Published August 1970 — Download PDF of the original newspaper column
Byrd's-Eye View By U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd The Shape of West Virginia Every school boy and girl in our state has probably heard that West Virginia's boundaries extend farther north than Pittsburgh, Pa.; farther south than Richmond, Va.; farther west than Cleveland, Ohio; and farther east than Buffalo, N.Y. There are some interesting reasons for the state's irregular configuration, m a n y stemming from its separation from Virginia during the Civil War. The Eastern Panhandle-so geographically unlike the rest of the state-was tacked onto the counties that lay west of the Allegheny Mountains mainly to bring the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, a Federal lifeline during the war, wholly within Union territory. The Wheeling Conventions, which brought about the formation of West Virginia, first considered establishing a new state to be composed only of the 39 counties then existing west of the Alleghenies. The Eastern Panhandle was not at first included; nor were Pendleton, Pocahontas, Greenbrier, Monroe, Mercer, and McDowell Counties. The fact is that the delegates to the meetings in Wheeling had no clear idea at the outset what to include in the territory of the new state on the east and south. The western and northern boundaries, of course, were fixed, since they were Virginia's boundaries with Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The Northern Panhandle had been created in 1784 as a result of the settlement of a boundary dispute between Virginia and Pennsylvania. This agreement extended the Mason-Dixon Line a fixed distance from the Western boundary of Maryland, which did not quite reach the Ohio River, giving Virginia the narrow strip of land between Pennsylvania and the river. There were many proposals about what to take into the new state. One was to include Buchanan and Wise Counties, which would have given West Virginia a third panhandle on the south; another would have put West Virginia's boundary along the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains, taking in all of Virginia's valley area. The matter was finally resolved by including McDowell, Mercer, Monroe, Greenbrier, and Pocahontas Counties; and allowing Pendleton, Hardy, Hampshire, Morgan, Berkeley, Jefferson, and Frederick Counties to vote on which state they wish to be a part of. All of these counties except Frederick--which never acted upon the question-voted to go with West Virginia. But strong opposition to this decision developed in Jefferson and Berkeley Counties after the war, and Virginia subsequently sued West Virginia for their recovery, losing the battle in the U.S. Supreme Court. Grant and Mineral Counties were formed from Hardy and Hampshire after the war. Thus was the shape of West Virginia established-the only change in the map of the United States to come about as a result of the Civil War. AUG 28 1970