External links

- [http://www.ci.winchester.va.us City of Winchester]
- [http://www.winchesterva.org Winchester-Frederick County Chamber of Commerce]
- [http://www.thebloom.com Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival]
- [http://www.winchesteronline.com Winchester Online]
- [http://www.valleychatter.com ValleyChatter.com]
- [http://www.shenandoahvalley.com ShenandoahValley.com]
- [http://www.winchesterstar.com The Winchester Star] Category:Cities in Virginia Category:Geography of Virginia Category:Northwestern Turnpike Category:Winchester and Western Railroad

Appalachian Mountains

The Appalachian Mountains are a vast system of North American mountains, partly in Canada, but mostly in the United States, extending as a zone, from 100 to 300 miles wide, running from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, 1500 miles south-westward to central Alabama in the United States, although the northernmost mainland portion ends at the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec. The system is divided into a series of ranges, with the individual mountains averaging around 3000 ft. The highest of the group is Mt. Mitchell in North Carolina (2,040m, 6,684 ft.), which is the highest point in the United States east of the Mississippi River as well as the second highest point in eastern North America.

Regions

North America North America North America The whole system may be divided into three great sections: the Northern, from Newfoundland to the Hudson river; the Central, from the Hudson Valley to that of New river (Great Kanawha), in Virginia and West Virginia; and the Southern, from New river onwards. The northern section includes the Shickshock Mountains and Notre Dame Range in Quebec, scattered elevations in Maine, the White Mountains and the Green Mountains; the central comprises, besides various minor groups, the Valley Ridges between the Front of the Allegheny Plateau and the Great Appalachian Valley, the New York-New Jersey Highlands and a large portion of the Blue Ridge; and the southern consists of the prolongation of the Blue Ridge, the Unaka Range, and the Valley Ridges adjoining the Cumberland Plateau, with some lesser ranges. The major ranges comprising the Appalachian system include the Long Range Mountains and Annieopsquotch Mountains in Newfoundland, the Notre Dame Mountains in New Brunswick and Quebec, the Longfellow Mountains in Maine, the White Mountains in New Hampshire, the Green Mountains in Vermont, the Taconic Mountains in New York and Massachusetts, the Berkshire Hills in Massachusetts, the Allegheny Mountains in Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia, the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians in The Poconos Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia, and the Blue Ridge Mountains that run from southern Pennsylvania to North Georgia. The Adirondack Mountains are sometimes considered part of the Appalachian chain but, geologically speaking, are a southern extension of the Laurentian Mountains of Canada. In addition to the true folded mountains, known as the ridge and valley province, the area of dissected plateau Blue Mountain (Pennsylvania) to the north and west of the mountains is usually grouped with them. This includes the Catskill Mountains of southeastern New York, and the Allegheny Plateau of southwestern New York, western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio and northern West Virginia. The plateau does not change character but changes name to the Cumberland Plateau in southern West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, western Virginia, eastern Tennessee. The dissected plateau area is popularly called mountains, especially in eastern Kentucky and West Virginia, and while the ridges are not high, the terrain is extremely rugged. In Ohio and New York, some of the plateau has been glaciated, which has rounded off the sharp ridges, and filled the valleys to some extent. The glaciated regions are usually referred to as hill country rather than mountains. The Appalachian region is generally considered the geographical dividing line between the eastern seaboard of the United States and the Midwest region of the country. The Eastern Continental Divide follows the Appalachian Mountains from Pennsylvania to Georgia. Before the French and Indian War, the Appalachian Mountains lay on the indeterminate boundary between Britain's colonies along the Atlantic and French areas centered in the Mississippi basin. After the French and Indian War, the Proclamation of 1763 limited settlement for Great Britain's thirteen original colonies in North America to east of the summit line of the mountains (except in the northern regions where the Great Lakes formed the boundary). This was highly disliked by the colonists and formed one of the grievances which led to the American Revolutionary War. With the formation of the United States of America, an important first phase of westward expansion in the late 18th century and early 19th century consisted of the migration of European-descended settlers westward across the mountains into the Ohio Valley through the Cumberland Gap and other mountain passes. The Erie Canal, finished in 1825, formed the first route through the Appalachians that was capable of large amounts of commerce. The Appalachian Trail is a 2,175 mile hiking trail that runs all the way from Mt. Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia, passing over or past a large part of the Appalachian system.

