West Virginia Ã, ( listen ) is a country located in the Appalachian region of the Southern United States. It borders Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, and Pennsylvania and Maryland to the northeast. West Virginia is the 41st largest state by region, and is ranked 38th in the population. The capital and largest city is Charleston.
West Virginia became a state following the Wheeling Convention of 1861, after the American Civil War began. Delegates from several Unionist states in northwestern Virginia decided to break away from Virginia, even though they included many separatist counties in the new country. West Virginia was accepted at Union on June 20, 1863, and was a major frontier state during the war. West Virginia is the only country formed by breaking away from the Confederate state, the first to break away from any country since Maine apart from Massachusetts, and was one of two recognized countries in the Union during the American Civil War (the other being Nevada ). While some of its inhabitants hold slaves, most of the inhabitants are yeomen farmers, and the delegates provide for the gradual abolition of slavery in the new Constitution of the country.
The Census Bureau and the American Geographical Association classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States. The northern outskirts extend into Pennsylvania and Ohio, with Wheeling and Weirton cities in West Virginia just across the border from the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, while Bluefield is less than 70 miles (110 km) from North Carolina. Huntington in the southwest is close to the states of Ohio and Kentucky, while Martinsburg and Harpers Ferry in the East Panhandle region are considered part of the Washington metropolitan area, between the states of Maryland and Virginia. The unique position of West Virginia means that it is often included in several geographical areas, including the Mid-Atlantic, the Upper South, and the Southeastern United States. It is the only country fully situated in the territory served by the Appalachian Regional Commission; this area is usually defined as "Appalachia".
The country is famous for its mountains and hills, its significant historical mining and coal mining industry, and its political and labor history. It is one of the most densely packed karst areas in the world, making it an area of ​​choice for cave and scientific research. The karst land contributes to many cold country trout waters. It is also known for a variety of outdoor recreational opportunities, including skiing, rafting, fishing, hiking, backpacking, mountain biking, rock climbing, and hunting.
Video West Virginia
History
Many ancient man-made mounds of prehistoric culture builders survive, especially in today's Moundsville, South Charleston, and Romney. The artifacts found here give evidence of the village community. They have a cultural tribal trading system that creates cold copper pieces.
In the 1670s during the Beaver War, the powerful Iroquois, the five New York-based allied nations and Pennsylvania today, expelled other American Indians from the region to order the Upper Ohio Valley as a hunting ground. The tribes of the Siouan language, such as Moneton, had previously been recorded in the area.
A century later, the area now identified as West Virginia was contested territory among Anglo-Americans as well, with the Pennsylvania and Virginia colonies claiming territorial rights under their colonial charter to this area before the American Revolutionary War. Some speculative land companies, such as Vandalia Company, and later Ohio Companies and Indiana Companies, tried to legitimize their claims to land in parts of West Virginia and Kentucky, but failed. With the settlement of the federal border disputes of Pennsylvania and Virginia, which resulted in the creation of Kentucky, Kentuckian "satisfied [...], and most residents of West Virginia were grateful."
The Crown considered the West Virginia region to be part of the British Virginia Colony from 1607 to 1776. The United States regarded the region as the western part of the state of Virginia (often referred to as Trans-Allegheny Virginia) from 1776 to 1863 , before the establishment of West Virginia. The inhabitants are not satisfied for many years with their position in Virginia, as the government is dominated by elite growers in the Tidewater and Piedmont region. The legislature has an election malapportionment, based on a slave count against the regional population, and the western white population is under-represented in the state legislature. More subsistence farmers and yeoman live in the west and they are generally less supportive of slavery, although many districts are divided on their support. Residents in this area became more divided after the Eastern Virginia planter elite chose to secede from the Union during the Civil War.
Residents from western and northern countries established separate governments under Francis Pierpont in 1861, which they called the Restored Government. Most chose to depart from Virginia, and the new state was accepted at the Union in 1863. In 1864 the state constitutional convention drafted the constitution, passed by the legislature without putting it into popular vote. West Virginia abolished slavery with a gradual process and people who lost their rights while holding a Confederate office or fighting for the Confederation.
The history of West Virginia has been heavily influenced by its mountainous terrain, vast river basins and vast, and rich natural resources. These are all the driving forces of the economy and lifestyles of its inhabitants, which tend to live in many small, relatively isolated communities in mountain valleys. Geography continues to be important for the country.
Prehistoric
A 2010 analysis of localized stalagmites revealed that Native Americans burned forests to clear land as early as 100 BC. Some of the regional Middle Eastern prehistoric tribes are more involved in hunting and fishing, practicing the farming methods of the Slash-and-burn Complex Farm Complex, which uses fire to clear the bushes of certain areas. Another group evolves into more time-consuming and sophisticated garden milling methods. Also proceeding from the ancient native population of the country, they cultivated tobacco until the early historic period. It is used in various social and religious rituals.
"Corn (corn) does not make a substantial contribution to diet until after 1150 BP", quotes Mills (OSU 2003). Eventually, tribal villages began to rely on corn to feed their turkeys, because Kanawha Fort Ancients did bird prostitution. Local Indians make cornbread and flat wheat bread called "bannock" when they emerge from the protohistoric era. An elongated horizon from a little before the beginning of the 18th century is sometimes called the culture acculture Fireside Cabin . The trading post was founded by European traders along the Potomac and James rivers.
The tribes that inhabited West Virginia in 1600 were the Siouan Monongahela Culture in the north, the Ancient Fort culture along the Ohio River from Monongahela to Kentucky and extended the unknown distance in the interior & amp; East Siouan Tutelo & amp; The Moneton tribe in the southeast. There is also Iroquoian Susquehannock in the eastern region of the Monongahela River and north of Monongahela National Forest, a tribe that may be called Senandoa, or Shenandoah, in the Shenandoah Valley & the easternmost tip of the country is probably home to the Manahoac people. Monongahela may be the same as the man known as Calicua, or Cali. The following may also be all the same tribe - Moneton, Moheton, Senandoa, Tomahitan.
