Few People Know The Story Of West Virginia Before It Became A State

West Virginia has been a state for 157 years, but the story of this region is much older than that.

Long before the Europeans settled here, this region was home to the Native Americans, whose presence was recorded as early as 100 B.C.

The tribes that existed in this land were many and varied, including the Siouan Monongahela Culture, the Fort Ancient culture, the Eastern Siouan Tutelo & Moneton tribes, and the Iroquoian Susquehannock. More recently were the tribes of Shawnee and Kanawha.

Around 1671, the European Settlers who had found their way to these shores, had already set roots in eastern Virginia. the governor of the territory decided to send men out to explore what lay west of the mountains, including George Washington. Many parts of the region along the Potomac River were surveyed.

In the decades leading up to the American Revolution, men crossed the mountains, but were were met with native resistance. Just before the war, Virginia's governor, John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, sent a military force over the mountains, which led to the famous Battle of Point Pleasant under General Andrew Lewis, then still a Colonel.

Nearly a century passed before the region was at war once again, and the state of Virginia was culturally divided, before it became literally divided. One of the biggest differences is the lack of slavery in the western portion of the state.

For many other reasons, including the separation of the two regions by the mountains and the clear differences in political opinion, it became clear that the state would divide. The possible new state, whose proposed names were Westsylvania and Kanawha, eventually became West Virginia, the wild and wonderful state we know and love.

What other stories about West Virginia's formation do you know? Feel free to comment below and join the discussion.

To learn more about West Virginia, check out this island steeped in history you have to explore at least once.