The chief summits

The Appalachian belt includes, with the ranges enumerated above, the plateaus sloping southward to the Atlantic Ocean in New England, and south-eastward to the border of the coastal plain through the central and southern Atlantic states; and on the north-west, the Allegheny and Cumberland plateaus declining toward the Great Lakes and the interior plains. A remarkable feature of the belt is the longitudinal chain of broad valleys--the Great Appalachian Valley--which, in the southerly sections divides the mountain system into two subequal portions, but in the northernmost lies west of all the ranges possessing typical Appalachian features, and separates them from the Adirondack group. The mountain system has no axis of dominating altitudes, but in every portion the summits rise to rather uniform heights, and, especially in the central section, the various ridges and intermontane valleys have the same trend as the system itself. None of the summits reaches the region of perpetual snow. Mountains of the Long Range in Newfoundland reach heights of nearly 2000 ft. In the Shickshocks the higher summits rise to about 4000 ft. elevation. In Maine four peaks exceed 3000 ft., including Katahdin (5200 ft.). In New Hampshire, many summits rise above 4000 feet, including Mount Washington, in the White Mountains (6298 ft.), Adams (5805), Jefferson (5725), Clay (5554), Monroe (5390), Madison (5380), Lafayette (5269. In the Green Mountains the highest point, Mansfield, is 4364 ft.; Lincoln (4078), Killington (4241), Camel Hump (4088); and a number of other heights exceed 3000 ft. The Catskills are not properly included in the system. The Blue Ridge, rising in southern Pennsylvania and there known as South Mountain, attains in that state elevations of about 2000 ft.; southward to the Potomac its altitudes diminish, but 30 m. beyond again reach 2000 ft. In the Virginia Blue Ridge the following are the highest peaks east of New river: Mount Weather (about 1850 ft.), Mary's Rock (3523), Peaks of Otter (4001 and 3875), Stony Man (4031), Hawks Bill (4066). In Pennsylvania the summits of the Valley Ridges rise generally to about 2000 ft., and in Maryland Eagle Rock and Dans Rock are conspicuous points reaching 3162 ft. and 2882 ft. above the sea. On the same side of the Great Valley, south of the Potomac, are the Pinnacle (3007 ft.) and Pidgeon Roost (3400 ft.). In the southern section of the Blue Ridge are Grandfather Mountain (5964 ft.), with three other summits above 5000, and a dozen more above 4000. The Unaka Ranges (including the Black and Smoky Mountains) have eighteen peaks higher than 5000 ft., and eight surpassing 6000 ft. In the Black Mountains, Mitchell (the culminating point of the whole system) attains an altitude of 6711 ft., Balsam Cone, 6645, Black Brothers, 6690, and 6620, and Hallback, 6403. In the Smoky Mountains we have Clingman's Peak (6611), Guyot (6636), Alexander (6447), Leconte (6612), Curtis (6588), with several others above 6000 and many higher than 5000. In spite of the existence of the Great Appalachian Valley, the master streams are transverse to the axis of the system. The main watershed follows a tortuous course which crosses the mountainous belt just north of New river in Virginia; south of this the rivers head in the Blue Ridge, cross the higher Unakas, receive important tributaries from the Great Valley, and traversing the Cumberland Plateau in spreading gorges, escape by way of the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers to the Ohio and Mississippi, and thus to the Gulf of Mexico; in the central section the rivers, rising in or beyond the Valley Ridges, flow through great gorges (water gaps) to the Great Valley, and by south-easterly courses across the Blue Ridge to tidal estuaries penetrating the coastal plain; in the northern section the water-parting lies on the inland side of the mountainous belt, the main lines of drainage running from north to south.

Geology

Main article: Geology of the Appalachians The Appalachians are old mountains. A look at rocks exposed in today's Appalachian mountains reveals elongated belts of folded and thrust faulted marine sedimentary rocks, volcanic rocks and slivers of ancient ocean floor, which provides strong evidence that these rocks were deformed during plate collision. The birth of the Appalachian ranges, some 680 million years ago, marks the first of several mountain building plate collisions that culminated in the construction of the supercontinent Pangea with the Appalachians near the center. Because North America and Africa were connected, the Appalachians form part of the same mountain chain as the Atlas mountains in Morocco. Morocco During the middle Ordovician Period (about 495-440 million years ago), a change in plate motions set the stage for the first Paleozoic mountain building event (Taconic orogeny) in North America. The once-quiet Appalachian passive margin changed to a very active plate boundary when a neighboring oceanic plate, the Iapetus, collided with and began sinking beneath the North American craton. With the birth of this new subduction zone, the early Appalachians were born. Along the continental margin, volcanoes grew, coincident with the initiation of subduction. Thrust faulting uplifted and warped older sedimentary rock laid down on the passive margin. As mountains rose, erosion began to wear them down. Streams carried rock debris downslope to be deposited in nearby lowlands. The Taconic Orogeny was just the first of a series of mountain building plate collisions that contributed to the formation of the Appalachians (see Appalachian orogeny). By the end of the Mesozoic era, the Appalachian Mountains had been eroded to an almost flat plain. It was not until the region was uplifted during the Cenozoic Era that the distinctive topography of the present formed. Uplift rejuvenated the streams, which rapidly responded by cutting downward into the ancient bedrock. Some streams flowed along weak layers that define the folds and faults created many millions of years earlier. Other streams downcut so rapidly that they cut right across the resistant folded rocks of the mountain core, carving canyons across rock layers and geologic structures. The Appalachian Mountains contain major deposits of Anthracite coal as well as Bituminous coal. In the folded mountains the coal is in metamorphosed form as anthracite represented by the Coal Region of northeastern Pennsylvania and discovered by Necho Allen. The Bituminous coal fields of western Pennsylvania, southeastern Ohio, eastern Kentucky, and West Virginia is the sedimentary form.

Flora and fauna

Much of the region is covered with forest yielding quantities of valuable timber, especially in Canada and northern New England. The most valuable trees for lumber are spruce, white pine, hemlock, cedar, white birch, ash, maple and basswood; all excepting pine and hemlock and poplar in addition are ground into wood pulp for the manufacture of paper. In the central and southern parts of the belt oak and hickory constitute valuable hard woods, and certain varieties of the former furnish quantities of tan bark. The tulip tree produces a good clear lumber known as white wood or poplar, and is also a source of pulp. In the south both white and yellow pine abounds. Many flowering and fruit-bearing shrubs of the heath family add to the beauty of the mountainous districts, rhododendron and kalmia often forming impenetrable thickets. Bears, mountain lions (pumas), wild cats (lynx) and wolves haunt the more remote fastnesses of the mountains; foxes abound; deer are found in many districts and moose in the north.