During the War of the Beavers, other tribes moved into the region. There are Iroquoian Tiontatecaga (also Little Mingo, Guyandotte), who seem to have separated themselves from Petun after they were defeated by Iroquois. They finally settled somewhere between Kanawha & amp; The Small River of Kanawha. During the 1750s, when the Seneca Mingo broke away from Iroquois and returned to the Ohio River Valley, they argued that the tribe was joining them. Shawnee arrived as well, but was mainly stationed in the former Monongahela area around until 1750, but they expanded their influence throughout the Ohio River region. They were the last indigenous tribe of West Virginia and expelled by the United States during the War of Shawnee (1811-1813) . The Erie, who was expelled from Ohio around 1655, is now believed to be the same as Westo, who raided as far as South Carolina before it was destroyed in the 1680s. If so, their way will take them through West Virginia & amp; Tutelo's historical movements, as well as the Carbon dating to Ancient Castle seem to correspond to the period 1655-1670 given as the time of their dismissal. Susquehannock was an original participant from Beaver Wars, but was cut off from the Ohio River by Iroquois around 1630 and found themselves in trouble. From sickness, constant warfare and an inability to provide themselves financially, they begin to collapse and move further and further east, into the Susquehanna River in Eastern Pennsylvania. Manahoac probably was forced out in the 1680s, when Iroquois began attacking Virginia. Siouan tribe moved to North Carolina & amp; then return as a tribe, known as East Blackfoot, or Christannas.
The Westo did not secure the territory they conquered. Before they left, indigenous people displaced from the south flooded the newly conquered territories and took over. This is known as Shattaras, or West Virginia Cherokee. They took and joined the Monetons, who began to call themselves Mohetons. Calicua also began to call themselves Cherokees shortly thereafter, showing a clearer merger. Shattaras is closely related to the tribes that formed in the south after Westo - Yuchi & amp; Cherokee. From 1715-1717, the Yamasee War was emerging. Senandoa allegedly sided with Yuchi and destroyed by Yamasee's allies. Therefore, if Senandoa is the same tribe as Moneton, this means the collapse of Shattara-Moneton culture. Other tribes that emerged in the region were Canaragay, or Kanawha. They then migrated to Maryland and merged into colonial culture.
European exploration and settlement
In 1671, General Abraham Wood, at the direction of William Berkeley Governor of Virginia Colony, sent a party from Fort Henry led by Thomas Batts and Robert Fallam to survey the region. They were the first recorded Europeans to find Kanawha Falls. Some sources state that the 1710 Governor of the Knights of the Golden Horseshoe Expedition (for which the country's Golden Horseshoe Competition for grade 8 students) has penetrated to Pendleton County; However, modern historians interpret the original story of the journey as showing that none of the expedition riders traveled further west to the Blue Ridge Mountains than Harrisonburg, Virginia. John Van Meter, an Indian merchant, penetrated to the north in 1725. That same year, the German settlers from Pennsylvania founded New Mecklenburg, the present Shepherdstown, on the Potomac River, and others followed.
King Charles II of England, in 1661, was given to a landlord company between the Potomac river and Rappahannock, known as the Northern Neck. Thomas Fairfax, 6th Cameron's fairfax finally took over this grant, and in 1746, a stone was erected at the source of the North River Potomac River to mark the western boundary of its grant. Most of the land was surveyed by young George Washington between 1748 and 1751. The diary kept by Washington noted that there were already many squatters, mostly from Germany, along the Potomac River South Branch.
Christopher Gist, a surveyor in hiring the first Ohio Company, comprising mainly from the Virginians, explored the country along the northern Ohio River from the mouth of the Kanawha River between 1751 and 1752. The company sought to have a fourteen colony erected under the name "Vandalia". Many settlers crossed the mountains after 1750, even though they were blocked by Native American resistance. Some Native Americans live permanently within the borders of the country today, but the area is a common hunt, crossed many streets. During the French and Indian Wars (North American Front of the Seven-Year War in Europe), the Indian allies of France virtually destroyed scattered British settlements.
Shortly before the American Revolutionary War, in 1774 Virginia Crown Governor John Murray, the 4th Earl of Dunmore, commanded troops on the mountain. A group of militia under Colonel Andrew Lewis tackles the Shawnee Indians, under the Hokoleskwa (or "Cornstalk"), a severe blow during the Battle of Point Pleasant at the junction of Kanawha and the Ohio river. At the Camp Charlotte Agreement that ended the Dunmore War, Cornstalk agreed to recognize the Ohio River as the new frontier with "Long Knives". In 1776, however, Shawnee had returned to battle, joining Chickamauga, a group of known Cherokees in the area where they lived. Native American attacks on settlers continued until after the American Revolutionary War. During the war, the settlers in West Virginia were generally active Whig and many were in charge of the Continental Army. However, the Claypool Rebellion 1780-1781, in which a group of people refused to pay taxes imposed by the Continental Army, showed war fatigue in what became West Virginia.
Trans-Allegheny Virginia
Social conditions in West Virginia are nothing like in the eastern part of the state. The inhabitants are not homogeneous, as most immigration comes through Pennsylvania and includes Germany, Scotch-Irish Protestants, and settlers from the farther states to the north. The counties in the east and south are largely populated by the people of east Virginia. During the American Revolution, the movement to create a state outside Alleghenies was revived and a petition for the formation of "Westsylvania" was presented to Congress, arguing that the mountains present an almost impassable barrier to the east. The rough nature of the state makes slavery unfavorable, and time only increases the social, political, economic, and cultural differences (see Tuckahoe-Cohee) between two parts of Virginia.
A convention that was held in 1829 to form a new constitution for Virginia, against protests from countries outside the mountains, required a property qualification for suffrage. This effectively deprives the rights of some of the poorer yeoman farmers. In addition, he gave the slaveholding holding districts the benefit of their three-fifth slave population in dividing the state representatives in the US House of Representatives. Consequently, any area outside Alleghenies except one chooses to reject the constitution, which however passes due to eastern support. The eastern planter elite dominates the legislature and sees their own interests.
