West Virginia
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for West Virginia. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
a state of the American Union, nicknamed the Panhandle State. It was formerly a part of Virginia. The mountaineers on the northwestern side of the Alleghanies, like those of Tennessee, were never in social or political sympathy with their neighbors in the Old Dominion. During the Revolutionary War the mountaineers petitioned the Continental Congress for independence.--recognition as a separate commonwealth. They opposed secession. When they were outvoted in the state convention of 1861, they declared their independence, proposing at first to take the name Kanawha. Although Virginia did not give the consent requisite under the United States Constitution the western delegates organized as "Virginia" and voted themselves out. Congress admitted the new state under its present name June 19, 1863. West Virginia furnished the Confederacy 10,000 soldiers and the Federal army 30,000. The state constitution provided for the gradual abolition of slavery. Wheeling was the first capital. Later the seat of government was changed to Charleston on the Kanawha. The new state refused to pay a just proportion of the old state debt, claiming that no part of the money had been used for the development of the western section. Aside from this repudiated obligation the state has no debts. TOPOGRAPHY. In shape the state is the most irregular in the Union. It is bounded by six states. The chief river boundaries are the Big Sandy, the Ohio, and the Potomac. Five counties, forming a projection at the north called the Panhandle, are separated from Pennsylvania by an artificial line. A similar district along the Potomac seems more naturally a part of Viriginia. Area of the state, not including water, 24,645 square miles. The average elevation of the state is 1,500 feet, the greatest of any state east of the Rocky Mountains . The lowest point is Harper's Ferry , 260 feet above the sea. The surface is composed of mountain ranges and broad or narrow valleys. The climate varies greatly. Various sections may be regarded as having the climate of Vermont, Ohio, and Virginia respectively. The average annual rainfall is about forty-four inches. Mining, lumbering and stock raising are the chief occupations in the mountains. Farming is confined to the valleys. MINERALS. West Virginia has immense mineral wealth. In the production of coal the state ranks second to Pennsylvania. There are about 15,000 square miles of coal land, nearly three-fifths of the entire area. Most of the mines are easily worked. Instead of requiring to be hoisted from deep pits, as in England, Belgium, and other level countries, the coal is brought out of tunnels on the mountain sides and lowered by its own weight through chutes into cars or docks set to catch it. The best known variety is the Pocahontas. Large quantities are shipped westward via Toledo and the Great Lakes . The state leads in the production of petroleum. It is conveyed through pipes to Philadelphia and Baltimore, where it is refined and barreled or tanked for shipment. Natural gas is piped to Cleveland, Pittsburg, and other cities for lighting, heating, manufacturing, and domestic purposes. There are valuable quarries of building stone, chiefly sandstone and limestone. Salt and lime may be found in unlimited quantities. There are practically no valuable ores. INDUSTRIES. The introduction of railways has led to a vigorous-destruction of the interior forests of pine, hemlock, spruce, oak, chestnut, hickory, poplar, birch, maple, and other valuable trees. Just at present lumbering is an active industry. With the cutting away of the mountain forests there is a noticeable increase in the damage from floods. Over half of the manufactures of the state are located on the banks of the Ohio. Other centers are Charleston and Martinsburg. The making of iron and steel is the leading industry. Lumber and wood products and flour and feed follow in order. West Virginia produces nearly as much coke as Pennsylvania. A single plant in McDowell County is designed to employ ten thousand men. The gathering of oak and hemlock tan-bark gives occupation to many people. AGRICULTURE. As compared with Iowa, for instance, agriculture is carried on with difficulty. The average farm contains 115 acres. Less than one per cent of the farms are owned by colored people. On an average less than $25 per farm is paid for hired help. Farm boundaries run in every direction, as from tree to stream, and from stone to hilltop. All the ordinary domestic animals are reared. Corn, hay, and wheat are the leading crops. Orchard fruits, including