Entered Union June 20, 1863 (35th state)
West Virginia (1,793,713), Charleston (48,816)
The granite capitol was originally completed in 1932 using the designs of Cass Gilbert. It is located on Kanawha Boulevard at Greenbrier Street. Interstate State Highway 64 is 2 blocks north of the capitol. The Capitol is designed in Colonial Revival and Italian Renaissance style. The Supreme Court is in the East Wing of the Capitol in Charleston. The state was officially created as the 35th state on June 20, 1863 from Native American lands and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Charleston has been the capital since 1885 with Wheeling as the capital before. The state is geographically named as an original part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Charleston is named for founder Colonal Savannah Clendenin’s son Charles. Spruce Knob in Pendleton County is the highest point and the lowest point is the Potomac River at the border with Virginia.
West Virginia government, in the Executive, consists of a Governor, Lieutenant Governor (Senate President), Secretary of State, Treasurer, Auditor, Attorney General, and Agriculture Commissioner. There are 34 Senators and 100 House of Delegates in the Legislature. Five Supreme Court/Court of Appeals Justices serve West Virginia in the Judicial Divisions. West Virginia is located in the east central part of the United States. The geographic center is in Braxton County 5 miles east southeast of Sutton. The state is surrounded clockwise by Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio.
The area is 24230 square miles. It is 41st largest state in the country. It is the 39th most populated state in the country. It has a density of 74.0 persons per square mile making it 29th in the country. Its major rivers are the Ohio, the Potomac, the Monongahela, the Kanawha, the New, and the Elk. Charleston is located in the central part of the state.
Click here to link to the West Virginia county slideshow
Click below to link to a West Virginia county page