The Virginia Constitution Convention of 1850-51, the Reform Convention, addresses a number of important issues for West Virginia people. This extended vote for all white men 21 years or older. Governors, lieutenants-governors, judges, sheriffs, and other regional officers should be elected by general election. The composition of the General Assembly was changed. Representations in the delegation house are divided according to the 1850 census, by counting only whites. Senate representatives arbitrarily set in 50 seats, with western receiving twenty, and thirty east senators. This was acceptable in the west with the provision requiring the General Assembly to represent reapportion on the basis of the white population in 1865, or to put the matter into a public referendum. But the east also provides tax advantages in demanding property taxes on true and actual value, except for slaves. Slaves under 12 years of age are not taxed and slaves above that age are taxed only $ 300, a fraction of their true value. Small farmers, however, have all their assets, animals, and land tax at full value. Despite this tax and the lack of internal improvements in the west, voting was 75,748 for and 11,063 against the new Constitution. Most of the opposition came from delegates from the eastern states, who disliked the compromise made for the west.
Given these differences, many people in the west have long contemplated a separate state. In particular, people like lawyer Francis H. Pierpont of Fairmont, have long been scarred under the political dominance of slaves of Tidewater and Piedmont slaves. In addition to differences over the abolition of slavery, he and his allies felt the Virginia government ignored and refused to spend money on necessary internal improvements in the west, such as motorcycles and trains.
Separation from Virginia
West Virginia was the only state in the Union that was separated from the Confederate state (Virginia) during the American Civil War. In Richmond on April 17, 1861, the Virginia Convention of 1861 decided to separate from the Union, but of 49 delegates from the northwest corner (which eventually became West Virginia) only 17 supported the Ownership Ordinance, while 30 voted against (with 2 abstentions ). Almost immediately after the ballot, the Clarksburg mass meeting recommended that every area in northwest Virginia send a delegation to the convention to meet at Wheeling on May 13, 1861. When the First Wheel Convention met, 425 delegates from 25 counties attended, even though more than a third of the delegates came from the northern region, but soon there was a share of sentiment.
Several delegations led by John S. Carlile supported the immediate establishment of a new state, while others led by Waitman Willey argued that, since Virginia's separation had not been passed by the required referendum (as it did on May 23), it would form a revolution against America Union. The Convention ruled that if the Virginians adopted the rules of secession (which had little doubt), other conventions including elected members of the legislature would meet at Wheeling in June 1861. On May 23, 1861, secession was ratified by a large majority in Virginia as a whole, 34,677 western countries voted against and 19,121 voted Ordinance.
The Second Wheeling Convention meets as agreed on June 11 and states that, since the Partition Convention has been called without public consent, all of its actions are void and that all those who embrace it have vacated their offices. The Wheeling Conventions, and its own delegates, were never really elected by a public vote to act on behalf of western Virginia. Of the 103 members, 33 have been elected to the Virginia General Assembly on May 23. This includes some members of the state senator who holds four-year-old positions beginning in 1859, and several people have vacated their offices to convene in Wheeling. Other members "were selected more irregularly - some in mass meetings, others by regional committees, and others seemingly self-appointed" An act for the reorganization of the government was passed on June 19. The next day the convention delegates chose Francis H. Pierpont as governor of Virginia, and elected another officer to a rival state government and two US senators (Willey and Carlile) to replace the separatists before deciding. The federal government in Washington, D.C. immediately recognize the new government and put two new senators. Thus, there are two state governments in Virginia: one swearing allegiance to the United States and one to the Confederacy.
The second Wheeling Convention was inaugurated until 6 August, then reinstalled on August 20 and called for a popular vote on the creation of a new state and a convention to frame the constitution if the vote should be favorable. In the October 24, 1861 election, 18,408 votes were awarded for the new country and only 781 opposed. The election results are questioned, since Union troops then occupy the area and Union forces are deployed in many polling stations to prevent Confederate sympathizers from voting. It is also election day for local offices, and elections are also held in Confederate army camps, which elect rival state officials, such as Robert E. Cowan. Most of the pro-government votes come from 16 districts around Northern Territory. More than 50,000 votes have been cast on the Equality Ordinance, but the state ballots collected a little over 19,000. In Ohio County, where Wheeling lived, only about a quarter of registered voters voted. In most of what would become West Virginia, there was no sound at all, since two thirds of the West Virginia region had chosen to break away and county officers remained loyal to Richmond. The recorded voices of the pro-separation districts were largely disposed of elsewhere by Unionist refugees from these districts.
Regardless of the controversy, the delegates (including many Methodist ministers) met to write a new Constitution for a new state, which began on 26 November 1861. During the constitutional convention, Mr. Lamb of Ohio County and Mr. Carskadon claims that in Hampshire County, out of 195 votes only 39 are cast by citizens; the rest was given illegally by Union soldiers. One of the main characters is Pdt. Gordon Battelle, who also represents Ohio County, and who proposed resolutions to establish public schools, and restricted the movement of slaves to new countries, and gradually abolished slavery. The educational proposal was successful, but the convention made a slave proposal before completing its work on 18 February 1862. The new constitution was more closely modeled on Ohio than Virginia, adopting a model of municipal government rather than Carl's "courtroom" criticized by Carlile, and a compromise demanded by the Kanawha Charleston, Benjamin Smith and Brown) allow districts and municipalities to subsidize rail or other upgrading organizations. The resulting instrument was ratified (18,162 for and 514 against) on 11 April 1862.
