History of West Virginia

 was the only formed as a direct result of the  (1861-1865). It was originally part of the British Virginia Colony (1607-1776) and the western part of the state of (1776-1863), whose population became sharply divided over the issue of secession from the  and in the separation from Virginia, formalized by admittance to the Union as a new state in 1863. West Virginia was one of the Civil War.

West Virginia's history was profoundly impacted by its mountainous terrain, spectacular river valleys, and rich natural resources. These were all factors driving its economy and the lifestyles of residents, as well as drawing visitors to the "Mountain State" in the early 21st century.

Pre-history
The area now known as West Virginia was a favorite hunting ground of numerous peoples before the arrival of  settlers. Many ancient man-made earthen mounds from various cultures survive, especially in the areas of, , and. Although little is known about these civilizations, the artifacts uncovered in these give evidence of a complex, stratified culture that practiced.

European exploration and settlement
In 1671, General, at the direction of Royal Governor of the , sent the party of Thomas Batts and Robert Fallum into the West Virginia area. During this expedition the pair followed the New River and discovered Kanawha Falls. In 1716, Governor with about thirty horsemen made an excursion into what is now. John Van Metre, an Indian trader, penetrated into the northern portion in 1725. Also in 1725, Pearsall's Flats in the valley, present-day, was settled and later became the site of the  stockade,. , a Welshman, built a cabin near present-day in  in 1727. The same year German settlers from founded New Mecklenburg, the present, on the , and others soon followed.

In 1661, King of  granted a company of gentlemen the land between the Potomac and  rivers, known as the. The grant eventually came into the possession of and in 1746 a  was erected at the source of the  to mark the western limit of the grant. A considerable part of this land was surveyed by, especially the valley between 1748 and 1751. The diary kept by Washington indicates that there were already many squatters, largely of German origin, along the South Branch. , a surveyor for the first, which was composed chiefly of Virginians, explored the country along the north of the mouth of the  in 1751 and 1752. The company sought to have a fourteenth colony established with the name . Many settlers crossed the mountains after 1750, though they were hindered by depredations. During the (1754-1763), the scattered settlements were almost destroyed. In 1774, the Crown Governor of Virginia,, led a force over the mountains, and a body of militia under Colonel Andrew Lewis dealt the under  a crushing blow at the junction of the Kanawha and Ohio rivers, in the , but Indian attacks continued until after the. During the war, the settlers in Western Virginia were generally active Whigs and many served in the.

Trans-Allegheny Virginia, 1776-1861
Social conditions in western Virginia were entirely unlike those existing in the eastern portion of the state. The population was not homogeneous, as a considerable part of the immigration came by way of Pennsylvania and included Germans, Protestant, and settlers from the states farther north. During the, the movement to create a state beyond the Alleghanies was revived and, in 1776, a petition for the establishment of "Westsylvania" was presented to , on the grounds that the mountains made an almost impassable barrier on the east. The rugged nature of the country made slavery unprofitable, and time only increased the social, political and economic differences between the two sections of Virginia.

The convention which met in 1829 to form a new constitution for Virginia, against the protest of the counties beyond the mountains, required a property qualification for, and gave the slave-holding counties the benefit of three-fifths of their slave population in apportioning the state's representation in the lower Federal house. As a result, every county beyond the Alleghanies except one voted to reject the constitution, which was nevertheless carried by eastern votes. Though the Virginia constitution of 1850 provided for white manhood suffrage, the distribution of representation among the counties was such as to give control to the section east of the. Another grievance of the West was the large expenditure for internal improvements at state expense by the in the East compared with the scanty proportion allotted to the West.

For the western areas, problems included the distance from the state seat of government in and the difference of common economic interests resultant from the  and food crops farming, fishing, and coastal shipping to the east of the  (waters which drain to the Atlantic Ocean) along the, and the interests of the western portion which drained to the  and  rivers and the.

The western area focused its commerce on neighbors to the west, and many citizens felt that the more populous eastern areas were too dominant in the and insensitive to their needs. Major crisis in the Virginia state government over these differences was adverted to on more than one occasion during the period before the, but the underlying problems were fundamental and never well resolved.

Civil War and split
In 1861, as the United States itself became massively divided over regional issues, leading to the conflict best known now as the (1861-1865), the western regions of Virginia split with the eastern portion politically, and the two were never reconciled as a single state again. In 1863, the western region was admitted to the Union as a new separate state, initially planned to be called the, but ultimately named West Virginia.

Separation
In 1861, fifteen of the forty-seven delegates from the present state of West Virginia voted to secede. Almost immediately after the adoption of the ordinance a mass meeting at recommended that each county in north-western Virginia send delegates to a convention to meet in  on,.