Influence on History

For a century the Appalachians were a barrier to the westward expansion of the British colonies; the continuity of the system, the bewildering multiplicity of its succeeding ridges, the tortuous courses and roughness of its transverse passes, a heavy forest and dense undergrowth all conspired to hold the settlers on the seaward-sloping plateaus and coastal plains. Only by way of the Hudson and Mohawk valleys, and round about the southern termination of the system were there easy routes to the interior of the country, and these were long closed by hostile aborigines and jealous French or Spanish colonists. In eastern Pennsylvania the Great Valley was accessible by reason of a broad gateway between the end of South Mountain and the Highlands, and here in the Lebanon Valley settled German Moravians, whose descendants even now retain the peculiar patois known as "Pennsylvania Dutch." These were late comers to the New World forced to the frontier to find unclaimed lands. With their followers of both German and Scotch-Irish origin, they worked their way southward and soon occupied all of the Virginia Valley and the upper reaches of the Great Valley tributaries of the Tennessee. By 1755 the obstacle to westward expansion had been thus reduced by half; outposts of the English colonists had penetrated the Allegheny and Cumberland plateaus, threatening French monopoly in the transmontane region, and a conflict became inevitable. Making common cause against the French to determine the control of the Ohio valley, the unsuspected strength of the colonists was revealed, and the successful ending of the French and Indian War extended England's territory to the Mississippi. To this strength the geographic isolation enforced by the Appalachian mountains had been a prime contributor. The confinement of the colonies between an ocean and a mountain wall led to the fullest occupation of the coastal border of the continent, which was possible under existing conditions of agriculture, conducing to a community of purpose, a political and commercial solidarity, which would not otherwise have been developed. As early as 1700 it was possible to ride from Portland, Maine, to southern Virginia, sleeping each night at some considerable village. In contrast to this complete industrial occupation, the French territory was held by a small and very scattered population, its extent and openness adding materially to the difficulties of a disputed tenure. Bearing the brunt of this contest as they did, the colonies were undergoing preparation for the subsequent struggle with the home government. Unsupported by shipping, the American armies fought toward the sea with the mountains at their back protecting them against Indians leagued with the British. The few settlements beyond the Great Valley were free for self-defence because debarred from general participation in the conflict by reason of their position.

Name pronunciation and origin

The primary standard pronunciation of the range is with a long-A, as "app-uh-LAY-chan". The alternative pronunciation, with a short-A, "app-uh-LATCH-an" is often used east of the range in the Piedmont region, such as in North Carolina. The short-A pronunciation is used for Appalachian State University of Boone, North Carolina. It turns out that the short-A version, used by a minority, is arguably the correct way to say it. When the Spanish explorer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and his crew were exploring the Florida coast in 1528, they found a Native American town which they transliterated as Apalachen (ah-pah-LAH-chen). This name and its short-A pronunciation were applied to a nearby body of water, now spelled Apalachee Bay, to the Apalachicola River and the Apalachicola Bay, and to the city known as Apalachicola, Florida. The word "Apalachen" was also applied to an inland mountain range, and through the course of time it became applied to the entire range and its spelling was changed. Although the long-A pronunciation for the mountain range is standard, it is at odds with its origin.

References

- Topographic maps and Geologic Folios of the United States Geological Survey
- Bailey Willis, "The Northern Appalachians," and C. W. Hayes, "The Southern Appalachians," both in National Geographic Monographs, vol. i.
- chaps, iii., iv. and v. of Miss E. C. Semple's American History and its Geographic Conditions (Boston, 1903).
-

Appalachian Mountains

Regions

The chief summits

Geology

Flora and fauna

Influence on History

Name pronunciation and origin

References

Harrisonburg, Virginia

Harrisonburg is an independent city within the confines of Rockingham County in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 40,468. Harrisonburg is located in the Shenandoah Valley and is home to James Madison University and Eastern Mennonite University. It is the county seat of Rockingham County. The Bureau_of_Economic_Analysis combines the city of Harrisonburg with Rockingham county for statistical purposes.

Geography

Harrisonburg is located at 38°26'35" North, 78°52'21" West (38.443279, -78.872759). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 45.6 km² (17.6 mi²). 45.5 km² (17.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.17% water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 40,468 people, 13,133 households, and 6,448 families residing in the city. The population density is 889.8/km² (2,304.4/mi²). There are 13,689 housing units at an average density of 301.0/km² (779.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 84.84% White, 5.92% Black or African American, 0.19% Native American, 3.11% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 3.35% from other races, and 2.57% from two or more races. 8.85% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There are 13,133 households out of which 23.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.4% are married couples living together, 9.3% have a female householder with no husband present, and 50.9% are non-families. 28.3% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.53 and the average family size is 3.00. The age distribution, which is strongly influenced by the city's two universities, is: 15.4% under the age of 18, 40.9% from 18 to 24, 21.2% from 25 to 44, 13.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 23 years. For every 100 females there are 90.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 87.5 males. The median income for a household in the city is $29,949, and the median income for a family is $45,159. Males have a median income of $29,951 versus $22,910 for females. The per capita income for the city is $14,898. 30.1% of the population and 11.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 18.7% of those under the age of 18 and 11.4% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line. However, traditional poverty measures can be misleading when applied to a community with a relatively large student population, such as Harrisonburg.

Education

Located within the city are two universities, one public, one private, for higher education; the Harrisonburg Public School system and one private school.

School systems

Serving about 4,000 students (K-12) Harrisonburg City Public Schools is comprised of 4 elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. All schools are accredited by the Virginia Department of Education and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. In addition, Eastern Mennonite High School, a private school, serves grades 6-12 with an enrollment of about 325 students.

