# The New International Encyclopædia/West Virginia

Edition of 1905. See also West Virginia on Wikipedia; and the disclaimer.
​ WEST VIRGIN′IA. A South Atlantic State of the United States, popularly called the ‘Panhandle State.’ It lies between latitudes 37° 13′ and 40° 38′ N., longitudes 77° 40′ and 82° 40′ W., and is bounded on the northeast by Pennsylvania and Maryland, on the southeast and south by Virginia, on the southwest by Kentucky, and on the northwest by Ohio, being separated from the latter State by the Ohio River. Most of the boundaries are natural, that is, formed by rivers or mountain ridges, whence the outlines of the State are irregular. The general shape is that of an oval, 210 miles long from southwest to northeast and 125 miles wide, but two narrow tongues extend northward between Pennsylvania and Ohio and northeastward between Virginia and Maryland, each of them being known as ‘panhandles.’ The area of the State is 24,780 square miles, making it thirty-seventh in size among the States.
Topography. The surface of West Virginia is, as a whole, uneven, and in the east mountainous. The main range of the Alleghanies crosses the northeastern section, and farther south forms the State boundary toward Virginia. The greater part of the mountain region, occupying more than one-third of the State, belongs to the Alleghany Plateau, though the mountains in the extreme southern section may be considered as a northern extension of the Cumberland Plateau. The mountains of the northeast are chiefly in the form of parallel ridges with a southwest and northeast trend, but the southern part of the plateau is irregularly dissected by river valleys, presenting broad domes with spurs running in all directions, and but few definite ridges. The elevation of the valleys is about 2000 feet, and the elevation of the ridges is from 3000 to over 4000 feet. The highest point is Spruce Knob, with an altitude of 4860 feet. West of the mountains there is a belt of broad, flat hills from 1000 to 2000 feet in elevation, followed by a more gently rolling country which slopes toward the banks of the Ohio River, where the altitude ranges between 500 and 650 feet.
With the exception of the northeastern section, the whole State belongs to the Ohio basin, and is drained by a number of streams flowing from the mountain belt northwestward to the main river on the boundary. The largest of these tributaries are the Big Sandy, which forms the southwestern boundary of the State, the Guyandotte, Great Kanawha, Little Kanawha, and Monongahela; the last flows northward into Pennsylvania, but its two main headstreams are within West Virginia. The Potomac forms most of the boundary on the side of Maryland, and its largest headstream, the South Branch, drains most of the northeastern section of the State. All of these streams furnish abundant water power, and several of them are navigable.
* COPYRIGHT, 1891 AND 1903, BY DODD, MEAD & COMPANY.
AREA AND POPULATION OF WEST VIRGINIA BY COUNTIES.
Population. :
| County | Map Index. | County Seat. | Area in square miles. | 1890. | 1900. |
| Barbour | D 2 | Philippi | 393 | 12,702 | 14,198 |
| Berkeley | C 4 | Martinsburg | 257 | 18,702 | 19,469 |
| Boone | C 3 | Madison | 512 | 6,885 | 8,194 |
| Braxton | D 3 | Sutton | 541 | 13,928 | 18,904 |
| Brooke | D 1 | Wellsburg | 97 | 6,660 | 7,219 |
| Cabell | B 3 | Huntington | 261 | 23,595 | 29,252 |
| Calhoun | C 3 | Grantsville | 276 | 8,155 | 10,266 |
| Clay | C 3 | Clay | 348 | 4,659 | 8,248 |
| Doddridge | D 2 | West Union | 344 | 12,183 | 13,689 |
| Fayette | C 3 | Fayetteville | 775 | 20,543 | 31,987 |
| Gilmer | D 3 | Glenville | 367 | 9,746 | 11,762 |
| Grant | E 2 | Petersburg | 483 | 6,802 | 7,275 |
