGINIA - USA
West Virginia is a state of the United States, known as The Mountain State.
While many consider it part of the South, many in the state's Northern
Panhandle feel a greater affinity for Pittsburgh, while those in the Eastern
Panhandle feel a greater affinity for Washington D.C.. West Virginia broke
away from Virginia during the American Civil War. The state is noted for its
coal mining heritage, and union organizing mine wars in particular.
The state has a rich, stark beauty reflecting its topography. Tourist sites
include the New River Gorge Bridge (where on Bridge Day the federal
government, which controls the landing site, allows parachuting and bungee
jumping from the bridge), as well as many national and state parks. It is
also home to the Green Bank Telescope at the National Radio Astronomy
Observatory.
The US Navy has named a series of ships USS West Virginia in honor of this
state.
History
West Virginia is the only American state formed as a direct result of the
American Civil War. Originally the western part of the state of Virginia,
considerable dissatisfaction over the control of the state existed between
those in the western part of the state, and plantation owners in the plains
and tidewater regions. Under the United States constitution, state
boundaries could not be redrawn without the consent of the state in question.
However, the American Civil War allowed western Virginia to form its own
state. Western Virginia was strongly anti-slavery and contained the only
three counties in the south to vote for Abraham Lincoln. During the debate
on secession, the western counties of Virginia voted overwhelmingly to stay
in the Union. Upon the secession of Virginia from the union on April 27,
1861, the western counties of Virginia formed a pro-Union reformed
government for Virginia based in Wheeling. This reformed government
authorized the creation of the state of Kanawha, consisting of all of the
counties that had remained loyal to the Union. Eventually, the state of
Kanawha was renamed West Virginia. This new state was admitted to the union
in 1863, following Abraham Lincoln's signing of an act on December 31, 1862
that authorized this.
Following the war, Virginia had hoped for reunification with West Virginia,
however West Virginia decided to remain as an independent state within the
Union. For many years, the two states had a series of legal disputes
regarding money to be paid to the Virginian government.
Law and Government
The capital is Charleston, in the south west area of the state.
The legislature is bicameral, consisting of the House of Delegates and a
Senate. Legislators are not full-time, but part-time. Consequently, the
legislators hold a full-time job in their community of residence, which
stands in stark contrast to the neighboring states of Pennsylvania, Maryland,
and Ohio.
Typically, the legislature is in session between January and early April.
The remainder of the year sees legislators gathering periodically for
interim meetings to discuss issues which will see debate during the next
regular session.
The governor is elected every four years, on the same day as the president,
sworn in during January. The current governor is Bob Wise.
Geography
It is bordered by Pennsylvania and Maryland to the north, by Ohio and
Kentucky to the west, and by Virginia to the east. The Ohio River and the
Potomac River form parts of the boundaries.
The state is sometimes referred to as The Mountain State, which is a bit of
a misnomer, as the only true mountains are the belt of Ridge-and-valley
Appalachians along the eastern border with Virginia. About 3/4 of the state
is within the Cumberland/Allegheny Plateaus region which is not true
mountains but rather a dissected plateau. Though the relief is not high, the
plateau region is extremely rugged in most areas. (The two plateaus are the
essentially the same, the difference being only the naming convention of
north and south, with West Virginia happening to be in the middle.)
The native vegetation for most of the state was originally mixed hardwood
forest of oak, chestnut, maple, beech, and white pine, with willow along the
waterways. Many of the coves are rich in biodiversity and scenic beauty, a
fact that is appreciated by native West Virginians, who refer to their home
as almost Heaven.
The underlying rock strata are sandstones, shales, bituminous coal beds, and
limestones laid down in a near shore environment from sediments derived from
mountains to the east, in a shallow inland sea on the west. Some beds
illustrate a coastal swamp environment, some river delta, some shallow water.
Sea level rose and fell many times during the Mississippian and
Pennsylvanian eras, giving a variety of rock strata.
