10 Facts You Didn’t Know About West Virginia

Photo Credit: West Virginia Tourism Office

West Virginia is known for its scenic mountain beauty, unmatched outdoor recreation opportunities and the friendliest folks in the country. Here are 10 facts you may not have known about this slice of heaven:

  1. West Virginia is the only state in the Union to have acquired its statehood by proclamation of the President of the United States.
  2. West Virginia is the only state completely within the Appalachian Mountain range, aptly given the nickname the Mountain State.
  3. West Virginia is the third most forested state. In fact, the Monongahela National Forest. covers nearly a million acres of land and spans across 10 counties.
  4. West Virginia is located within a day’s drive from 75% of the U.S. population.
  5. The Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, a National Historic Landmark, is the largest hand-cut stone masonry building in North America and second in the world to the Kremlin.
  6. The 57-foot cascade of Blackwater Falls is named for its tannin-darkened water, which is caused by fallen hemlock and red spruce needles. Blackwater Falls is also among the most photographed venues in the state. Blackwater Falls State Park has several viewing platforms that allow visitors to enjoy scenic views year-round and allow you to get those incredible photos that make this area so popular.
  7.  A declassified bunker is housed at The Greenbrier Resort. The construction of this bunker began in 1958 and completed in 1961. The top-secret, super-sized bunker was built for all 535 members of Congress during the Eisenhower era. During the 30 years that it was an active facility, technology was constantly updated so that the bunker was always ready in case of emergency. The location of the facility, critical to its effectiveness, remained a secret for more than three decades.
  8. Eastern West Virginia is the location of the nation’s largest “quiet zone.” The Quiet Zone was enacted to reduce radio wave interference for the Green Bank Telescope. Almost 500 feet tall and weighing about 17 million pounds, it’s one of the largest objects on the earth. The Green Bank Telescope picks up radio transmissions from outer space, and even the tiniest interference can make it impossible to decipher what those radio waves from space mean. No cell phones and no wi-fi make this part of West Virginia truly unique in today’s modern world.
  9. The native home of the Golden Delicious apple is Clay County. The Golden Delicious apple was discovered in 1912 by Anderson Mullins in Clay County. The fruit quickly became the state’s second major horticultural contribution to the commercial apple industry. Then in 1995, the Golden Delicious apple became West Virginia’s state fruit. Today the Clay County Golden Delicious Festival celebrates the harvest of this crisp, yellow-skinned fruit.
  10. You don’t have to travel far to see the world – West Virginia holds the record for having the most towns named after cities in other countries, including Athens, Berlin, Cairo, Calcutta, Geneva and Shanghai.

Media Contact

Samantha Nygaard, External Communications Coordinator, [email protected]
View and download assets, visit West Virginia’s Media Hub

If you publish anything as the result of any West Virginia Tourism Office’s story ideas, please let us know so we can share your work across our social media platforms and say thank you!