Higher education

- Eastern Mennonite University (Private)
- James Madison University (Public)

Points of interest

- Edith J. Carrier Arboretum

External links

- [http://www.ci.harrisonburg.va.us/about/history.html History of Harrisonburg]
- [http://photos.historical-markers.org/va-harrisonburg Harrisonburg's Historical Markers]
- [http://www.ci.harrisonburg.va.us City of Harrisonburg]
- [http://www.harrisonburg.k12.va.us Harrisonburg City Public Schools]
- [http://www.emhs.net/ Eastern Mennonite High School]
- [http://www.dnronline.com Daily News Record (Newspaper)]
- [http://www.jmu.edu James Madison University]
- [http://www.emu.edu Eastern Mennonite University]
- [http://www.ci.harrisonburg.va.us/about/HousesOfWorship.htm Places of Worship] Category:Cities in Virginia Category:University towns

Front Royal, Virginia

Front Royal is a town located in Warren County, Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 13,589. It is the county seat of Warren County.

Geography

Front Royal is located at 38°55'33" North, 78°11'31" West (38.925768, -78.191914). It is roughly 76 miles west of Washington DC. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 24.6 km² (9.5 mi²). 24.0 km² (9.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.6 km² (0.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 2.52% water.

About Front Royal

mi²Originally called LeHewtown (after Peter LeHew, a French Huguenot who purchased 200 acres here in 1754), the Town was later purchased by a group of real estate speculators who arranged to have it incorporated as Front Royal in 1788. Rail service was established in 1854 with the construction of the Alexandria, Orange and Manassas Gap Railroad between Manassas and Riverton. This line was soon extended to Strasburg in time to become a factor in the Battle of Front Royal on May 23, 1862 and throughout the Civil War. Lumber, agriculture, manufacturing and grain mills provided employment in the region for decades after the Civil War. Front Royal is situated near the junction of the North Fork and the South Fork of the Shenandoah River. The origin of the name "Front Royal" remains uncertain. There are currently two versions as to its source of origin. One being that, in early decades of European settlement, the area was referred to in French as "le front royal," meaning the British frontier. French settlers, trappers, and explorers in the Ohio Territority of the mid-1700's were referring to the land grant made by King Charles II, then in control of Thomas, Lord Fairfax, Baron of Cameron. In English, "le front royal" is translated to the "Royal Frontier." However, the more colorful and legendary origin has it that during colonial days, a giant oak tree - the "Royal" Tree of England - stood in the public square where Chester and Main Streets now join. It was there that the local militia, composed of raw recruits slow to learn military commands and maneuvers, were drilled. On one occasion, the sorely tired drill sergeant became so exasperated by the clumsy efforts of his troops and their failure to follow his command that he hit upon a phrase that all could understand and shouted, "front the Royal Oak!" Among the spectators was a Mr. Forsythe who had been a professional soldier. He was so amused by the officer's coined order that he and his friends found much sport in telling the story, repeating "front the Royal Oak" until Front Royal was the resulting derivation.

Government

Shenandoah River Front Royal is the county-seat of Warren County, Virginia. It has a six-member town council with four-year terms.

City Council

- Mayor James Eastham, 2004
- Vice Mayor J. Daniel Pond III, 2002
- Fred P. Foster, 2002
- Joseph T. McDaniel, 2002
- Stanley W. Brooks, Jr., 2004
- Timothy W. Darr, 2004
- M. Eileen Grady, 2004

Points of Interest

Shenandoah RiverFront Royal is the home of Randolph-Macon Academy (founded 1893) which features an Air Force JROTC program. Front Royal is also the home of Christendom College and the Smithsonian's Conservation and Research Center. Commercially, it is the home to a Virginia Inland Port situated on Interstate 66. Like many outer suburbs, Front Royal is facing the challenge of providing jobs to its community and preventing a slide into being a bedroom community. It also faces tensions between long-time residents, recent (10-20 years ago) arrivals and newly-arrived residents. Front Royal is also home to the [http://www.avtexfibers.com/ Avtex Fibers Superfund Site]. Once Virginia's largest Superfund site, this former rayon manufacturing facility is being recovered to provide a 175 acre eco-friendly office park, 30 acres of soccer fields, and 240 acres of conservancy park along the Shenandoah River. Important tourist attractions include Skyline Caverns, the northern entrance to Shenandoah National Park, and Skyline Drive. It also has a large number of American Civil War attractions, both in the town and the surrounding Shenandoah Valley. The Front Royal Cardinals baseball team, which joined the Valley League in 1984. Games are played in Bing Crosby Stadium. Front Royal has been designated the canoe capital of Virginia

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 13,589 people, 5,425 households, and 3,585 families residing in the town. The population density is 565.4/km² (1,464.9/mi²). There are 5,752 housing units at an average density of 239.3/km² (620.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the town is 88.31% White, 8.68% African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.63% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.66% from other races, and 1.40% from two or more races. 2.13% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There are 5,425 households out of which 32.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% are married couples living together, 14.1% have a female householder with no husband present, and 33.9% are non-families. 28.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 12.5% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.46 and the average family size is 3.01. In the town the population is spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100 females there are 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 86.0 males. The median income for a household in the town is $34,786, and the median income for a family is $42,863. Males have a median income of $32,477 versus $24,002 for females. The per capita income for the town is $17,901. 12.5% of the population and 9.1% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 15.2% of those under the age of 18 and 13.2% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