| Greenbrier | D 4 | Lewisburg | 1,051 | 18,034 | 20,683 |
| Hampshire | F 2 | Romney | 662 | 11,419 | 11,806 |
| Hancock | D 1 | New Cumberland | 86 | 6,414 | 6,693 |
| Hardy | F 3 | Moorefield | 594 | 7,567 | 8,449 |
| Harrison | D 2 | Clarksburg | 431 | 21,919 | 27,690 |
| Jackson | C 3 | Ripley | 455 | 19,021 | 22,987 |
| Jefferson | G 2 | Charlestown | 213 | 15,553 | 15,935 |
| Kanawha | C 3 | Charleston | 872 | 42,756 | 54,696 |
| Lewis | D 3 | Waston | 414 | 15,895 | 16,980 |
| Lincoln | B 3 | Hamlin | 441 | 11,246 | 15,434 |
| Logan | C 4 | Logan | 494 | 11,101 | 6,955 |
| McDowell | C 4 | Welch | 538 | 7,300 | 18,747 |
| Marion | D 2 | Fairmont | 357 | 20,721 | 32,430 |
| Marshall | D 2 | Moundsville | 311 | 20,735 | 26,444 |
| Mason | B 3 | Point Pleasant | 457 | 22,863 | 24,142 |
| Mercer | C 4 | Princeton | 437 | 16,002 | 23,023 |
| Mineral | E 2 | Keyser | 332 | 12,085 | 12,883 |
| Mingo | B 4 | Williamson | 424 | ...... | 11,359 |
| Monongalia | D 2 | Morgantown | 368 | 15,705 | 19,049 |
| Monroe | E 4 | Union | 464 | 12,429 | 13,130 |
| Morgan | F 2 | Berkeley Springs | 235 | 6,744 | 7,294 |
| Nicholas | D 3 | Summersville | 691 | 9,309 | 11,403 |
| Ohio | D 1 | Wheeling | 111 | 41,557 | 48,024 |
| Pendleton | E 3 | Franklin | 1,707 | 8,711 | 9,167 |
| Pleasants | C 2 | Saint Marys | 142 | 7,539 | 9,345 |
| Pocahontas | B 3 | Marlinton | 858 | 6,814 | 8,572 |
| Preston | E 2 | Kingwood | 671 | 20,355 | 23,727 |
| Putnam | C 3 | Winfield | 353 | 14,342 | 17,330 |
| Raleigh | C 4 | Beckley | 560 | 9,597 | 12,436 |
| Randolph | D 3 | Elkins | 1,086 | 11,633 | 17,670 |
| Ritchie | C 2 | Harrisville | 457 | 16,621 | 18,901 |
| Roane | C 3 | Spencer | 547 | 15,303 | 19,852 |
| Summers | D 4 | Hinton | 368 | 13,117 | 16,265 |
| Taylor | D 2 | Grafton | 132 | 12,147 | 14,978 |
| Tucker | E 2 | Parsons | 440 | 6,459 | 13,433 |
| Tyler | D 2 | Middlebourne | 269 | 11,962 | 18,252 |
| Upshur | D 3 | Buckhannon | 326 | 12,714 | 14,696 |
| Wayne | B 3 | Wayne | 545 | 18,652 | 23,619 |
| Webster | D 3 | Addison | 590 | 4,783 | 8,862 |
| Wetzel | D 2 | New Martinsville | 365 | 16,841 | 22,880 |
| Wirt | C 3 | Elizabeth | 254 | 9,411 | 10,284 |
| Wood | C 2 | Parkersburg | 357 | 28,612 | 34,452 |
| Wyoming | C 4 | Oceana | 526 | 6,247 | 8,380 |
​ Climate. West Virginia enjoys an agreeable and healthful climate, with pure mountain air and freedom from violent extremes of heat or cold. The mean temperature for January ranges from 30° in the northeastern mountains to 32° and 35° in the west and southwest. For July the mean is between 75° and 76° in nearly all sections of the State. The average maximum is between 94° and 98°, though a temperature of 104° has been recorded; the average minimum is between 5° and 10° above zero, the extreme being 10° below. The average rainfall ranges from 33 inches in the northeast to 45 inches in the south, and is fairly evenly distributed through the year.
Soil and Vegetation. The soils are all formed from local disintegration of the rocks. In the northeast they are sandy and of little fertility, but many of the mountains are covered to their summits with a fertile clayey soil, and the Ohio Valley in the west has a soil formed chiefly from limestone, which gives it great fertility. West Virginia is one of the most typical sections of the Appalachian floral region. (See Flora under United States.) Large areas, especially in the east and south, are still covered with dense forests, largely of deciduous trees, such as black, red, white, and chestnut oak, hickory, chestnut, locust, maple, liquidambar, tulip-trees, and on the higher mountains, birch. On the mountains there are also extensive forests of black spruce, white pine, and hemlock.