On May 13, 1862, the reorganized state legislature of the government approved the formation of a new state. The request to enter the Union was made for the Congress, introduced by Senator Waitman Willey of the Restored Virginia Government. However, Senator Carlile attempted to sabotage the bill, first trying to expand the boundaries of a new state to enter the Shenandoah Valley, and then defeating Willey's amendment at home. On December 31, 1862, an act permitted by President Abraham Lincoln to recognize West Virginia, provided that the provisions for the abolition of slavery were gradually inserted into his constitution (as requested by Rev. Battelle at Wheeling Intelligencers and written to Lincoln). While many felt West Virginia's recognition as a state was illegal and unconstitutional, Lincoln issued his opinion on West Virginia Revenue finding that "the body that approved West Virginia's admittance was the Legislature of Virginia", and hence its acceptance was constitutional and prudent.
The Convention was re-established on 12 February 1863, and the request for the removal of federal coercion measures has been fulfilled. The revised Constitution was adopted on March 26, 1863 and on April 20, 1863, President Lincoln issued a statement recognizing the state 60 days later on June 20, 1863. Meanwhile, the officers for the new state were elected, while Governor Pierpont moved his pro-Union Virginia capital to Union-occupied Alexandria, where he asserted and exercised jurisdiction over all remaining Virginia territory within the federal line.
The question of the constitutionality of the formation of a new state was then taken to the United States Supreme Court in the following way: County Berkeley and Jefferson lying on Potomac in the eastern mountains, in 1863, with the Virginia government's reorganization approval voted in favor of annexation to West Virginia.
Many voters from very pro-separatist districts were absent from the Confederate Forces when the ballot was taken and refused to recognize the transfer when they returned. Virginia General Assembly lifted the act of secession and, in 1866, filed a lawsuit against West Virginia asking the court to declare the district districts of Virginia, which would declare West Virginia's recognition as an unconstitutional state. Meanwhile, on March 10, 1866, Congress passed a joint resolution recognizing the transfer. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of West Virginia in 1870.
During the Civil War, Union General George B. McClellan's forces controlled most of the area in the summer of 1861, culminating in the Battle of the Rich Mountains, and Union control was never seriously threatened, despite attempts by Robert E Lee in the same year. In 1863, General John D. Imboden, with 5,000 Confederates, invaded most of the country and burned the Pierpont library, even though Senator Willey escaped from their grasp. Guerrilla bands were burned and looted in parts, and not fully suppressed until after the war. The Eastern Panhandle region was more affected by the war, with military control over the area repeatedly changing hands.
The area that became West Virginia was actually equipped with the same number of soldiers as federal and Confederate soldiers, each about 22,000-25,000. In 1865, the Wheeling government felt it necessary to remove the voting right of restoring the Confederation to maintain control. James Ferguson, who proposed the law, said that if it was not passed, he would lose 500 votes. The Confederate Property may also be confiscated, and in 1866 the constitutional amendment revoked the rights of all those who have provided assistance and comfort to the adopted Confederation. The addition of the Fourteen Amendments and the Fifteenth Constitution of the United States caused a reaction. The Democratic Party secured control in 1870, and in 1871, the amendments to the constitution of 1866 were canceled. The first step toward this change was taken, however, by the Republicans in 1870. On 22 August 1872, a completely new constitution was adopted.
Starting from Reconstruction, and for decades thereafter, the two countries debated the new state of government debt before the Virginia war, much of which has been spent to finance the improvement of public infrastructure, such as canals, roads and railways under the Virginia Council. Public Works. The Virginians - led by former Confederate General William Mahone - form a political coalition based on this: the Readjuster Parties. Although the first constitution of West Virginia assumed some of Virginia's debt, the negotiations opened by Virginia in 1870 did not work, and in 1871 Virginia funded two-thirds of the debt and arbitrarily assigned the rest to West Virginia. The issue was finally resolved in 1915, when the United States Supreme Court ruled that West Virginia owes Virginia $ 12,393,929.50. The last installment of this amount was paid in 1939.
Development of natural resources
After the Reconstruction, the new state benefited from the development of its mineral resources over other single economic activities.
Saltpeter caves have been used throughout Appalachia for ammunition; the border between West Virginia and Virginia includes the "Saltpeter Line", a series of limestone caves containing rich calcium nitrate deposits granted and sold to the government. The trail stretches from Pendleton County to the western end of the route in the city of Union, Monroe County. Almost half of these caves are on the West Virginia side, including the Organ Cave and Haynes Cave. At the end of the 18th century, saltpeter miners in Haynes Cave found large animal bones in the deposit. This was sent by local historian and border soldier Colonel John Stuart to Thomas Jefferson. The bone was named Megalonyx jeffersonii , or a large claw, and was known as Jefferson's three-pointed sloth. It was declared an official fossil of the state of West Virginia in 2008. The official rock of the state of West Virginia is bituminous coal, and the official state gem is the fossilized rock of Lithostrotionella hibrides Mississippi.
Limestone also produces a useful, usually small, and softer mining industry, a high calcium layer burned to produce industrial lime. This lime is used for agricultural and construction purposes; over the years certain parts of C & amp; O Railroad brings limestone to Clifton Forge, Virginia as the industrial flux.
Salt mining has been going on since the 18th century, although most have been played during the American Civil War, when the red salt of the Kanawha District was a precious commodity of the first Confederate troops, and then the Union, the troops. Years later, more sophisticated mining methods will restore the role of West Virginia as a major producer of salt.
However, in the second half of the 19th century, there was an even greater treasure that had not been developed: bituminous coal. This will spark a lot of Industrial Revolution in the US and steamers of many of the world's navies.
Residents (both Native Americans and early European settlers) have long known about the underlying coal, and it can be used for heating and fuel. However, for a long time, a very small "private" mine is the only practical development. After the War, with new railways came a practical method for transporting large quantities of coal into the expanding US and export markets. When the anthracite mines from New Jersey and northwestern Pennsylvania began playing during the same period of time, investors and industrialists focused on West Virginia. Geologists like Dr. David T. Ansted surveyed the potential for coalfields and invested in land and ground mining projects.