External links

- http://www.ci.front-royal.va.us/
- http://www.frontroyalchamber.com/ Category:Towns in Virginia Category:Warren County, Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia, known as The Mountain State, is a state of the United States. West Virginia broke away from Virginia during the American Civil War (1861-1865) and was admitted to the Union as a separate state on June 20, 1863. The Census Bureau considers West Virginia part of the South because of its location below the Mason-Dixon Line, while the USGS designates it as a Mid-Atlantic state. Many in the state's Northern Panhandle, with the nothernmost point of the state about the same latitude as central New Jersey, feel a greater affinity for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, while those in the Eastern Panhandle feel a greater connection with the Washington, D.C. suburbs in western Maryland and Virginia. Lastly, southern West Virginia, in which many West Virginians consider themselves southern, is less than 100 miles north of Tennessee and North Carolina. The state is noted for its coal mining heritage, and labor union organizing mine wars in particular. The state has a rich, stark beauty reflecting its topography. Tourist sites include the New River Gorge Bridge (where on [http://www.wvbridgeday.com/ Bridge Day] the federal government, which controls the landing site, allows BASE jumping [http://www.wvbridgeday.com/bridge-day-BASE-jumping.php] from the bridge), as well as many national and state parks. It is also home to the Green Bank Telescope at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. The U.S. Navy has named a series of ships USS West Virginia in honor of this state.

Information about West Virginia

- Counties and Important Towns in West Virginia
- Economics of West Virginia
- Education in West Virginia
- History of West Virginia
- Miscellaneous information on West Virginia
- West Virginia State Highways
- West Virginia Law and Government
- List of West Virginia state parks

Geography

See: List of West Virginia counties It is bordered by Pennsylvania and Maryland to the north, by Ohio to the north and west, by Kentucky to the west, and by Virginia to the east and south. The Ohio and Potomac rivers form parts of the boundaries. river The state is referred to as The Mountain State, and it is the only state in the nation in which all areas are mountainous. About 75% of the state is within the Cumberland/Allegheny Plateaus region which is not true mountains but rather a dissected plateau. Though the relief is not high, the plateau region is extremely rugged in most areas. (The two plateaus are essentially the same, the difference being only the naming convention of north and south, with West Virginia happening to be in the middle.) On the southeastern state line with Virginia, high peaks in the Monongahela National Forest region give rise to an island of colder climate and ecosystems similar to those of New England and eastern Canada. The native vegetation for most of the state was originally mixed hardwood forest of oak, chestnut, maple, beech, and white pine, with willow along the waterways. Many of the coves are rich in biodiversity and scenic beauty, a fact that is appreciated by native West Virginians, who refer to their home as almost Heaven. The underlying rock strata are sandstones, shales, bituminous coal beds, and limestones laid down in a near shore environment from sediments derived from mountains to the east, in a shallow inland sea on the west. Some beds illustrate a coastal swamp environment, some river delta, some shallow water. Sea level rose and fell many times during the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian eras, giving a variety of rock strata.

Demographics

The population of West Virginia as of 2003 was 1,810,354. Only 1.1% of the state's residents were foreign-born, placing West Virginia last among the 50 states in that statistic. It has the lowest percentage of residents that speak a language other than English in the home (2.7%). The racial makeup of the state is:
- 94.6% White non-Hispanic
- 3.2% Black
- 0.7% Hispanic
- 0.5% Asian
- 0.2% Native American
- 0.9% Mixed race The five largest ancestry groups in West Virginia are: American (23.2%), German (17.2%), Irish (13.5%), English (12%), Italian (4.8%). Many West Virginians identify their ancestry as "American," it is the largest reported ancestry in most counties in the state, and the state has the highest percentage of residents of "American ancestry" in the nation. This choice often corresponds to Scots-Irish heritage. Large numbers of people of German ancestry are present in the northeastern counties of the state. 5.6% of West Virginia's population were reported as under 5, 22.3% under 18, and 15.3% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51.4% of the population.

External links

- [http://www.wv.gov Government]
- [http://www.regiononepdc.org/ Southern WV PDC]
- [http://www.cahaltech.com/~roads Ohio Valley Roads]
- [http://www.wv-guide.com West Virginia Visitor's Guide]
- [http://www.westva.net WestVA.Net]
- [http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/54000.html U.S. Census Bureau]
- [http://members.aol.com/jeff560/famoust.html Famous People of West Virginia]
- [http://photos.historical-markers.org/westvirginia/ West Virginia's Historical Markers]
- [http://www.dep.state.wv.us/ West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection]
- [http://www.wvexp.com/ West Virginia Wiki-Site]
- [http://wvblog.typepad.com raftblog.com]
- Category:States of the United States ko:웨스트버지니아 주 ja:ウェストバージニア州

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

:Harpers Ferry redirects here. For other uses, see Harpers Ferry (disambiguation). Harpers Ferry (disambiguation) Harpers Ferry is a town located in Jefferson County, West Virginia, situated on the banks of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers where the U.S. states of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia meet. The town is surrounded by mountains and is at the bottom of a ravine created by the two rivers. The town is best known historically for John Brown's raid on the Armory in 1859. The town was in Virginia at the time of the raid; West Virginia was created in 1863. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 307. Harpers Ferry is one of the few towns that the Appalachian Trail passes directly through.