For Fauna, see that title under United States.
Geology and Mineral Resources. By far the greater part of the State is covered by rocks of the Carboniferous system, only the northeastern section and a narrow band along the southeastern boundary belonging to the Lower Paleozoic series. The rocks are here mainly Devonian, with several broad bands of Silurian in the northeast extending as far as the Cambrian sandstone on the slope of the Blue Ridge at the extreme northeastern limit of the State. West Virginia includes 16,000 square miles of the Alleghany coal measures. The upper and lower coal measures, separated by 250 feet of barren shales and sandstone, each contain ​several beds of coal from 1 to 9 feet thick. The coal is chiefly bituminous, though in some places it is partly metamorphosed. In the northern and central parts of the State there are immense deposits of petroleum and, associated with them, equally rich reservoirs of natural gas. Iron ore is found, chiefly as limonite, in many parts of the State, and among non-metallic minerals the most important are salt, sandstone, limestone, and clay. West Virginia has a large number of valuable mineral springs, especially sulphur.
Mining. West Virginia rivals western Pennsylvania as a mining region. Its large mineral wealth consists mainly of the mineral fuels—coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Coal-mining has developed chiefly since 1880, since which year the production has steadily increased. The average annual gain for that period was over 1,000,000 tons. The output in 1901 amounted to 24,068,402 short tons, valued at $20,848,184. Coal underlies a large part of the State and was mined in 1901 in 21 counties. The output was divided among the four districts of the State as follows: New and Kanawha River district, 8,036,292 short tons; Pocahontas or Flat Top district, 6,736,107 short tons; Fairmont or Upper Monongahela district, 5,174,160 short tons; and the Upper Potomac or Elk Garden district, 1,856,677 short tons. The development of coal-mining has been closely related with the improvement of transportation facilities, and especially with the improvements on the Great Kanawha River. West Virginia coal has a high value for coking purposes. (See Manufactures, below.) The rapid increase in the production of petroleum did not begin until after 1890. The yield was then only 492,578 barrels. In 1900 it surpassed the output of Pennsylvania, and ranked second only to that of Ohio. In 1901 there was a decrease in the yield, which was estimated at 14,177,126 barrels. The greater part of the oil is forced through pipe lines to Philadelphia and Baltimore. Very little natural gas was utilized prior to 1892. The value of the yield in 1901 was estimated at $3,954,472. The principal centre of production is Wetzel County. The largest part of the product is piped into the neighboring manufacturing districts of Pennsylvania. Clays are utilized and some stone is quarried.
Agriculture. In 1900 10,654,513 acres, or 67.5 per cent. of the State's area, were included in farms. The area of improved land (5,498,981 acres) is more than twice that of the corresponding area in 1870. The average size of farms has decreased nearly one-half since 1870, being 114.7 acres in 1900. In the latter year 78.2 per cent. of the farms were worked by their owners. The soil in the western part of the State consists of rich clay and sand loams, well suited to general farming. The flat hills to the eastward are better adapted to grazing. The system of agriculture practiced is typical of the Northern rather than of the Southern States. Between 1870 and 1880 there was a heavy increase in the production of corn and wheat. During the next decade these crops only about held their own, yet enjoyed a considerable increase again in the decade 1890-1900. In but few States does buckwheat have so great a relative importance. Oats and rye are the other cereals worthy of note. Hay and forage rank second in acreage. Potatoes and other vegetables are commonly grown. Tobacco and sorghum cane are worthy of mention. Probably the most noteworthy development between 1890 and 1900 was in the raising of orchard fruits. The total number of trees much more than doubled during the period. In 1900 there were 5,441,112 apple trees, constituting 70.2 per cent. of the total number of orchard trees. The following table of acreages is self-explaining:
1890 :
| Corn | 724,646 | 592,763 |
| Wheat | 447,928 | 349,016 |
| Oats | 99,433 | 180,815 |
| Buckwheat | 21,410 | 13,696 |
| Rye | 13,758 | 14,962 |
| Hay and forage | 601,935 | ........ |
| Potatoes | 30,123 | ........ |
| Tobacco | 5,129 | ........ |
| Sorghum cane | 6,870 | ........ |
| Dry beans | 5,221 | ........ |
Stock-Raising. Stock-raising holds a prominent place and the industry has made enormous gains since 1870. The most marked development has been in cattle-raising. Much progress is being made in dairying. In 1899 there was 41 per cent. more milk produced than in 1889. The development of mining has created a large demand for horses, so that rapidly increasing numbers are raised. The number of sheep have decreased since 1890. The following table gives the number of domestic animals on farms:
1890 :
| Dairy cows | 205,601 | 188,492 |
| Other cattle | 434,181 | 377,574 |
| Horses | 185,188 | 154,722 |
| Mules and asses | 11,470 | 7,390 |
| Sheep | 572,739 | 785,063 |
| Swine | 442,884 | 411,018 |
Forests and Forest Products. West Virginia has a great wealth of timber. The wooded area in 1900 was estimated at 18,400 square miles, or 73 per cent. of the total area. Considerable areas have been cleared in the Ohio River and lower valley counties, and on the higher levels much valuable timber has been culled, but merchantable timber still covers extensive areas. The highest regions are clothed with white pine, which, owing to its inaccessibility, generally remains in its primeval state. The low levels are covered with hard woods—largely white oak and poplar, which have supplied the largest part of the timber cut. Hemlock and spruce are abundant on the higher levels. The railroad construction since 1896 has opened up new regions, with a resulting heavy increase in the lumbering operations,
Manufactures. West Virginia has a good basis for the development of the manufacturing industry. The value of the State's manufactured products increased 91.7 per cent. between 1890 and 1900, being estimated in the latter year at $74,177,681. There were 33,085 persons engaged in the industry, or 3.5 per cent. of the population. The iron and steel industry ranks first and represented the largest absolute gain of any industry between 1890 and 1900. The iron and steel manufacture is confined to Wheeling and its vicinity, where it has the advantage of natural gas as a fuel and is conveniently near the Pittsburg manufacturing district. The State claims to have had the first rolling mill set up west of ​the Alleghanies. The closely allied foundry and machine shop industry has had a rapid recent growth, in the manufacture of coke the State ranks second, and the Flat Top district, in the southern part of the State, is the second most important coking region in the United States. The availability of natural gas has led to a thriving glass-manufacturing industry. There was a significant development between 1890 and 1900 in the manufacture of pottery, terra-cotta, and fire-clay products in the region adjacent to East Liverpool, Ohio. Flour and grist milling shares in the State's general industrial progress. The extensive oak and hemlock forests furnish bark for tanning and a thriving leather industry has recently developed.
The following table shows the industrial status according to census reports:
Value of products, including custom  work and repairing :
| Total for selected industries for State  $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 1900 | 2,060 | 21,347 | $48,897,302 |
| Total for selected industries for State  $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 1890 | 1,181 | 11,624 | 22,513,520 |
| Increase, 1890 to 1900 $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ Per cent. of increase | ...... | 879 | 9,723 | $26,383,782 |
| Increase, 1890 to 1900 $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ Per cent. of increase | ...... | 74.4 | 83.6 | 117.2 |
| Per cent. of total of all industries in State  $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 1900 | 46.7 | 64.5 | 65.9 |
| Per cent. of total of all industries in State  $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 1890 | 49.7 | 60.1 | 58.2 |
| Cars and general shop contruction and $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$  repairs by steam railroad companies | 1900 | 23 | 2,605 | $2,943,557 |
| Cars and general shop contruction and $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$  repairs by steam railroad companies | 1890 | 7 | 1,022 | 910,393 |
| Clay products: | | | | |
| Total $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 1900 | 55 | 1,744 | 1,451,239 |
| Total $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 1890 | 35 | 448 | 304,865 |
| Brick and tile $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 1900 | 41 | 475 | 346,356 |
| Brick and tile $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 1890 | 27 | 387 | 247,493 |
| Pottery, terra-cotta, $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$   and fire-clay products | 1900 | 14 | 1,269 | 1,104,883 |
| Pottery, terra-cotta, $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$   and fire-clay products | 1890 | 8 | 61 | 55,372 |
| Coke $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 1900 | 77 | 3,131 | 3,529,241 |
| Coke $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 1890 | 45 | 1,034 | 1,130,762 |
| Flouring and grist mill products $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 1900 | 737 | 314 | 5,541,352 |
| Flouring and grist mill products $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 1890 | 496 | 545 | 3,902,994 |