The completion of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C & amp; O) traversed the state to Huntington's new city on the Ohio River in 1872 opening access to the New River Coal Field. Immediately, C & amp; O built a large coal pier in Newport News, Virginia in the big port of Hampton Roads. In 1881, new Philadelphia owners based in the former Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad (AM & amp; O), which stretches on the southern level of Virginia from Norfolk, have an unmistakable landscape set in the Mountain State, where owners own large land holdings. Their trains were renamed Norfolk and West (N & W), and a new railroad developed in Roanoke to handle planned expansions. After his new president Frederick J. Kimball and a small party traveling on horseback and looking directly at the thick bitumen coal seam, called Kimball's wife Pocahontas, N & W diverted a westward expansion plan to achieve it. Immediately, N & amp; W also shipping from the new coal dock at Hampton Roads.
In 1889, in the southern part of the state, along the Norfolk and West railway lines, the important Bluefield coal center, West Virginia was established. "Capital" of the Pocahontas coalfield, the city will remain the largest city in the country's south for decades. He shares a twin city of the same name, Bluefield, in Virginia.
In the northern part of the state and elsewhere, the older Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B & amp; O) and other lines are also expanded to take advantage of coal opportunities. B & amp; O coal masts were developed in Baltimore and at some point on the Great Lakes. Other important coal carriers are Western Maryland Railway (WM), Southern Railway (SOU), and Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L & amp; N).
Particularly famous is the latecomer, Virginian Railway (VGN). In 1900, only the most heavily populated areas of southern West Virginia were located far from the railroads and existing mining activities. In this area west of New River Coalfield in Raleigh and Wyoming County, there is Winding Gulf Coalfield, then promoted as "Billion Dollar Coalfield."
A protà © Ã… © gÃÆ' © Ansted is William Nelson Page (1854-1932), a civil engineer and mining manager at Fayette County. Former West Virginia governor William A. MacCorkle describes him as a man who knows the land "as a farmer who knows the fields." Beginning in 1898, Page worked with investors in the north and Europe to take advantage of undeveloped areas. They acquired extensive land in the area, and Page started the Deepwater Railway, a short rail line hired to span between C & amp; O on the line along the Kanawha River and N & amp; W in Matoaka - a distance of about 80 miles (130 km).
Although the Deepwater plan should provide a competitive shipping market via rail, leaders of both major railways do not appreciate the scheme. In secret collusion, each refuses to negotiate a favorable price with Page, nor does it offer to buy a train, as they have many other short lines. However, if the president of C & amp; O and N & amp; W thought they could kill the Pages project, they had to be proven wrong. One of the secretly listed Page's partner investors was the millionaire industrialist Henry Huttleston Rogers, an expert in John D. Rockefeller, the Standard Oil Trust and an old hand in developing natural resources and transportation. A master in competitive "warfare", Henry Rogers did not like losing his efforts and also had a "deep pocket".
Instead of surrender, Page (and Rogers) secretly planned and then built their trail along the eastern road across Virginia, using Rogers's personal fortune to finance a $ 40 million fee. When the renamed Virginian Railway (VGN) was completed in 1909, no fewer than three railroads sent out an ever-increasing volume of coal to be exported from Hampton Roads. West Virginia coal is also under high demand in the Great Lakes ports. VGN and N & amp; W eventually became part of the modern Southern Norfolk system, and the well-designed 21st Century VGN track continues to offer a favorable gradient for Hampton Roads.
Since coal mining and related work are the main work activities in the state, there is considerable labor dispute due to working conditions, security concerns and economic concerns emerging. Even in the 21st century, mining safety and ecological concerns are still challenging countries whose coal continues to generate power plants in many other countries.
Coal is not the only valuable mineral found in West Virginia, since it is a 1928 discovery site of 34.48 carats (6,896 g) of Jones Diamond.
Maps West Virginia
Geography
Located in the Appalachian mountains, West Virginia covers an area of ​​24,229.76 square miles (62,754.8 km 2 ), with 24,077.73 square miles (62,361.0 km 2 ) ground and 152.03 square miles (393.8 km 2 ) of water, making it the 41st largest state in the United States. West Virginia borders Pennsylvania and Maryland to the northeast, Virginia to the southeast, Ohio to the northwest, and Kentucky to the southwest. Its longest limit is with Virginia at 381 miles, followed by Ohio at 243 miles, Maryland at 174 miles, Pennsylvania at 118 miles, and Kentucky at 79 miles.
Geology and terrain
West Virginia is located entirely within the Appalachian Territory, and the country is almost entirely mountainous, giving the nickname of The Mountain State and the slogan of Montani Semper Liberi ("Mountaineer is always free "). Elevation and roughness decline near large rivers such as the Ohio River or Shenandoah River. About 75% of the country is within the Cumberland Plateau and Allegheny Plateau area. Although the assistance is not high, this highland area is very rough in most areas. The average height of West Virginia is about 1,500 feet (460 m) above sea level, which is the highest of any US state east of the Mississippi River.
In the eastern part of the state with Virginia, the high peaks in the Monongahela National Park give rise to a cooler island climate and ecosystem similar to those in northern New England and eastern Canada. The highest point in the state is above Spruce Knob, at 4,863 feet (1,482 m), and is covered in dense pine boreal forests at altitudes above 4,000 feet (1,200 m). Spruce Knob is located within the Monongahela National Forest and is part of the Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area. A total of six forest areas can also be found in the forest. Outside the forest to the south, the New River Gorge is a 1,000ft (300 m) deep gorge, carved by the New River. The National Park Service manages some of the canyons and rivers that have been designated the New River River National River, one of only 15 rivers in the US with this level of protection.
Other areas under protection and management include:
Much of West Virginia is located within an Appalachian mesophytic mixed forest region, while higher elevations along the eastern and lake borders lie within the Appalachian-Blue Ridge forest. The original vegetation for most countries was originally a mixed hardwood forest of oak, chestnut, maple, beech, and white pine trees, with American willow and sycamore along state waterways. Many areas are rich in biodiversity and scenic beauty, a fact valued by the native West Virginians, who refer to their home as Almost Heaven (from the song, "Take Me Home, Country Roads" by John Denver ). Before the song, it was known as "The Cog State" (Coal, Oil, and Gas) or "The Mountain State".