When the First met, four hundred and twenty-five delegates from twenty-five counties were present, but soon there was a division of sentiment. Some delegates favored the immediate formation of a new state, while others argued that, as Virginia's had not yet been voted upon or become effective, such action would constitute revolution against the United States. It was decided that if the ordinance were adopted (of which there was little doubt) another convention including the members-elect of the legislature should meet at Wheeling in June.

At the election, secession was ratified by a large majority in the state as a whole, in the western counties that would form the state of West Virginia the vote was approximately 34,677 against and 19,121 for ratification of the Ordinance of Secession. Twenty-four counties, approximately two-thirds of the territory of the new state, approved the Ordinance of Secession.

The Second Wheeling Convention met as agreed on and declared that, since the Secession Convention had been called without the consent of the people, all its acts were void, and that all who adhered to it had vacated their offices. An act for the reorganization of the government was passed on. The next day was chosen governor of Virginia, other officers were elected and the convention adjourned. The legislature, composed of the members from the western counties who had been elected on and some of the holdover senators who had been elected in 1859, met at Wheeling on, filled the remainder of the state offices, organized a state government and elected two United States senators who were recognized at  There were, therefore, two governments claiming to represent all of Virginia, one owing allegiance to the United States and one to the. The pro-northern government authorized the creation of the, consisting of most of the counties that now comprise West Virginia. A little over one month later, Kanawha was renamed West Virginia. The Wheeling Convention, which had taken a recess until, reassembled on and called for a popular vote on the formation of a new state and for a convention to frame a constitution if the vote should be favorable. At the election, 18,489 votes were cast for the new state and only 781 against. At this time West Virginia had nearly 70,000 qualified voters, and the vote on secession had drawn nearly 54,000 voters .Though the new state's government was avowedly unionist, the secessionist counties consisted of nearly two-thirds the area of the state. Votes from the secessionist counties in the vote on statehood were mostly cast by refugees in the area around Wheeling, not in the counties themselves. In secessionist counties where a poll was conducted it was by military intervention. Even in some counties that had voted against secession, such as Wayne and Cabell, it was necessary to send in Union soldiers. Returns from some counties were as low as 5%, e.g. Raleigh County 32-0 in favor of statehood, Clay 76-0, Braxton 22-0, and some gave no returns at all. The Constitutional Convention began on, 1861 and finished its work on , , and the instrument was ratified (18,162 for and 514 against) on , 1862.

The composition of the members of all three Wheeling Conventions, the May (First) Convention, the June (Second) Convention, and the Constitutional Convention, was of an irregular nature. The members of the May Convention were chosen by groups of Unionists, mostly in the far Northwestern counties. Over one-third came from the counties around the northern panhandle. The May Convention resolved to meet again in June should the Ordinance of Secession be ratified by public poll on May 23, 1861, which it was. The June Convention consisted of 103 members, 33 of which had been elected on May 23 to the General Assembly in Richmond, though they chose instead to attend the Wheeling convention. Arthur Laidley, elected to the General Assembly from Cabell County, attended the June Convention but refused to take part and instead went to Richmond along with the remaining General Assembly members elected from western Virginia. The other delegates to the June Convention were "chosen even more irregularly-some in mass meetings, others by county committee, and still others were seemingly self-appointed". It was this June Convention which drafted the Statehood resolution. The Constitutional Convention met in November, 1861, and consisted of 61 members. Its composition was just as irregular. A delegate representing Logan County was accepted as a member of this body, though he did not live in Logan County, and his "credentials consisted of a petition signed by fifteen persons representing six families". The large number of Northerners at this convention caused great distrust over the new Constitution during Reconstruction years. In 1872, under the leadership of, former Lt. Governor of Virginia, the Wheeling constitution was discarded, and an entirely new one was written along ante-bellum principles. A Constitution of Our Own

The Wheeling politicians controlled only a small part of West Virginia. On September 20, 1862, Arthur Boreman wrote to Francis Pierpoint from Parkersburg: "The whole country South and East of us is abandoned to the Southern Confederacy--Men are here from the counties above named--[Wirt, Jackson, Roane] and indeed from Clay, Nicholas, &c &c,--who have been run off from their homes--Indeed the Ohio border is lined with refugees from Western Virginia. We are in worse condition than we were a year ago--These people come to me every day and say they can't stay at home...They must either have protection or abandon the country entirely... If they attempt to stay at home--they must keep their horses hid--and they dare not sleep at home but in the woods--and when at home in the day time they are in constant fear of their lives... The secessionists remain at home & are safe & now claim they are in the Southern Confederacy--which is practically the fact..."

On, the state legislature of the reorganized government approved the formation of the new state. An application for admission to the Union was made to Congress, and on, 1862 an enabling act was approved by President Lincoln admitting West Virginia on the condition that a provision for the gradual abolition of slavery be inserted in the Constitution. The Convention was reconvened on, , and the demand was met. The revised constitution was adopted on, 1863, and on , 1863 President Lincoln issued a proclamation admitting the state at the end of sixty days (, 1863). Meanwhile officers for the new state were chosen, and Governor Pierpont moved his capital to from which he asserted jurisdiction over the counties of Virginia within the Federal lines.