apples, pears, peaches, cherries, plums, and small fruits, especially berries, are raised in large quantities for shipment. Potatoes are an important crop. Tobacco is a valuable crop in the territory tributary to Huntington. POPULATION AND EDUCATION. The population of the state when admitted to the Union was about 400,000. In 1900 it was 958,800. The colored population is estimated at 43,567. State officers, including the state superintendent of schools, are elected for a term of four years. Separate schools are maintained for colored children. The laws of the state forbid mixed schools. A state university has been established at Morgantown. There are six normal schools for white and three for colored students. There are over 1,000 school libraries. The leading churches are the Methodist, the Baptist, and the Roman Catholic. STATISTICS. The following statistics are the latest to be had from trustworthy sources: Land area, square miles 24.715 Assessed valuation of property $920,000,000 Bonded indebtedness None Population (1908) 1,200,000 Wheeling (1910) 41,641 Parkersburg (1906) 16,477 Charleston 13,715 Huntington 13,015 No. counties 55 Members of state senate 30 Representatives 86 Salary of governor $5,000 U. S. representatives 5 Presidential electors 7 State revenue $3,000,000 Acres of improved land 5,151,000 Agricultural Products-- Corn, bushels 23,962,000 Wheat, bushels 4,693,000 Oats, bushels 1,805,000 Potatoes, bushels 3,000,000 Tobacco, pounds 4,650,000 Wool, pounds 2,830,000 Butter, pounds 20,000,000 Manufacturing establishments (1905) 2,109 Capital invested $87,000,000 Operatives 43,758 Wages and salaries $24,000,000 Raw material $54,000,000 Output of manufactures $99,000,000 Petroleum, barrels 9,095,000 Coal mined, tons 48,000,000 Tons of iron ore 291,000 Salt, barrels 156,000 Output of pig iron, tons 291,000 Clay products $3,640,000 Quarry products $1,053,000 Domestic Animals-- Horses 189,000 Mules 11,000 Milk cows 247,000 Other cattle 549,000 Sheep 675,000 Goats 1,000 Swine 379,000 Miles of railway 3,209 Teachers in public schools 8,061 Pupils enrolled 253,147 Percentage of male teachers 47.1 Average monthly salary of teachers $37.62 Average annual expenditure per pupil $20.36 See Washington ; George ; Virginia 2026 Editor's Note: This page uses language about race that was commonplace when the book was published and is offensive by today's standards. The text has been left exactly as it was printed, rather than cut or softened, so that the historical record — including how ordinary such language once was — is preserved. (Ed: BR 2026-07-22)
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a State in the South Atlantic Division of the North American Union; bounded by Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio; admitted to the Union, June 19, 1863; capital, Charleston; number of counties, 55; area, 24,170 square miles. Pop. (1890) 762,794; (1900) 958,800; (1910) 1,221,119; (1920) 1,463,701. Topography. The State is hilly and mountainous. The Allegheny Mountains form the Virginia boundary line. A con- Wismar, and a sum equal equal to $3,750,000; :tinuation of the Cumberland Mountains Brandenburg, Mecklenburg, Hanover, of Tennessee crosses the State about 20 miles W. of the Alleghenies. This range embraces the Flat Top, Cotton Hill, Greenbrier, Gauley, and Rich mountains. The surface W. of these mountains gradually descends to the Ohio river, this river forming the principal water system of West Virginia. The chief rivers are the Big Sandy, Kanawha, Guyandotte, and Monongahela, all of which are navigable and enter the Ohio. The Kanawha is fed by the Greenbrier, Gauley, Elk, and Coal rivers. The Potomac river forms part of the N. boundary line. There are numerous waterfalls in these streams all of which afford excellent water power, the falls at Harper's Ferry being especially noted. Geology and Mineralogy. -The E. portion of the State is of Eozoic formation. This is bordered by Lower Silurian shales, limestone and medina sandstone, and by coal measures covering over 16,- 000 square miles. Agriculture. The soil consists of disintegrated limestones, sand, clay, and loam, giving it exceeding fertility. Nearly all garden vegetables and cereals grow abundantly. The acreage, production and value of the principal crops in 1919, was as follows: corn, 735,000 acres, production 24,990,000 bushels, value $40,984,000; oats, 190,000 acres, production 4,750,000 bushels, value $4,320,000; wheat, 400,- 000 acres, production 5,400,000 bushels, value $11,880,000; tobacco, 15,000 acres, production 10,500,000 pounds, value $5,- 250,000; hay, 810,100 acres, production 1,215,000 tons, value $31,104,000; potatoes, 57,000 acres, production 5,130,000 