The underlying rock layers are sandstone, shale, bituminous coal bed, and limestone laid in near-shore environments from sediments from the mountains to the east, in shallow sea in the west. Some beds describe coastal swamp environments, some river deltas, some shallow waters. Sea levels rise and fall many times during the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian eras, providing various layers of rock. The Appalachian Mountains are the oldest in the world, formed over 300 million years ago.
Climate
The West Virginia climate is generally humid subtropical climate (climatic classification KÃÆ'¶ppen Cfa , except Dfb at higher altitudes) with warm and hot, humid and winter summers cold. , increasing the severity with altitude. Some areas of the southern highlands also have a temperate climate (KÃÆ'¶ppen Cfb ) where the winter temperatures are more moderate and the summer temperatures are somewhat colder. However, weather is subject to all parts of the country to change. The hard zone ranges from zone 5b in the central Appalachian mountains to zone 7a in the hottest part of the lowest elevation.
In the East Panhandle and the Ohio River Valley, temperatures are warm enough to see and grow subtropical plants such as southern magnolia ( Magnolia grandiflora ), crepe myrtle, albizia julibrissin, sweetgum and even needle palms and minor sabal. This plant does not develop well in other parts of the country. The Eastern spiny pear grows well in many parts of the country.
Average January temperatures range from about 26 ° F (-4 ° C) near the Cheat River up to 41 ° F (5 ° C) along the border with Kentucky. The July averages range from 67Ã, ° F (19Ã,  ° C) along the Potomac River North River to 76Ã,  ° F (24Ã,  ° C) in the western part of the state. Cooler in the mountains than in the lower part of the state. The highest recorded temperature in the state was 112  ° F (44  ° C) in Martinsburg on July 10, 1936 and the lowest temperature recorded in the state was -37  ° F (-38  ° C) in Lewisburg on the month December 30, 1917.
Annual rainfall ranges less than 32 inches (81 cm) in the lower east to over 56 inches (140 cm) at the higher part of Front Allegheny. The eastern valley has lower rainfall because the Allegheny mountains to the west make partial rain shadows. Slightly more than half the rainfall occurs from April to September. The thick fog is common in many of the valleys of Kanawha, especially the Tygart Valley. West Virginia is also one of the country's cloudiest countries, with Elkins and Beckley cities ranked 9 and 10 in the US respectively for the number of cloudy days per year (over 210). In addition to the overcast skies continuously caused by moisture wetting by Alleghenies, West Virginia also experiences some of the most frequent rainfall in the country, with Snowshoe averaging nearly 200 days a year with rain or snow. Snow usually lasts only a few days at the bottom but may last for weeks in higher mountain areas. An average of 34 inches (86 cm) of snow falls annually in Charleston, although during the winter of 1995-1996 more than three times that number dropped as several cities in the state set a new record for snowfall. The average snowfall in the Allegheny Plateau can reach up to 180 inches (460 cm) per year. Bad weather is somewhat less prevalent in West Virginia than in most other eastern states, and it ranks among tornado-prone countries at least east of the Rockies.
The adjacent states
- Pennsylvania (North)
- Maryland (Northeast)
- Kentucky (Southwest)
- Virginia (East)
- Ohio (West)
Demographics
The US Census Bureau estimates that the West Virginia population is 1,831,102 as of July 1, 2016, a 1.2% decrease since the 2010 United States Census. The West Virginia population center is located in Braxton County, in the town of Gassaway.
At the 2010 Census, the composition of the race of the population of the country is:
- 93.2% of the population is non-Hispanic White
- 3.4% non-Hispanic Black or African American
- 0.2% non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native
- 0.7% non-Hispanic American Asians
- 0.1% of some other (non-Hispanic) races
- 1.3% American Multiracial (non-Hispanic).
In the same year, 1.2% of the West Virginia population was of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish descent (they may be of any race).
By 2012, West Virginia has an estimated population of 1,855,413, an increase of 49, or 0.0%, from a year earlier and an increase of 2,414, or 0.13%, since 2000. This includes a natural decline since the last census of 3,296 people ( ie 108,292 births minus 111,588 deaths) and an increase in net migration of 14,209 people to the state. West Virginia is the most sparsely populated southeast of the country. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 3,691 people, and domestic migration resulted in a net increase of 10,518 people.
Only 1.1% of the country's population was born overseas, putting West Virginia among the 50 states in the statistics. It also has the lowest percentage of residents who speak a language other than English at home (2.7%).
The five largest groups of ancestors in West Virginia are: Germany (18.9%), Ireland (15.1%) United (12.9%), UK (11.8%) and Italy (4.7%) In Census 2000 The people who identify their ethnicity as only Americans make up 18.7% of the population. The majority of these people are of Scottish-Irish descent, or of English descent.
A large number of people of German descent are present in the state's northeastern states. British ancestors are present throughout the state. Many Western virgins who identify themselves as Irish are actually Scottish-Irish Protestants.
5.6% of the West Virginia population is reported to be under 5, 22.3% below 18, and 15.3% is 65 or older. Women comprise about 51.4% of the population.
There were 20,928 births in 2006. Of these, 19,757 (94.40% of births, 95.19% of the population) were to non-Hispanic whites. There are 22 births for American Indians (0.11% of births and 0.54% of the population), 177 births for Asians (0.85% of births and 0.68% of the population), 219 births to Hispanics (1, 05% of births and 0.88% of the population) and 753 births for blacks and others (3.60% of births and 3.56% of the population).
The Northern Panhandle state, and the North-Central region feel closeness with Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Also, people in the Eastern Panhandle feel a connection with the outskirts of Washington, D.C. in Maryland and Virginia, and the South West Virgin people often consider themselves South. Finally, towns and farms along the mid-Ohio River, which make up most of the state's western frontier, have an appearance and culture that somewhat resemble the Midwest.