Legality
The question of the constitutionality of the formation of the new state was eventually brought before the, in the case of Virginia v. West Virginia, 78 U.S. 39 (1870). and counties lying on the Potomac east of the mountains, in 1863, with the consent of the Reorganized government of Virginia voted in favor of annexation to West Virginia. Many voters absent in the Confederate army when the vote was taken refused to acknowledge the transfer upon their return. The repealed the act of cession and in 1866 brought suit against West Virginia asking the court to declare the counties a part of Virginia. Meanwhile Congress on, 1866 passed a joint resolution recognizing the transfer. The Supreme Court decided in favor of West Virginia, and there has been no further question.

Civil War
During the American Civil War, West Virginia suffered comparatively little. Union General 's forces gained possession of the greater part of the territory in the summer of 1861, and Union control was never seriously threatened, in spite of Confederate General 's attempt in the same year. In 1863, General, with 5,000 Confederates, overran a considerable portion of the state. Bands of guerrillas burned and plundered in some sections, and were not entirely suppressed until after the war was ended. Estimates of the numbers of soldiers from the state, Union and Confederate, have varied widely, but recent studies have placed the numbers about equal, from 22,000-25,000 each. The low vote turnout for the statehood referendum was due to many factors. On, the Wheeling convention enacted a bill entitled "Ordinance to Authorize the Apprehending of Suspicious Persons in Time of War" which stated that anyone who supported Richmond or the Confederacy "shall be deemed...subjects or citizens of a foreign State or power at war with the United States." . Many private citizens were arrested by Federal authorities at the request of Wheeling and interred in prison camps, most notably in Columbus, Ohio. Camp Chase Civil Prisoners. Soldiers were also stationed at the polls to discourage secessionists and their supporters. In addition, a large portion of the state was secessionist, and any polls there had to be conducted under military intervention. The vote was further compromised by the presence of an undetermined number of non-resident soldier votes.

At the Constitutional Convention on, the issue of slavery was raised by , an Ohio native, who wished to introduce a resolution for gradual emancipation. , originally from Massachusetts and a member of the convention, described the scene-"I discovered on that occasion as I never had before, the mysterious and over-powering influence 'the peculiar institution' had on men otherwise sane and reliable. Why, when Mr. Battelle submitted his resolutions, a kind of tremor-a holy horror, was visible throughout the house!" Instead of Rev. Battelle's resolution a policy of "Negro exclusion" for the new state was adopted to keep any new slaves, or freemen, from taking up residence, in the hope that this would satisfy abolitionist sentiment in Congress. When the statehood bill reached Congress, however, the lack of an emancipation clause prompted opposition from Senator and Senator  of Ohio. A compromise was reached known as the, which was approved by Unionist voters in the state on ,. It called for the emancipation of slaves over the age of 21 and for younger slaves to be freed once they reached the age of 21. Slavery was officially abolished by West Virginia on,. (It took the ratification of the to the U.S. Constitution accomplished on,  to abolish slavery nationwide).

During the war and for years afterwards, partisan feeling ran high. The property of Confederates might be confiscated, and, in 1866, a constitutional amendment disfranchising all who had given aid and comfort to the Confederacy was adopted. The addition of the and  to the United States Constitution caused a reaction, the  secured control in 1870, and in 1871 the constitutional amendment of 1866 was abrogated. The first steps toward this change had been taken, however, by the in 1870. In 1872, an entirely new constitution was adopted (August 22).

Following the war, Virginia unsuccessfully brought a case to the Supreme Court challenging the secession of and  to West Virginia. (Five more counties were formed later, to result in the current 55).

President Lincoln was in a close campaign when he won reelection in 1864. However, the act that allowed the state to be created was signed in 1862, two years before Lincoln's re-election would have been an issue in any real way.

Enduring disputes
Beginning in, and for several decades thereafter, the two states disputed the new state's share of the pre-war Virginia government's debt, which had mostly been incurred to finance public infrastructure improvements, such as canals, roads, and railroads under the. Virginians led by former General  formed a political coalition based upon this theory, the. Although West Virginia's first constitution provided for the assumption of a part of the Virginia debt, negotiations opened by Virginia in 1870 were fruitless, and in 1871 that state funded two-thirds of the debt and arbitrarily assigned the remainder to West Virginia. The issue was finally settled in 1915, when the ruled that West Virginia owed Virginia $12,393,929.50. The final installment of this sum was paid off in 1939.

Disputes about the exact location of the border in some of the northern mountain reaches between and  continued well into the 20th century. In 1991, both state legislatures appropriated money for a boundary commission to look into 15 miles of the border area.