Coal has been one of the states primary economic resources, although many
mines have been closed. Higher prices for fuels may soon stimulate increased
mining again. In past years the coal companies did mostly as they pleased,
keeping miners in virtual servitude through credit at company stores. The
effort of unions to organize miners is a violent chapter in the state's
history; at one point the federal army had to be called in to quell a
rebellion, dropping the only bombs ever dropped by the US Army against its
own citizens. Today health and safety regulations and miners pay are much
improved, and mining is usually the best paying job in the coalfields.
The state has an extensive network of railroads, and much of the coal is
transported by rail. The railways were once one of the largest customers for
coal to drive the steam locomotives, but these have been replaced by diesel
locomotives. Coal is little used now for home heating either. Most coal
today is used by power plants to produce electricity.
There is little agriculture in the plateau region, since the topography is
primarily narrow V-shaped valleys and ridges with little bottom land. The
economic base is usually mining and timber. In the ridge and valley area
along the eastern border, the valleys are wide and there are some belts of
rich soil which are extensively farmed.
Demographics
The population of West Virginia as of 2003 was 1,810,354.
As of 2003, West Virginia was probably the US state least affected by
immigration. Only 1.1% of the state's residents were foreign-born, placing
West Virginia last among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in that
statistic. It was also last in the country in percentage of residents that
speak a language other than English in the home (2.7%).
The racial makeup of the state is:
95% White
3.2% Black
0.7% Hispanic or Latino
0.5% Asian
0.2% American Indian
0.2% from other races
0.9% belong to two or more races
The top 5 ancestry groups in West Virginia are American (18.8%), German
(14%), Irish (11%), English (9.7%), Italian (3.9%).
The 5 largest religions in West Virginia are Baptist (30%), Methodist (15%),
Christian (8%), Roman Catholic (7%), Presbyterian (3%). 13% of the
population is nonreligious.
5.6% of West Virginia's population were reported as under 5, 22.3% under 18,
and 15.3% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51.4% of the
population.
Important cities and towns
Beckley
Bluefield
Charleston
Clarksburg
Cross Lanes (a census-designated place, not an incorporated community)
Elkins
Fairmont
Huntington
Martinsburg
Morgantown
Moundsville
Parkersburg
Princeton
St. Albans
South Charleston
Teays Valley (a census-designated place, not an incorporated community)
Vienna
Weirton
Wheeling
Education
Colleges and universities
Alderson-Broaddus College
Bethany College
Bluefield State College
Concord University
(formerly Concord College)
Davis and Elkins College
Fairmont State College
Glenville State College
Marshall University
Mountain State University
Ohio Valley College
Potomac State College of West Virginia Univerity
Salem International University
Shepherd University
University of Charleston
West Virginia State University
(formerly West Virginia State College)
West Virginia University
West Virginia University Institute of Technology
West Virginia University at Parkersburg
West Virginia Wesleyan College
Wheeling Jesuit University
Professional sports teams
The Minor League Baseball Teams are:
Bluefield Orioles (team represents the cities of Bluefield, West Virginia
and Bluefield, Virginia, but plays its home games in Virginia)
Princeton Devil Rays
Charleston Alley Cats
The minor league hockey team is:
Wheeling Nailers
Miscellaneous information
State animal: Black Bear
State bird: Cardinal
State butterfly: Monarch Butterfly
State colors: Blue and Gold
State flower: Rhododendron
State fruit: Golden Delicious Apple
State gem: Fossil coral
State insect: Honeybee
State soil: Monongahela silt loam
State tree: Sugar Maple
State songs: "West Virginia, My Home Sweet Home," "The West Virginia Hills,"
and "This Is My West Virginia"
De facto state anthem: "Take Me Home, Country Roads" by Bill Danoff, Taffy
Nivert, and John Denver (most famously performed by Denver)
State motto: Montani semper liberi ("Mountaineers Are Always Free")
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