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.
Interstate 79 (I-79) is an Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States, designated from I-77 in Charleston, West Virginia, north to Pennsylvania Route 5 (PA 5) and PA 290 in Erie, Pennsylvania. It is a primary thoroughfare through western Pennsylvania and West Virginia and makes up part of an important corridor to Buffalo, New York, and the Canada–United States border. Major metropolitan areas connected by I-79 include Charleston and Morgantown in West Virginia and Greater Pittsburgh and Erie in Pennsylvania.
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.
South Charleston is a city in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States. It is located to the west of the state capital of Charleston. The population was 13,639 at the 2020 census. It was established in 1906, but not incorporated until 1917. The Criel Mound built circa 0 BCE by the Adena culture is adjacent to the city's downtown business district.
Morgantown is a city in and the county seat of Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Monongahela River. The most populous city in North Central West Virginia and the third-most populous city in the state, Morgantown is best known as the home of West Virginia University. The population was 30,347 at the 2020 census. The city serves as the anchor of the Morgantown metropolitan area, which had a population of 138,176 in 2020.
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.
West Virginia University Institute of Technology is a public college in Beckley, West Virginia. It is a divisional campus of West Virginia University.
The Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center is a municipal complex located in the downtown area of Charleston, West Virginia, United States. Originally completed in 1958, it consists of four main components: the Coliseum, the Theater, the Auditorium, and the Convention Center.
Magic Island is an island in the Kanawha River near its confluence with the Elk River in Charleston, West Virginia. Kanawha Boulevard separates Magic Island from Charleston's West Side neighborhood. It serves as a public park for the city. The island gained its name due to the rise and fall of the river level in the Kanawha, which caused the island to slip underwater, as if by "magic".
Charleston station is an active intercity railroad station in Charleston, Kanawha County, West Virginia. Located on MacCorkle Avenue Southeast, the station services trains of Amtrak's Cardinal between New York Penn Station and Chicago Union Station. The two trains, make stops in Charleston on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Charleston station contains a single 800-foot (240 m) concrete side platform and has a station depot that provides a waiting room for customers.
Capital High School is a public high school located in Charleston, West Virginia, United States created from a consolidation of Charleston High School and Stonewall Jackson High School in 1989.
The Gazette-Mail Kanawha County Majorette and Band Festival is an annual festival dedicated to the public high school marching bands and majorette corps in Kanawha County, West Virginia. It is the longest running music festival in West Virginia and is held at the University of Charleston Stadium at Laidley Field in Charleston at the end of September each year, typically the last Tuesday. The first event was held in 1947 and was attended by nearly 25,000 people. The event was originally sponsored by the Charleston Daily Mail newspaper, but is now sponsored by the Charleston Gazette-Mail after the Daily Mail merged with the Charleston Gazette in 2015. The event was not held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2024 festival was the event's 78th anniversary and the Festival Grand Champion was Nitro High School.
BridgeValley Community and Technical College (BVCTC) is a public community college with multiple campuses in West Virginia. It was formed in 2014 by the merger of Bridgemont Community and Technical College of Montgomery, West Virginia and Kanawha Valley Community and Technical College of South Charleston, West Virginia. The college is part of the West Virginia Community and Technical College System.
Luna Park was an amusement park on the West Side of Charleston, West Virginia, United States, that was open to the public from 1912 until 1923. Located on the western side of Charleston on the north bank of the Kanawha River, the park was a popular destination that featured a roller coaster, a dance pavilion, a public swimming pool, a roller rink, and live entertainment. Admission to the park cost 15 cents per person; a ride on the Royal Giant Dips roller coaster cost one dime per trip. It was a trolley park served by the Charleston Interurban Railroad Company.
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.
Wagener Field at Kendrick Family Ballpark is a baseball stadium in Granville, West Virginia. The stadium, opened April 10, 2015, is the home of the baseball team of West Virginia University (WVU), a member of the Big 12 Conference, and the West Virginia Black Bears, a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League.
Daniel Boyd Jones is an American businessman and politician. He served four terms as the mayor of Charleston, West Virginia from 2003 to 2019.