History

Appalachian Trail Appalachian Trail In 1751, Robert Harper was given a patent on 125 acres (0.5 km²) at the present location of the town. In 1761, Harper established a ferry across the Potomac making the town a starting point for settlers moving into the Shenandoah Valley and further west. In 1763, the Virginia General Assembly established the town of "Shenandoah Falls at Mr. Harper's Ferry." On October 25, 1783, Thomas Jefferson visited Harpers Ferry. He viewed "the passage of the Patowmac though the Blue Ridge" from a rock which is now named for him. George Washington as president of the Patowmack Company (which was formed to complete river improvements on the Potomac and its tributaries) traveled to Harpers Ferry during the summer of 1785 to determine the need for bypass canals. In 1794, Washington's familiarity with the area lead him to propose the site as the location for a new federal armory and arsenal. Some of Washington's family moved to the area; his great-great nephew, Col. Lewis Washington, was held hostage during Brown's raid. The United States Armory and Arsenal was established in the town in 1799 and the town was transformed into an industrial centre. Between 1801 and the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, the Armory produced more than 600,000 muskets, rifles, and pistols. The inventor John H. Hall pioneered the use of interchangeable parts in firearms manufacture at his Rifle Works in the town between 1820-1840. This industrialization continued in 1833 when the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal reached the town. The canal linked Harpers Ferry with Washington, D.C. A year later, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad arrived. On October 16, 1859, radical abolitionist John Brown led a small group of followers in a raid on Harpers Ferry. Brown hoped to seize the arsenal and use its large cache of weapons to stage a slave uprising throughout the South. However, he and his men were quickly pinned down by local citizens and milita, and forced to take refuge in the engine house adjacent to the arsenal. On October 18, U.S. Marines under the command of Colonel Robert E. Lee stormed the engine house, killing or capturing most of the raiders. Brown was tried for treason by the state of Virginia, convicted, and executed. The failed raid was a major catalyst in accelerating the slide to Civil War. The Civil War was disastrous for Harpers Ferry. Given the town's strategic location on the railroad and at the northern end of the Shenandoah Valley, both Union and Confederate troops moved through Harpers Ferry frequently. One battle during the war, the Battle of Harper's Ferry, was fought here. In fact, the town changed hands eight times between 1861 and 1865. In 1944 most of the town became part of the National Park Service and it is now maintained as the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.

Geography

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park Harpers Ferry is located at 39°19'31" North, 77°44'37" West (39.325398, -77.743599). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.6 km² (0.6 mi²). 1.5 km² (0.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 9.68% water. Today, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal right-of-way has been made into a park, with the C&O Canal Trail following the old towpath from Harpers Ferry to Washington, DC.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 307 people, 153 households, and 89 families residing in the town. The population density is 211.7/km² (552.2/mi²). There are 189 housing units at an average density of 130.3/km² (339.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the town is 89.90% White, 9.12% African American, 0.33% Native American, and 0.65% from two or more races. 0.65% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There are 153 households out of which 17.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.1% are married couples living together, 11.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 41.8% are non-families. 36.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.8% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.01 and the average family size is 2.56. In the town the population is spread out with 17.3% under the age of 18, 2.0% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 30.9% from 45 to 64, and 21.8% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 47 years. For every 100 females there are 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 92.4 males. The median income for a household in the town is $52,344, and the median income for a family is $70,313. Males have a median income of $45,417 versus $22,708 for females. The per capita income for the town is $29,638. 2.2% of the population and 3.2% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 2.8% of those under the age of 18 and 0.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

External links

- [http://www.harpersferrywv.us/ Corporation of Harpers Ferry Website]
- [http://www.harpersferrywv.net/ HarpersFerryWV.net]
- [http://www.nps.gov/hafe/home.htm Harpers Ferry National Historical Park]
- [http://harpersferryinfocenter.org/ Harpers Ferry Main Street InfoCenter]

Maps and satellite imagery

Category:Geography of West Virginia Category:Jefferson County, West Virginia Category:Towns in West Virginia

Native American (U.S.)

:This article is about the people indigenous to the United States. For broader uses of "Native American" and related terms, see Native Americans. Native Americans] Native Americans in the United States (also Indians, American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Peoples, Aboriginal Peoples, Aboriginal Americans, Amerindians, Amerinds, or Original Americans) are those indigenous peoples within the territory that is now encompassed by the continental United States, and their descendants in modern times. This collective term encompasses a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of them still enduring as political communities. A comprehensive tribal list can be found under "Classification of Native Americans." The U.S. states and several of the inhabited insular areas which do not form part of the continental U.S. territory also contain indigenous groups. These other indigenous peoples in the United States are not generally designated as "Native Americans". This includes groups such as the Alaska Natives (Inuit, Yupik, Aleut, etc.), Native Hawaiians (also known as Kanaka Māoli and Kanaka 'Oiwi), and various Pacific Islander peoples such as the Chamorros. There is some controversy surrounding the names used to describe these peoples. U.S. specific teminology considerations are also covered in the Terminology differences section, below.

Early history

See also: archeology of the Americas, models of migration to the New World, and indigenous people of the Americas for more detailed history and migration theories.