| Foundry and machine shop products $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 1900 | 62 | 591 | 1,401,852 |
| Foundry and machine shop products $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 1890 | 30 | 355 | 506,513 |
| Glass $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 1900 | 16 | 1,949 | 1,871,795 |
| Glass $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 1890 | 7 | 1,371 | 945,234 |
| Iron and steel $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 1900 | 11 | 4,467 | 16,514,212 |
| Iron and steel $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 1890 | 7 | 2,013 | 7,490,934 |
| Leather, tanned, curried, and finished $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 1900 | 46 | 664 | 3,210,753 |
| Leather, tanned, curried, and finished $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 1890 | 50 | 210 | 896,120 |
| Lumber and timber products $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 1900 | 950 | 5,327 | 10,612,837 |
| Lumber and timber products $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | 1890 | 454 | 4,182 | 5,515,065 |
| Lumber, planing-mill products, $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$  including sash, doors, and blinds | 1900 | 83 | 555 | 1,820,463 |
| Lumber, planing-mill products, $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$  including sash, doors, and blinds | 1890 | 50 | 444 | 910,640 |
Transportation and Communication. West Virginia owes its rapid growth and industrial importance to the excellent transportation facilities with which it is favored. The navigable streams include the Ohio, Monongahela, Great and Little Kanawha, and the Big Sandy. The natural commercial advantages of the Monongahela and the Great Kanawha have from time to time been augmented by the deepening of their channels and the construction of locks and dams. The improvements wrought in the Great Kanawha by the National Government in 1899 enable coal to be shipped via this river at all seasons of the year, and in 1902 the navigable length of the Monongahela was extended as far as Fairmont, affording an outlet for the large coal area of that region. The bulk of the State's foreign trade is carried on by way of the Ohio, which offers means of water communication with the Gulf. The sections of the State remote from navigable waterways have to a large extent been brought into touch with the trade centres by the development of the railroads. There are three trunk lines traversing the State from east to west—the Chesapeake and Ohio, the Baltimore and Ohio, and the Norfolk and Western. The Chesapeake and Ohio, built in 1872, and extended to Cincinnati in 1888, forms an outlet for the vast deposits of bituminous coal in the region drained by the New and the Great Kanawha rivers, while the building of the Norfolk and Western in 1884 made possible the exploitation of the coal fields in the extreme southern part of the State. In 1902 five railroads in all had extended their lines into the different coal regions of the State. The rapid development of the railroads is disclosed by the fact that a mileage of 1847 in 1894 had increased to a mileage of more than 3500 in 1902. Additional lines aggregating 1000 miles in length are projected.
Banks. The condition of the banks of West Virginia in 1902 is given in the following table, which is based upon the report of the Comptroller of the Currency:
Savings  (July 30, 1902) :
| Number | 55 | 111 | 1 |
| Capital | $4,455,000 | $5,119,600 | ...... |
| Surplus | 1,437,000 | 1,733,400 | ...... |
| Cash, etc. | 1,069,000 | 1,718,700 | $417,500 |
| Loans | 18,065,000 | 24,982,000 | ...... |
| Deposits | 20,765,000 | 30,367,000 | 680,000 |
Government. The right to vote is given to male citizens twenty-one years of age who have resided in the State one year and in the county sixty days. Upon the demand of a majority of the members elected to either House of the Legislature the question of calling a constitutional convention must be submitted to the people, and the issue is decided by a majority of the votes cast. The acts of the convention must be ​submitted to the people for ratification. A proposed amendment must receive the approval of two-thirds of the members elected to each House, after which it is submitted to the people and decided by a majority of those voting. General elections are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
Legislative. The minimum number of members in the Senate is twenty-four, and in the House of Delegates sixty-five. The former are elected for four years, and the latter for two years. The Legislative Assembly meets biennially, on the second Wednesday of January in the odd years. The sessions may continue not longer than forty-five days unless with the concurrence of two-thirds of each House. Members receive $4 per day and mileage. The Legislature is prohibited from establishing any board or court of registration for voters. The House of Delegates impeaches and the Senate tries all cases of impeachment.
