Charleston is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of West Virginia and the seat of Kanawha County. Located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 2020 census and an estimated population of 48,018 in 2021. The Charleston metropolitan area had 308,248 residents in 2020.
Mason County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,453. Its county seat and largest city is Point Pleasant. The county was founded in 1804 and named for George Mason, delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention. Before the Civil War, the county was in the State of Virginia.
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.
Clendenin is a town in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Elk River. The population was 850 at the 2020 census.
Sissonville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States, along the Pocatalico River. The population was 4,028 at the 2010 census. Sissonville is located within 14 miles of Charleston, the state capital.
Alum Creek is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kanawha and Lincoln counties along the Coal River in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It includes the unincorporated communities of Alum Creek, Forks of Coal, and Priestley. The CDP had a population of 1,749 at the 2010 census, down from 1,839 at the 2000 census.
Red House is a small unincorporated community located in Putnam County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The community is divided into two distinct areas: Red House (Proper) which follows the Kanawha River Valley along WV 62, and Red House Hill along WV 34 which is in the hills just off the Kanawha River Valley. The Red House Post Office is still in service and was founded on September 26, 1840. Some say the town was named for a red house which stood at the town site, while others believe nearby red rock formations account for the name.
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 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 Elk River is a tributary of the Kanawha River, 172 miles (277 km) long, in central West Virginia in the United States. Via the Kanawha and Ohio rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River.
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.
The roads of Charleston, West Virginia, include three major interstate highways, several U.S. highways and state routes, and numerous major thoroughfares.
Elk Forest is a residential community out Elk Forest Road, which turns off U.S. Route 119 in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States. Originally built in the late 1950s-early 1960s, it is a part of Mink Shoals, originally willed for development by Amanda Pitzer at her death, now buried at a small cemetery across the road from Elk Forest along Ventura Acres Road. It is directly opposite Dutch Road, which is a part of the Old German Settlement at Mink Shoals.
Swiss is an unincorporated community in western Nicholas County, West Virginia, United States. Its elevation is 735 ft (224 m).
Elk Hills is an unincorporated community in central Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States. It lies on U.S. Route 119 along the Elk River, between the communities of Mink Shoals and Crede.
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.
The Elk River chemical spill occurred on January 9, 2014, when crude 4-Methylcyclohexanemethanol (MCHM) was released from a Freedom Industries facility into the Elk River, a tributary of the Kanawha River, in Charleston in the U.S. state of West Virginia.
The West Side is a neighborhood in the city of Charleston in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States containing about 9,900 residents.
Clendenin Magisterial District is one of ten magisterial districts in Mason County, West Virginia, United States. The district was originally established as a civil township in 1863, and converted into a magisterial district in 1872. In 2020, Clendenin District was home to 3,435 people.
The Eastern Magisterial District is one of three magisterial districts in Jackson County, West Virginia, United States. It was established during a process of redistricting undertaken in the 1990s. In 2010, 9,882 people lived in the district.