Birth data
Note: The births in the table do not increase, as Hispanics are well-counted by their ethnicity and by their race, giving a higher overall score.
- Since 2016, birth data of Hispanic White origin are not collected, but belong to one
group; people from Hispanics may come from any race.
Religion
Several surveys have been conducted in recent years, in 2008 by the American Religion Identity Survey, in 2010 by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. Pew survey results recognize a margin of 6.5% of plus or minus errors, while the ARIS survey states that "estimates are subject to larger sampling errors in countries with small populations." The religious character of the Appalachian community is the number of unaffiliated independent churches, which "remain unknown and untold in every census of church life in the United States." This sometimes leads to the belief that this community is "unchurched".
The biggest denomination in 2010 was United Methodist Church with 136,000 members in 1,200 congregations. The second largest Protestant church is the American Baptist Churches USA with 88,000 members and 381 congregations. Southern Baptist Church has 44,000 members and 232 congregations. The churches of Christ have 22,000 members and 287 congregations. The Presbyterian Church (USA) has 200 trials and 20,000 members.
A survey conducted in 2015 by the Pew Research Center found that West Virginia is the 7th "very religious" country in the United States.
Economy
Overview
The West Virginia economy will nominally become the 62nd largest economy globally behind Iraq and ahead of Croatia according to the 2009 World Bank projections, and the 64th largest behind Iraq and ahead of Libya according to International Monetary Fund projections in 2009. The country has GSP nominal projection of $ 63.34 billion in 2009 according to the November 2010 Bureau of Economic Analysis report, and real GSP of $ 55.04 billion. The real GDP growth of the country in 2009 of 0.7% is the 7th best in the country. West Virginia was just one of ten states in 2009 that grew economically.
While per capita income fell 2.6% nationally in 2009, West Virginia grew by 1.8%. Throughout the first half of 2010, exports from West Virginia totaled $ 3 billion, growing 39.5% over the same period from a year earlier and above the national average of 15.7%.
Morgantown is ranked by Forbes as the # 10 best city in the country to do business in 2010. It is also home to the University of West Virginia, the 95th best state university according to US News & amp; World Reports in 2011. The proportion of West Virginia mature adults with a bachelor's degree is the lowest in the US at 17.3%.
The net corporate income tax rate is 6.5% while business costs are 13% below the national average.
The US Bureau of Economic Analysis reports that by 2014, the West Virginia economy grew twice as fast as the eastern Mississippi River states that grew the next fastest, ranks third in addition to Wyoming and just behind North Dakota and Texas among countries with the fastest growth in the United States.
Tourism
Tourism contributed $ 4.27 billion to the state economy and employed 44,400 people in 2010, making it one of the state's largest industries. Many tourists, especially in the eastern mountains, are interested in the region's renowned opportunities for outdoor recreation. The Canaan Valley is popular for winter sports, Seneca Rocks is one of the main rock climbing destinations in the eastern US, the New River Gorge/Fayetteville area attracts rock climbers and rafting enthusiasts, and the Monongahela National Forest is popular among hikers, backpackers, hunters, and anglers.
In addition to such outdoor recreational opportunities, the country boasts a number of historic and cultural attractions. Harpers Ferry National Historical Park is a historic town located at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers. Harpers Ferry is the site of John Brown's 1859 slave rebellion and invasion of US Armory and Arsenal. Located at the midpoint of the Appalachian Trail, Harpers Ferry is a base from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.
The Greenbrier hotel and resort, originally built in 1778, has long been considered a premier hotel, frequented by many world leaders and US presidents over the years.
West Virginia is the site of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, which features the Green Bank Telescope. The main building of Weston State Hospital is the largest handmade sandstone building in the western hemisphere, second all over the world just for the Kremlin in Moscow. The building tour, which is a National Historic Landmark and part of the National Civil War Trail, is offered on a seasonal basis and with year-round designation. West Virginia has many popular festivals throughout the year.
Resources
One of the main sources in the West Virginia economy is coal. According to the Energy Information Administration, West Virginia is the top coal producer in the United States, second only to Wyoming. West Virginia is located in the heart of the Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Bed, which runs from northern Tennessee to New York in the middle of Appalachia.
Almost all electricity generated in West Virginia comes from coal-fired power plants. West Virginia produces an electricity surplus and leads the Nation in the export of interstate net power. Agriculture is also practiced in West Virginia, but limited due to mountain terrain in most states.
Green energy
West Virginia has the potential to generate 4,952 GWh/year from 1,883 MW of wind power, using 80 meters of high wind turbines, or 8,627 GWh/year from 2,772 MW of 100-meter wind turbines and 60,000 GWh of 40,000 MW photovoltaic, including 3,810 MW of roof photovoltaic.
Source:
Tax
West Virginia's personal income tax is based on adjusted federal gross income (not taxable income), as modified by certain items in Western Virginia law. Citizens are taxed in five income brackets, which range from 3.0 percent to 6.5 percent. The state consumer sales tax is levied at 6 percent. Effective January 1, 2004, WV consumer sales tax calculations have been converted to figures calculated from the bracket system, and remain at 6 percent for most items (food not prepared not taxed).
The West Virginia area manages and collects property taxes, although property tax rates reflect charges for state, county, county and county councils. Countries may also impose hotel occupancy taxes on lodging places that are not located within the city limits of any municipality that levies such taxes. Cities may collect licenses and gross receipts taxes for businesses located within the city limits and hotel occupancy taxes on lodging places in the city. Although the Tax and Revenue Department plays a major role in the administration of this tax, less than one half of 1 per cent of property taxes are collected into the state government.