bushels, value $8,978,000. Mineral Production. - The State is among the most important in the production of minerals. In the order of their importance, they are coal, natural gas, petroleum, and clay products. The coal production in 1919 was 75,500,000 short tons, a decrease of 14,436,000 short tons over that of 1918. The State ranks second in the quantity of coal produced, and is surpassed only by Pennsylvania. The production of natural gas in 1918 was 265,160,917 thousand cubic feet. West Virginia ranks first in the production of natural gas. The production of petroleum in 1918 was 7,886,628 barrels, valued at $31,652,108. There are important quarries of sandstone and limestone, and the mining of salt is also an important industry. Manufactures. - There were in the State, in 1914, 2,749 manufacturing establishments, employing 71,078 wage earners. The capital invested was $175,- 995,000; wages paid $43,784,000; value of materials used $110,033,000; and the value of the products $193,512,000. The principal articles of manufacture were iron and steel, lumber, and timber products, flour and grist, coke, railroad cars, packed meat, tobacco, cigars, and cigarettes, pottery, glass, foundry and machine shop products, an oducts, and clothing. Banking. On Oct. 31, 1919, there were reported 119 National banks in operation, having $11,244,000 in capital; $9,313,000 in outstanding circulation; and $25,- 371,000 in United States bonds. There were also 214 State banks, with $14,- 741,000 capital, and $8,962,000 surplus. The exchanges at the United States clearing house at Wheeling, during the year ending Sept. 30, 1919, aggregated $226,320,000. Education. Elementary education is free from the ages of 6 to 21 years, and school attendance is compulsory for children between the ages of 8 and 14. There are about 7,000 public elementary schools, with about 315,000 pupils, and about 11,000 teachers. There are 164 public high schools and 6 public normal schools. The annual expenditure for education is about $8,000,000. The institutions for higher education include the West Virginia University at Morgantown, Bethany College, and West Virginia Wesleyan College. Charities and Corrections. - The institutions under the control of the State Board of Control are as follows: Hospitals at Weston, Spencer, Huntington, Welch, McKendree and Fairmont; penitentiary at Moundsville; industrial home for girls at Industrial; school for the deaf and blind at Romney; tuberculosis sanatorium at Terra Alta; colored tuberculosis sanatorium at Denmar; children's home at Elkins; and colored orphans' home at Huntington. Churches. The strongest est denominations in the State are the Methodist Episcopal, North; Regular Baptist; Methodist Episcopal, South; Roman Catholic United Brethren; Methodist Protestant; Presbyterian, South; Disciples of Christ; Presbyterian, North; Colored; and Dunkards. Railways. The railway mileage in 1919 was 4,007.7. The roads having the longest mileage are the Baltimore and Ohio and the Norfolk and Western. Finances. The receipts for the fiscal year 1918-1919 were $5,010,573, and the disbursements $6,693,653. There was a balance at the end of the year of $2,- 218,091. The assessed value of real estate in 1919 was $767,653,310, and of personal property $372,631,062. The total bonded indebtedness of the State on Jan. 1, 1920, was $13,500,000. State Government. -The governor is elected for a term of four years. Legislative sessions are held biennially in odd years beginning on the second Wednesday in January, and are limited in length to 45 days each. The Legislature has 30 members in the Senate, and 94 in the House. There are 6 Representatives in presente Congress under the new appointment. History. The history of the State prior to 1861 is identified with that of Virginia proper, of which State it formed part till after the outbreak of the Civil War. The Allegheny Mountains, however, formed a natural line of demarkation between the two sections of the original State, and conditions favoring separation had long existed. These reached a climax on the passage by WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY 345 Virginia of an ordinance of secession, the popular vote in the section W. of the mountains being strongly opposed to it. A convention of loyalists met at Wheeling in June, 1861, and in August adopted an ordinance providing for the formation of a new State to be called Kanawha. In November a constitution was adopted and the name West Virginia chosen. This constitution was adopted by the people by a very large majority in April, 1862, and the State was formally admitted to the Union by Act of Congress and the approval of President Lincoln, June 19, 1863.