Executive. The Governor, Secretary of State, Superintendent of Free Schools, Auditor, Treasurer, and Attorney-General are each elected for a term of four years. The president of the Senate and the Speaker of the House, respectively, are in the line of succession to the Governorship in case of a vacancy in that office. The Governor is vested with the usual pardoning power. He may veto any bill or any item of an appropriation bill, but such action may be overruled by a majority vote of the members elected to either House.
Judicial. The Superior Court consists of four judges elected by the voters of the State to serve for terms of twelve years. The State is divided into thirteen circuits, in one of which two judges are elected and in the others one judge each for terms of eight years. Court is held in each county three times a year. There are county courts, consisting of three commissioners who are elected for six years, and a clerk of the county court elected for a like period.
Local Government. The different counties elect surveyors, prosecutors, sheriffs, and one or two assessors, all of whom serve for four years. Coroners, overseers of the poor, and surveyors of roads are appointed by the county court.
Finance. When West Virginia was set off from Virginia the question arose as to the share of the public debt to be borne by either Commonwealth. All attempts to reach an agreement failed, and the matter is still unsettled. The financial welfare of West Virginia has been safeguarded by the most stringent provisions in the Constitution, and there has been no debt incurred since the State entered the Union. The receipts for the fiscal year 1902 amounted to $2,348,987.89, and the expenditures to $2,292,533.86. The chief sources of revenue are licenses, land, railroad taxes, capitations, and intangible personal property.
West Virginia sends five members to the National House of Representatives. The capital is Charleston.
Militia. The men of militia age in 1900 wore 200,503. The organized militia in 1901 numbered 995.
Population. The population by decades has been as follows: 1870, 442,014; 1880, 618,447; 1890, 762,794; 1900, 958,800. In the last census year the State ranked twenty-eighth in population. The rate of increase for the last decade was 25.7 per cent., as against 20.7 per cent. for the nation. But few States have a smaller proportion of foreign born, the number of these in 1900 being only 22,451. There were 43,499 negroes. Of the total population, 499,242 were males and 459,558 females. There were 38.9 inhabitants to the square mile. In 1900 eight cities had over 5000 inhabitants each. These were: Wheeling, 38,878; Huntington, 11,923; Parkersburg, 11,703; Charleston, 11,099; Martinsburg, 7564; Fairmont, 5655: Grafton, 5650; and Moundsville, 5362.
Religion. The Methodists are the strongest denomination. Next in order come the Baptists, Roman Catholics, Presbyterians, Disciples of Christ, and Lutherans.
Education. Separate schools are maintained for white and colored pupils. The revenue for school purposes is derived from the school fund and capitation and general taxes. The expenditures for school purposes in 1902 were about $3,000,000. In the census year 1900, the population of school age was 356,471, of which 186,410, or 51.7 per cent., were in attendance. The illiterates in the same year formed 11.4 per cent. of the total population of ten years of age and upward. The school report for 1902 showed an enrollment in the public schools of 276,234, a substantial increase over the 1900 figures. The principal institutions include the University of West Virginia, at Morgantown (see West Virginia University); Bethany College, at Bethany; and Morris Harvey College, at Barboursville. There are normal schools at Athens, Fairmont, Glenville, Huntington, Shepherdstown, and West Liberty. The West Virginia Colored Institute, at Institute, also gives a normal training course.
Charitable and Penal Institutions. The State maintains an asylum for incurables at Huntington, and miners' hospitals at Fairmont, McKendree, and Welsh. Hospitals for the insane are located at Weston and at Spencer, having in 1900 an aggregate of 1629 inmates. There are a school for the deaf and blind at Romney, with 209 inmates, a boys' reform school at Pruntytown, with 288 inmates, and a girls' industrial school at Salem, with 50 inmates. The penitentiary, located at Moundsville, is supported by the labor of the convicts. In 1900 there were 508 inmates.