The Bering Strait Land Bridge theory

Based on anthropological and genetic evidence, most scientists believe that most Native Americans descend from people who migrated from Siberia across the Bering Land Bridge between 17,000 and 11,000 years ago, where the Bering Strait is today. The exact epoch and route is still a matter of controversy. It should be noted, however, that many Native Americans reject theories of modern anthropology, having their own traditional stories that offer accounts to their origins, which are seen only as folklore by the scientific community. The primarily Siberian origin is widely regarded as the most likely, consisting of at least three separate migrations from Siberia to the Americas:
- The first wave, during the late Pleistocene, would be the forerunners of the Clovis and Folsom cultures, both hunting the abundant large mammals of the virgin continent. This wave eventually spread over the entire hemisphere, as far south as Tierra del Fuego and is believed to have reached the New World no later than 11,000 years ago.
- The second migration brought the ancestors of the Na-Dene peoples. They lived in Alaska and western Canada, but some migrated as far south as the Pacific Northwestern U.S. and the American Southwest, and would be ancestral to the Dene, Apaches and Navajos. This group is believed to have reached North America between 6,000 to 8,000 years ago.
- The third wave brought the ancestors of the Inuit, Yupik and Aleut peoples. They may have come by sea over the Bering Strait, after the land bridge had disappeared. They are believed to have reached Alaska as late as 3,000 years ago. In recent years, molecular genetics studies have suggested as many as four distinct migrations from Asia. These studies also provide surprising evidence of smaller-scale, contemporaneous migrations from Europe, possibly by peoples who had adopted a lifestyle resembling that of Inuits and Yupiks during the last ice age. While many Native American groups retained a nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyle through the time of European occupation of the New World, in some regions, specifically in the Mississippi River valley of the United States, in Mexico, Central America, the Andes of South America, they built advanced civilizations with monumental architecture and large-scale organization into cities and states. A recent (2004) study has claimed evidence which, if accepted, would extensively revise the timeline of human habitation in the Americas. At the Topper site on the Savannah River near Allendale, South Carolina, a team led by University of South Carolina archaeologist Dr. Albert Goodyear reported recovering what they claimed to be stone tool artifacts from strata considerably below that of Clovis culture remains. Using stratigraphy and charcoal material found with the artifacts, radiocarbon dating performed by the University of California at Irvine Laboratory dated these remains to be at least 50,000 years old. This would indicate the presence of humans well before the termination of the last glaciation. Other archaeologists have disputed the dating methodology employed, and have also questioned whether these "artifacts" are not in fact naturally-formed, rather than of human manufacture. Other recent claims for pre-Clovis artifacts have similarly been made in some South American sites. The notion of pre-Clovis habitation continues to be a subject of scholarly debate, and the issue has not yet been satisfactorily resolved.

Settling down

By 1500 B.C. many tribes had settled into small indigenous communities. In several regions temporary hunter-gatherer settlements were transformed into small permanent or semi-permanent settlements and villages, frequently established in the regions such as river valleys which were conducive to the raising of crops. Several such societies and communities over time intensified this practice of established settlements, and grew to support sizeable and concentrated populations. Examples include those of the Mississippian Culture and the Pueblo peoples (Anasazi). They constructed large and complex earthworks, and were particularly skilled at small stone sculptures and engravings on shell and copper. Agriculture was independently developed in what is now the eastern United States by 2500 B.C., based on the domestication of indigenous sunflower, squash and goosefoot. Eventually, in the last eleven hundred years, the Mexican crops of corn and beans were adapted to the shorter summers of eastern North American and replaced the indigenous crops. The large pueblos, or villages, built on top of rocky talleland or mesas of Southwest around A.D. 700, were a complicated aggregate of family apartments. Towns were one large complex of buildings, with multistoried houses arranged around courtyards or plazas. Wooden ladders provided access to upper levels. Under the courtyards, subterranean kivas, or ceremonial structures, served as meeting rooms for religious societies. While exhibiting widely divergent social, cultural, and artistic expressions, all Native American groups worked with materials available to them and employed social arrangements that augmented their means of subsistence and survival.

European colonization

Initial impacts

The European colonization of the Americas forever changed the lives and cultures of the Native Americans. In the 15th to 19th centuries, their populations were ravaged, by the privations of displacement, by disease, and in many cases by warfare with European groups and enslavement by them. The first Native American group encountered by Christopher Columbus, the 250,000 Island Arawaks more properly called Taino of Haiti Quiskaya, Cubanacan (Cuba) and Boriquen as Puerto Rico were known then, were enslaved. It is said that only 500 survived by the year 1550, and the group was considered extinct before 1650. Yet DNA studies show that the genetic contribution of the Taino to that region continues, and the mitochondrial DNA studies of the Taino are said to show relationships to the Northern Indigenous Nations, such as Inuit (Eskimo) and others. In the 15th century Spaniards and other Europeans brought horses to the Americas. Some of these animals escaped and began to breed and increase their numbers in the wild. Ironically, the horse had originally evolved in the Americas, but the last American horses, were game for early hunters, and went extinct about 9000 years ago, just after the end of the last ice age. The re-introduction of the horse had a profound impact on Native American culture in the Great Plains of North America. This new mode of travel made it possible for some tribes to greatly expand their territories, exchange goods with neighboring tribes, and more easily capture game. Europeans also brought diseases against which the Native Americans had no immunity. Chicken pox and measles, though common and rarely fatal among Europeans, often proved fatal to Native Americans, and more dangerous diseases such as smallpox were especially deadly to Native American populations. It is difficult to estimate the total percentage of the Native American population killed by these diseases. Epidemics often immediately followed European exploration, sometimes destroying entire villages. Some historians estimate that up to 80% of some Native populations may have died due to European diseases. For more information, see population history of American indigenous peoples.

Early relations

During the Seven Years' War many Native Americans sided with France although some did fight alongside the British. During the American War of Independence, the newly proclaimed United States competed with the British for the allegiance of Native American nations east of the Mississippi River. Most Native Americans who joined the struggle sided with the British, hoping to use the war to halt colonial expansion onto American Indian land. Many native communities were divided over which side to support in the war. For the Iroquois Confederacy, the American Revolution resulted in civil war. Cherokees split into a neutral (or pro-American) faction and the anti-American Chickamaugas, led by Dragging Canoe. Many other communities were similarly divided. Frontier warfare during the American Revolution was particularly brutal, and numerous atrocities were committed on both sides. Noncombatants of both races suffered greatly during the war, and villages and food supplies were frequently destroyed during military expeditions. The largest of these expeditions was the Sullivan Expedition of 1779, which destroyed more than 40 Iroquois villages in order to neutralize Iroquois raids in upstate New York. The expedition failed to have the desired effect: American Indian activity became even more determined. Native Americans were stunned to learn that when the British made peace with the Americans in the Treaty of Paris (1783), the British had ceded a vast amount of American Indian territory to the United States without even informing their Indian allies. The United States initially treated the American Indians who had fought with the British as a conquered people who had lost their land. When this proved impossible to enforce (the Indians had lost the war on paper, not on the battlefield), the policy was abandoned. The United States was eager to expand, and the national government initially sought to do so only by purchasing Native American land in treaties. The states and settlers were frequently at odds with this policy.

