The portion of Virginia beyond the Allegheny Mountains was a favorite
hunting gorund of numerous Indian peoples before the first arrival of
European settlers. There are many ancient, man-made earthen mounds from
various mound builder cultures, especially in the area of Moundsville
The artifacts uncovered in these give evidence of a complex, stratified
culture that practiced metalurgy.
As Virginia grew, as a Colony and as one of the original 13 states, the
portions which remained after the subdivision of the areas of the
Northwest Territory which later became the states of Indiana and
Illinois, and then Kentucky in 1776, became more populated.
Virginia, albeit smaller, still extended from the Atlantic Ocean to the
Ohio River. For the western areas, problems were the distance from the
state seat of government in Richmond and the difference of common
economic interests.
The western area focused its commerce on neighbors to the west, and many
citizens felt that the more populous eastern areas were too dominant in
the Virginia General Assembly and insensitive to their needs. Major
crisis in the Virginia state government over these differences was
adverted on more than one occasion during the period before the American
Civil War, but the underlying problems were fundamental and never
well-resolved.
In the early 1860s, as the conflicts which resulted in the American
Civil War became more acute, considerable disagreements existed between
those in the western part of Virginia and plantation owners in the
plains and tidewater regions.Following the war, Virginia had hoped for
at least partial reunification with West Virginia. However, West
Virginia remained as an independent state within the Union.
Beginning during Reconstruction, and for several decades thereafter, the
two states disputed the new state's share of the pre-war Virginia
government's debt, which had mostly been incurred to finance public
infrastructure improvements, such as canals, roads, and railroads under
the Virginia Board of Public Works, including many which were located in
what became West Virginia after its formation. Virginians led by former
Confederate General William Mahone formed a political coalition which
was based upon this theory, the Readjuster Party. The issue was finally
settled in 1915, when the United States Supreme Court ruled that West
Virginia owed Virginia $12,393,929.50. The final installment of this sum
was paid off in 1939.