History. For many years after the settlement of the eastern part of Virginia the western section was entirely unknown. John Lederer, a German surgeon in the employ of Governor Berkeley, was probably the first white man to explore the region, in 1669. In the same year La Salle floated down the Ohio River and landed at several places within the State. Abraham Wood in 1671 discovered the Great Kanawha, and Governor Spotswood of Virginia made an expedition into the present State in 1716. The grant to Lord Fairfax of the northern neck of Virginia included part of the present State, and his surveyors planted a stone at the headwaters of the northern branch of the Potomac to show the limits of his grant. When the western part of Virginia began to fill up with the adventurous Scotch-Irish after 1732, scattered pioneers crossed the mountains, and soon came in conflict with the French, who also claimed the ​country. (See Ohio; French and Indian War; Virginia.) The Six Nations of New York also claimed this country by right of conquest, but ceded their claim to the whites in 1754 at Fort Stanwix. The other Indians refused to acknowledge the cession, and in 1774, at Point Pleasant, one of the bloodiest of Indian battles was fought between a confederacy of Shawnees, Delawares, Wyandots, Cayugas, and other Indians under Cornstalk, and Virginia settlers and militia under Gen. Andrew Lewis. Lord Dunmore, the Governor of Virginia, did not attempt to aid the settlers, though he was near with a strong force, and it was openly charged that his hope was to cripple the colony so that it could not join in resistance to Great Britain. In spite of the King's proclamation of 1763 declaring the western territory to be ‘Indian country,’ colonization was rapid and counties were formed. After the Revolution an entirely different society grew up in the western woods, compared with that in the east. The hardy backwoodsmen had few luxuries, few slaves, and little touch with European culture. Jealousies ensued between the sections, and the west complained bitterly that they had all the burdens of government without corresponding benefits. The representation in the eastern counties was based partially upon the number of negroes, and a western freeman did not have the same representation as a resident of the east. The peculiar shape of the western part of the State made a number of the counties border on the free States of Ohio and Pennsylvania, and many of the counties were Northern in sentiment at the approach of the Civil War. When Virginia passed the ordinance of secession there was much dissatisfaction. Numerous small meetings were held, and on May 13, 1861, delegates from twenty-five counties met at Wheeling and called a convention to meet June 11th. Representatives from forty counties attended, declared their independence of Virginia, and took measures for the establishment of a provisional government by electing Francis H. Pierpont (q.v.) Governor. On July 2d a Legislature met and elected representatives to the United States Senate, who were admitted by that body. This action was approved by the people October 24th, and delegates were also elected to a convention which met at Wheeling on November 26th, to frame a constitution, which was adopted on May 3, 1862. On May 13th the Legislature of the ‘Restored Government of Virginia’ gave its consent to the formation of a new State. The act of admission was approved by President Lincoln, December 31, 1862, to take effect upon the insertion of a clause providing for gradual emancipation, and the State was formally admitted June 19, 1863. During the war an unusually large part of the population was in arms, and 32,068 men were furnished to the Federal Army. Slavery was entirely abolished February 3, 1865, in advance of the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment. The return of the Confederate soldiers to the southern and eastern counties threatened the Republican control, and in 1866 an amendment was added to the Constitution disfranchising all who had given aid and comfort to the Confederacy after June, 1861. In 1869 the number of voters numbered about 50,000, and the disfranchised 29,316. By a compromise, general amnesty and negro suffrage were coupled and adopted in 1871, and in 1872 a new constitution went into force. The vote of the State was cast for Republican electors before this time. For the twenty years from 1872 to 1892 Democratic candidates were uniformly successful. The great development of mining and manufacturing has brought about a change of sentiment, and in 1896 and 1900 the State was found in the Republican column.
Governors of West Virginia
| Arthur I. Boreman | Republican | 1863-69 |
| D. D. T. Farnsworth | (acting) | 1869 |
| William E. Stevenson | Republican | 1869-71 |
| John J. Jacobs | Democrat | 1871-77 |
| Henry M. Mathews | “ | 1877-81 |
| Jacob B. Jackson | “ | 1881-85 |
| E. Willis Wilson | “ | 1885-90 |
| A. Brooks Fleming | “ | 1890-93 |
| William A. McCorkle | “ | 1893-97 |
| George W. Atkinson | Republican | 1897-1901 |
| Albert B. White | “ | 1901— |
Bibliography. Dodge, West Virginia (Philadelphia, 1865); Summers, The Mountain State: Description of the Natural Resources of West Virginia (Charleston, 1893). For history, in addition to the references for Virginia, consult: Thwaites, ed., Withers's Chronicles of Border Warfare (Cincinnati, 1895); Lewis, History of West Virginia (Philadelphia, 1889); Hale, Trans-Alleghany Pioneers (Cincinnati, 1886); Atkinson and Gibbens, Prominent Men of West Virginia (Wheeling, 1890).