Charleston is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of West Virginia and the seat of Kanawha County. It is at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha rivers. The population was 48,864 at the 2020 census. According to 2023 census estimates, the city has a population of 46,838. The Charleston metropolitan area had 203,164 residents in 2023.
Kanawha County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 180,745, making it West Virginia's most populous county. The county seat is Charleston, which is also the state capital and most populous city. Kanawha County is part of the Charleston, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The Kanawha River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 97 mi (156 km) long, in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The largest inland waterway in West Virginia, its watershed has been a significant industrial region of the state since early in the 19th century.
The Little Kanawha River is a tributary of the Ohio River, 169 mi (269 km) long, in western West Virginia in the United States. Via the Ohio, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 2,320 mi2 (6,009 km2) on the unglaciated portion of the Allegheny Plateau. It served as an important commercial water route in the early history of West Virginia, particularly in the logging and petroleum industries.
The James River and Kanawha Canal was a partially built canal in Virginia intended to facilitate shipments of passengers and freight by water between the western counties of Virginia and the coast. Ultimately its towpath became the roadbed for a rail line following the same course.
The Hughes River is a tributary of the Little Kanawha River in western West Virginia in the United States. Via the Little Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River. As measured from the confluence of its north and south forks, the Hughes is 18 mi (29 km) long, and drains a rural area of the unglaciated portion of the Allegheny Plateau.
The Criel Mound, also known as the South Charleston Mound, is a Native American burial mound located in South Charleston, West Virginia. It is one of the few surviving mounds of the Kanawha Valley Mounds that were probably built in the Woodland period after 500 B.C. The mound was built by the Adena culture, probably around 250–150 BC, and lay equidistant between two “sacred circles”, earthwork enclosures each 556 feet (169 m) in diameter. It was originally 33 feet (10 m) high and 173 feet (53 m) in diameter at the base, making it the second-largest such burial mound in the state of West Virginia. This archaeological site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Southern West Virginia is a culturally and geographically distinct region in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Southern West Virginia has coal mining heritage and Southern affinity, including being part of the Bible Belt. The region is also closely identified with Southwestern Virginia and Eastern Kentucky, with close proximity to Western North Carolina and East Tennessee, which are all part of Appalachia and the Upland South.
Blaine Island is an island on the Kanawha River in the city of South Charleston, West Virginia. It is roughly 66 acres (270,000 m2) in area with a length of 1.25 miles and about 900 feet at its widest point. Blaine Island serves as the South Charleston Manufacturing Site for the Union Carbide Corporation, a subsidiary of the Dow Chemical Company. Union Carbide purchased Blaine Island in 1927 in order to expand their petrochemical manufacturing operations in South Charleston. The company previously had petrochemical plants in South Charleston in 1925 and Clendenin in 1920, which holds the distinction as the world's first petrochemical plant.
The West Virginia State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of West Virginia, and houses the West Virginia Legislature and the office of the Governor of West Virginia. Located in Charleston, West Virginia, the building was dedicated in 1932. Along with the West Virginia Executive Mansion it is part of the West Virginia Capitol Complex, a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Institute is an unincorporated community on the Kanawha River in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States. Interstate 64 and West Virginia Route 25 pass by the community, which has grown to intermingle with nearby Dunbar. As of 2018, the community had a population of 1,489, 54% of whom were African American.
Kanawha State Forest is a 9,300-acre (38 km2) recreation area located near the community of Loudendale, West Virginia, which is about 7 miles (11 km) from downtown Charleston, West Virginia, United States. It is managed by the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources.
The Battle of Charleston was a Confederate victory in Kanawha County, Virginia, on September 13, 1862, during the American Civil War. Troops led by Major General William W. Loring defeated a Union force led by Colonel Joseph Andrew Jackson Lightburn. This battle, which featured extensive use of artillery but few casualties, was the second major fight in Loring's Kanawha Valley Campaign of 1862 that succeeded in driving Union forces out of the Kanawha River Valley. All points in the Kanawha River Valley were in the southwestern part of Virginia at the time of the battle, but are now part of the state of West Virginia.
U.S. Route 60 (US 60) runs northwest to southeast across the central and southern portions of West Virginia. It runs from the Kentucky state line at Catlettsburg, Kentucky, and Kenova. The road passes through Huntington, Charleston, and White Sulphur Springs. The route exits the state into Virginia, running concurrently with Interstate 64 (I-64) east of White Sulphur Springs. Most of US 60's route through West Virginia is part of and even signed in several areas as the Midland Trail, a National Scenic Byway.
The 9th West Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The roads of Charleston, West Virginia, include three major interstate highways, several U.S. highways and state routes, and numerous major thoroughfares.
Joplin is an unincorporated community in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States. It is likely named after an early white settler in Kanawha County, James Jopling. In the early 19th century, Jopling purchased land alongside the creek later called Joplin Branch, a tributary of the Kanawha River. Many of Jopling's children and grandchildren lived along the creek near the family patriarch, and gave the community its name. James Jopling was described as "a man of powerful frame, and loved adventure. He was a noted trapper, hunter, and Indian fighter, and delighted in relating his narrow escapes and wonderful feats in woods life." Jopling also reportedly killed the last elk in the region, nearby on the Elk River.
Booker T. Washington State Park is a former state park near the community of Institute in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The park was operated by the West Virginia Conservation Commission, Division of State Parks, from 1949 until the late 1950s.
The West Side is a neighborhood in the city of Charleston in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States containing about 9,900 residents.
The Kanawha Valley Campaign of 1862 was Confederate Major General William W. Loring's military campaign to drive the Union Army out of the Kanawha River Valley during the American Civil War. The campaign took place from September 6 through September 16, 1862, although an important raid that had impact on the campaign started on August 22. Loring achieved success after several skirmishes and two battles, and Union troops retreated to the Ohio River and the safety of the state of Ohio.