Salt, coal: the rock that burns
The new state benefited from development of its mineral resources more than any other single economic activity after. Much of the northern panhandle and north-central portion of the State are underlain by bedded deposits over 50-feet thick. Salt mining had been underway since the 18th century, though that which could be easily obtained had largely played out by the time of the American Civil War, when the red salt of was a valued commodity of first Confederate, and later Union forces. Newer technology has since proved that West Virginia has enough salt resources to supply the nation's needs for an estimated 2,000 years. During recent years, production has been about 600,000 to 1,000,000 tons per year. 

However, after the American Civil War, there was a greater treasure not yet developed, however, that would fuel much of the in the U.S. and steamships of many of the world's navies. The residents (both Native Americans and early European settlers) had long-known of the underlying, and the fact that it could be used for heating and fuel. However, very small "personal" mines were the only practical development.

In the 1850s, s such as Dr. (1814-1880) surveyed potential coal fields and invested in land and early mining projects. After the War, with the new s came a practical method to transport large quantities of coal to expanding U.S. and export markets. As the mines of northwestern New Jersey and Pennsylvania began to play out during this same time period, investors and industrialists focused new interest in West Virginia.

Early railroads, shipping to East Coast and Great Lakes
The completion of the (C&O) westerly across the state from  to the new city of  on the  in 1872 opened access to the. Soon, the C&O was building tracks east from Richmond down the to reach its huge  at the new city of  on the large harbor of. There, city founder also developed what would become the largest shipbuilder in the world,. Among its many products, the shipyard began building ocean-going ships, known as s, to transport coal to other eastern ports (notably in ) and overseas.

In 1881, the new Philadelphia-based owners of 's former (AM&O) which stretched across Virginia's southern tier from, had sights clearly set on the Mountain State, where the owners had large land holdings. Their railroad was renamed (N&W), and a new railroad city was developed at  to handle planned expansion. After its new President and a small party journeyed by horseback and saw firsthand the rich  seam (which Kimball's wife named "Pocahontas," the N&W redirected its planned westward expansion to reach it. Soon, the N&W was also shipping from its own new coal piers on Hampton Roads at  outside . In 1889, in the southern part of the state, along the Norfolk and Western rail lines, the important coal center of  was founded.  The "capital" of the, this city would remain the largest city in the southern portion of the state for several decades.  It shares a sister city with the same name, Bluefield, in Virginia.

In the northern portion of the state and elsewhere, the older (B&O) and other lines also expanded to take advantage of coal opportunities as well. The B&O developed coal piers in and at several points on the. Other significant rail carriers of coal were the (WM),  (SOU), and the  (L&N). Particularly notable was a latecomer, the (VGN), built in an extraordinary manner to the latest and highest standards and completed in 1909.

New competitor helps open "Billion Dollar Coalfield"
By 1900, only a large area of the most rugged terrain of southern West Virginia was any distance from the existing railroads and mining activity. Within this area west of the New River Coalfield in Raleigh and Wyoming counties lay the, later promoted as the "Billion Dollar Coalfield."

A protégé of Dr. Ansted was (1854-1932), a  and mining manager in. Former West Virginia Governor described him as a man who knew the land "as a farmer knows a field." Beginning in 1898, Page teamed with northern and European-based investors to take advantage of the undeveloped area. They acquired large tracts of land in the area, and Page began the, a which was chartered to stretch between the C&O at its line along the  and the N&W at , a distance of about 80 miles.

Although the Deepwater plan should have provided a competitive shipping market via either railroad, leaders of the two large railroads did not appreciate the scheme. In secret collusion, each declined to negotiate favorable rates with Page, nor did they offer to purchase his railroad, as they had many other short-lines. However, if the C&O and N&W presidents thought they could thus kill the Page project, they were to be proved mistaken. One of the investors Page had enlisted was millionaire industrialist, a principal in 's  and an old hand at developing natural resources, transportation. A master at competitive "warfare", Henry Rogers did not like to lose in his endeavors, and also had.

Instead of giving up, Page (and Rogers) quietly planned and then built their tracks all the way east across Virginia, using Rogers' private fortune to finance the $40 million cost. When the renamed (VGN) was completed in 1909, no less than three railroads were shipping ever-increasing volumes of coal to export from Hampton Roads. West Virginia coal was also under high demand at ports as well. The VGN and the N&W) ultimately became parts of the modern system, and the VGN's well-engineered 20th century tracks continue to offer a favorable gradient to Hampton Roads.

Labor, ecology issues
As coal mining and related work became a major employment activities in the state, there was considerable labor strife as working conditions and safety issues, as well as economic ones arose. Even in the 21st century, mining safety and ecological concerns were challenging to the state whose coal continued to power electrical generating plants in many other states.