The main beneficiary of the property tax is the local education council. Property taxes are paid to sheriffs from 55 states each. Each district and municipality may impose its own property tax rate within the limits established by the West Virginia Constitution. The West Virginia legislature establishes the tax rate of the local education council. This level is used by all county-wide education boards. However, the total tax rate for regional education boards may differ from region to region due to excessive charges. The Tax and Revenue Department oversees and vice versa helps districts and municipalities in their assessment work and tax rate determination. The total tax rate is a combination of tax levies from four state tax authorities, states, regions, schools and cities. This total tax rate varies for each of the four property classes, which are made up of private, tangible and intangible properties. Property is assessed on the basis of its use, location and value starting July 1st. All properties are revalued every three years; Annual adjustments are made for property valuation with changes in value. West Virginia does not impose inheritance tax. Due to the abolition of federal taxes, the West Virginia property tax is not imposed on plantations of people who died on or after January 1, 2005.
The greatest personal entrepreneur
The largest private entrepreneur in West Virginia, in March 2011, is:
Quality of life
Economy
The proposal proposed by Western Governor Virginia Tomblin 2014-15 in January 2014 has an estimated budget gap of $ 146- $ 265 million, and in mid-fiscal year 2013-14, tax revenues are $ 82 million. The West Virginia Legislature in March 2014 passed its budget bill, taking $ 147 million from the Rainy Day Fund to balance the 2015 budget. Tomblin's Deputy Chief of Staff Jason Pizatella, after the state legislature passed the budget, said that West Virginia expects another dismal budget in 2016 and may require $ 150-170 million to balance the budget next year.
West Virginia coal exports declined 40% in 2013 - losses of $ 2.9 billion and total exports down 26%. West Virginia was ranked last in the Gallup Economic Index for the fourth year running. The West Virginia score is -44, or 17 points lower than the average -27 for the other states in the bottom ten. West Virginia was ranked 48th in the CNBC "Top States for Business 2013" based on measures of competitiveness such as economy, labor and living costs - ranking among the bottom five states over the past six years. West Virginia is ranked 49th in the Country's New Economic Index 2014, and has ranked in the bottom three states since 1999. West Virginia is ranked last or last in key indicators such as Education Employment, Entrepreneurial Activity, High-Tech Jobs and Scientists and Engineers.
On January 9, 2014 near Charleston, the state capital, there was a spill of chemicals that contaminated the water supply of 300,000 people in nine districts in western Virginia. According to Bloomberg News, loss of wages, revenues, and other economic losses from chemical spills could reach $ 500 million. and Marshall University Center for Business and Economic Research in West Virginia estimated that about $ 61 million was lost by businesses in the first four days after the spill.
Jobs
In 2012, West Virginia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 3.3%. The state issued a report that highlights state GDP as an indicator of a fast-growing economy, but does not address employment indicators. In 2009-2013, real US GDP increased 9.6% and employment increased 3.9%. In West Virginia over the same time period, real GDP increased by about 11%, while employment decreased by 1,000 jobs from 746,000 to 745,000.
By 2013, West Virginia was ranked last in a country with a population-to-population ratio of only 50%, compared with the national average of 59%. The country lost 5,600 jobs in its workforce in four important economic sectors: construction (1,900), manufacturing (1,100), retail (1,800), and education (800), while gaining only 400 in mining and logging. State Civil Labor Force fell by 15,100.
Wages
Personal income growth in West Virginia during 2013 was only 1.5% - the lowest in the country - and about half of the national average of 2.6%. The overall revenue growth in West Virginia in the last 30 years is only 13% (about a third of the national average of 37%). Wages from below 1% earnings decreased by 3%, compared to the national average, which increased 19%.
Population
The United Van Lines 37th Annual Migration Study showed in 2013 that 60% more people moved from Mountain State than moved. The West Virginia population is expected to decline by more than 19,000 inhabitants by 2030, and West Virginia may lose one of its three seats. in the United States House of Representatives. West Virginia is the only country where the mortality rate exceeds the birth rate. During 2010-2013, approximately 21,000 babies per year were born in West Virginia, but over 3 years West Virginia had more than 3,000 deaths compared to birth.
Family
Gallup-Healthways annual "State of American Well-Being" report ratings that 1,261 concerned West Virginians rate themselves as "suffering" in categories such as Quality of Life, Physical Health, and Access to Basic Needs. Overall, West Virginia residents rated themselves more miserable than people in all other states - for 5 years running. In addition, the Gallup Welfare Index for 2013 puts Charleston, the state capital, and Huntington the last and last of the 189 US Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The National Child Progress Index Annie E. Casey Foundation placed the 43rd ranking of West Virginia in the country for all children, and lastly for white children. The Annie E. Casey Foundation 2013 COUNT Book Data COUNT also ranked the West Virginia 47 education system in the country for the second year in a row. Charleston, West Virginia has the worst divorce rate among 100 cities in the country. Stephen Smith, executive director of the West Virginia Children's Healthy Kids and Family Coalition, said that the prospect of a bad job should be blamed: "The pressure to make a good life puts the tension on marriage, and it's much harder to make a living here than 40 last year. "
Health
The United States "Health Ratings" of the United Health Foundation for 2013 finds that Americans are making great progress in key health measures. West Virginia, however, the last or second-to-last ranking in 20 categories, including cancer, childhood immunization, diabetes, disability, drug-related deaths, tooth loss, low birth weight, skipping weekdays due to health, overdose of prescription drugs, can be prevented hospitalization, and senior clinical care. The annual Annual Health Population Health Wisconsin for 2012 shows that West Virginia spends $ 9,671 per capita on health care every year. El Salvador spends only $ 467, but both have the same life expectancy. In 2012, according to the Census Bureau, West Virginia is the only country where the death rate exceeds the birth rate. During 2010-2013, approximately 21,000 babies per year were born in West Virginia, but there were 24,000 deaths. In a demographic, this is called "net death society."
The National Center for Health Statistics says that the national birth rate for teenagers is at historic lows - during 2007-2010, adolescent birth rates dropped 17% nationally; West Virginia, however, ranks last with a 3% increase in birth rates for teenagers. A study by Marshall University of West Virginia showed that 19% of babies born in the state had evidence of exposure to drugs or alcohol. This is several times the national level, where research shows that about 5.9% of pregnant women in the US use oba
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