• West Virginia became a state on June 20,1863, West Virginia became the 35th state in the Union, the only state born out of the cauldron of the Cilvil War.

  • Abraham Lincoln issued the proclamation.

  • Harpers Ferry National Historical Park is the site where, on October 16, 1859, John Brown attempted to capture the U.S. Army and arsenal and to mount a rebellion by the slaves.

  • Mother's Day originated in WV on May 10, 1908 in Grafton by Ms. Anna Jarvis.

  • The first rural free mail delivery was started in Charles Town, WV on Oct. 6, 1896 and then spread over the United States.

  • The first land battle of the Civil Was fought at Philippi, WV on June 3, 1861.

  • The first steamboat was invented and launched by James Rumsey in the Potomac River at Shepherdstown, WV on Dec. 3. 1787.

  • The Golden Deilcious Apple was first produced in Clay County in 1912.

  • The fist brick street in the world was laid in Charleston, WV, on Oct. 3, 1870 on Summers Street.

  • The fist electric railroad in the world, built as a commercial enterprize, was constructed between Huntington and Guyandotte, WV.

  • The 1500 block off Virginia Street located in Charleston WV is considered the longest block in the world.

  • William Tompkins, in 1843, used natural gas to evaporate salt brine, thus becoming the first man in the US to use natural gas as a fuel.

  • The last battle of the Revolutionary Was was fought at Wheeling (Fort Henry),WV, on Sept. 10. 1782.

  • Bailey Brown, the 1st Union soldier killed in the Civil war died on May 22, 1861 at Fetterman In Taylor County, WV.

  • Pocahontas County has the distinction of having the highest average elevation of any county seat east of the Mississippi River.

  • Mrs. Minnie Buckingham Harper, a memeber of the House of Delegates by appointment in 1928, was the 1st black woman to become a member of a legislative body in the US.

  • The worlds largest Sycamore is in Webster Springs.

  • The 1st spa apened to the public was in Berkeley Springs, WV, in 1756 (then Bath, Va.)

  • The longest steel arch bridge in the world is the New River Gorge Bridge, 1,700 ft.

  • The first battle of the Revoluntionary War was fought at Point Pleasant on Oct. 10, 1774.



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