Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Famous for
Mountains, John Denver's 'Take Me Home, Country Roads,' the Hat-
field-McCoy feud
State slogan
'Wild and Wonderful'
Driving distances
Harpers Ferry to Fayetteville 280 miles, Fayetteville to Morgan-
town 148 miles
History
Virginia was once the biggest state in America, divided between the plantation aristo-
cracy of the Tidewater and the mountains of what is now West Virginia. The latter were
settled by tough farmers who staked out independent freeholds across the Appalachians.
Always resentful of their Eastern brethren and their reliance on cheap (ie slave) labor, the
mountaineers of West Virginia declared their independence from Virginia when the latter
tried to break off from America during the Civil War.
Yet the scrappy, independent-at-all-costs stereotype was challenged in the late 19th
and early 20th centuries, when miners here formed into cooperative unions and fought
employers in some of the bloodiest battles in American labor history. That mix of chip-
on-the-shoulder resentment toward authority and look-out-for-your-neighbor community
values continues to characterize West Virginia today.
Information
come centers at interstate borders and in
Harpers Ferry
( 304-535-2482)
. Check
www.adventuresinwv.com
for info on the state's myriad adventure-tourism opportunities.
Many hotels and motels tack on a $1 'safe' fee, refundable upon request at checkout.
So if you didn't use that room safe, get your dollar back.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Eastern Panhandle
The most accessible part of the state has always been a mountain getaway for DC types.