Removal and reservations

Treaty of Paris (1783) In the 19th century, the incessant Westward expansion of the United States incrementally compelled large numbers of Native Americans to resettle further west, sometimes by force, almost always reluctantly. Under President Andrew Jackson, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which authorized the President to conduct treaties to exchange Indian land east of the Mississippi River for lands west of the river. As many as 100,000 American Indians eventually relocated in the West as a result of this Indian Removal policy. In theory, relocation was supposed to be voluntary (and many Indians did remain in the East), but in practice great pressure was put on American Indian leaders to sign removal treaties. Arguably the most egregious violation of the stated intention of the removal policy was the Treaty of New Echota, which was signed by a dissident faction of Cherokees, but not the elected leadership. The treaty was brutally enforced by President Martin Van Buren, which resulted in the deaths of an estimated 4,000 Cherokees (mostly from disease) on the Trail of Tears. Conflicts generally known as "Indian Wars" broke out between U.S. forces and many different tribes. Authorities entered numerous treaties during this period, but later abrogated many for various reasons. Well-known military engagements include the Native American victory at the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876, and the massacre of Native Americans at Wounded Knee in 1890. On January 31, 1876 the United States government ordered all remaining Native Americans to move into reservations or reserves. This, together with the near-extinction of the American Bison which many tribes had lived on, set about the downturn of Prairie Culture that had developed around the use of the horse for hunting, travel and trading. Prairie Culture American policy toward Native Americans has been an evolving process. In the late nineteenth century reformers in efforts to "civilize" Indians adapted the practice of educating native children in Indian Boarding Schools. These schools, which were primarily run by Christians [http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?AuthorID=2616&id=7375], proved traumatic to Indian children, who were forbidden to speak their native languages, taught Christianity instead of their native religions and in numerous other ways forced to abandon their Indian identity[http://www.sacbee.com/static/archive/news/projects/native/day2_main.html] and adopt European-American culture. There are also many documented cases of sexual, physical and mental abuses occurring at these schools [http://www.prsp.bc.ca/history.html] [http://www.amnestyusa.org/amnestynow/soulwound.html].

Current status

There are 563 Federally recognized tribal governments in the United States. The United States recognizes the right of these tribes to self-government and supports their tribal sovereignty and self-determination. These tribes possess the right to form their own government; to enforce laws, both civil and criminal; to tax; to establish membership; to license and regulate activities; to zone; and to exclude persons from tribal territories. Limitations on tribal powers of self-government include the same limitations applicable to states; for example, neither tribes nor states have the power to make war, engage in foreign relations, or coin money. [http://usinfo.state.gov/eur/Archive/2005/Jan/28-691277.html] In addition, there are a number of tribes that are recognized by individual states, but not by the federal government. The rights and benefits associated with state recognition vary from state to state. Military defeat, cultural pressure, confinement on reservations, forced cultural assimilation, outlawing of native languages and culture, termination policies of the 1950s, and 1960s, and slavery have had deleterious effects on Native Americans' mental and physical health. Contemporary health problems include poverty, alcoholism, heart disease, diabetes, and New World Syndrome. As recently as the 1970s, the Bureau of Indian Affairs was still actively pursuing a policy of "assimilation" [http://www.doiu.nbc.gov/orientation/bia2.cfm], the goal of which was to eliminate the reservations and steer Indians into mainstream U.S. culture. As of 2004, there are still claims of theft of Indian land for the coal and uranium it contains. [http://www.angelfire.com/band/senaaeurope/DRelocation.html] [http://www.shundahai.org/bigmtbackground.html] [http://lists.wayne.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind9703&L=tamha&F=&S=&P=7661] [http://www.davidicke.net/emagazine/vol26/articles/tearsd.html] In the state of Virginia, Native Americans face a unique problem. Virginia has no federally recognized tribes, largely due to the work of one man, Walter Ashby Plecker. In 1912, Plecker became the first registrar of the state's Bureau of Vital Statistics, serving until 1946. An avowed white supremacist and fervent advocate of eugenics, Plecker believed that the state's Native Americans had been "mongrelized" with its African American population. A law passed by the state's General Assembly recognized only two races, "white" and "colored". Plecker pressured local governments into reclassifying all Native Americans in the state as "colored", leading to massive destruction of records on the state's Native American community. African American Even after his death, Plecker still haunts the state's Native American community. In order to receive federal recognition and the benefits it confers, tribes must prove their continuous existence since 1900. Plecker's policies have made it impossible for Virginia tribes to do so. The federal government, while aware of Plecker's destruction of records, has so far refused to bend on this bureaucratic requirement. A bill currently before

Shenandoah Valley

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Winchester, Virginia

Geography

Demographics

Interesting Facts

Sites on the National Register of Historic Places

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Appalachian Mountains

Regions

The chief summits

Geology

Flora and fauna

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Appalachian Mountains

Regions

The chief summits

Geology

Flora and fauna

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Name pronunciation and origin

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Further reading

Harrisonburg, Virginia

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Front Royal, Virginia

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About Front Royal

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West Virginia

Information about West Virginia

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Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

History

Geography

Demographics

See also

External links

Maps and satellite imagery

Native American (U.S.)

Early history

The Bering Strait Land Bridge theory

Settling down

European colonization

Initial impacts

Early relations

Removal and reservations

Current status