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Free Traveling Guides » States » West Virginia History of West Virginia
West Virginia, situated in the Appalachia region of the United States, features the duality of a “Border State” and a unique geography that allowed exploration from two concurrent directions. The first people who inhabited this region were Indians of the ancient Adena and Hopewell cultures, popularly known as the ‘Mound Builders’. Prior to the arrival of the European settlers, the area was inhabited by large numbers of Native Americans, including the Cherokee, Delaware and Shawnee Indian tribes. Europeans began to cross the Appalachian Mountains to explore the area in the 1600s. The Virginia Colony was established by England in 1606. The popular Kanawha Falls were first discovered in 1671 by a party sent by General Abram Wood. Pendleton County region, on the other hand, was first explored in 1716 by Governor Alexander Spotswood. New Mecklenburg, which is now known as Shepherdstown, was founded by German settlers from Pennsylvania in 1725. Disputes over land in the Ohio Valley started between the British, French, and the Native Americans in the 1740s. . These disputes finally led to the Seven Years War, which took place in the Appalachian region from 1756 to 1763. After the War, the French were completely eliminated, but the Native American forces continued to defend the territory until the Battle of Point Pleasant eliminated them from the frontier for the first three years of the American Revolutionary War. Soon after the French and their Native American allies were overpowered, England and the American colonists clashed over the ownership of the area that later emerged as the United States. The Native American tribes also joined the British against the colonists. In 1782, a year after the surrender of the British army at Yorktown, the Wyandot and Delaware warriors laid siege to Fort Henry. However, the American Revolution ultimately annulled all claims upon the land of West Virginia by the British and their allies and extended the settlement to the west of the Allegheny Mountains. Great disputations arose between the west and east counties of Virginia by the 1860s over issues of education, slavery, equal representation in the government, and taxation. West Virginia separated from Virginia during the American Civil War, in 1861. In fact, West Virginia is the only state in the Union to have seceded from a Confederate state. West Virginia was later added to the Union as the 35th U. S. State on June 20, 1863. This day is now celebrated as the West Virginia Day every year. The newly formed state of West Virginia benefited most from the development of its mineral resources after Reconstruction. Railroads expanded throughout the state during the late 1800s. The 19th century also saw a dramatic increase in lumber and coal production with the use of advanced technology. Eventually, a large number of chemical, steel, and glass industries moved into the state to use ample amounts of natural gas produced in the region. During the early 1900s, a considerable portion of the state’s population began to work in coal mines. The National recovery Administration was established in 1933 to protect the rights of the Union members. The state’s population increased gradually. Today, West Virginia is home to 33 state parks and is also best known for white water rafting all around the globe. |
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