Editing Charleston, West Virginia (section)

==History==
===Establishment===
[[File:Charlestonwvzero.jpg|thumb|left|Zero Milestone]]
After the [[American Revolutionary War]], pioneers began making their way out from the early settlements. Many slowly migrated into western [[Virginia]]. Capitalizing on its many resources made Charleston an important part of Virginia and West Virginia history. It is the state's capital and most populous city.

Charleston's history goes back to the 18th century. [[Thomas Bullitt]] was deeded {{convert|1250|acre|km2|0}} of land near the mouth of the [[Elk River (West Virginia)|Elk River]] in 1773. It was inherited by his brother, [[Cuthbert Bullitt]], upon his death in 1778, and sold to Colonel George Clendenin in 1786. Clendenin and his company of Virginia Rangers built the first permanent settlement, Fort Lee, in 1787. This structure occupied the area that is now the intersection of Brooks Street and Kanawha Boulevard. Historical conjecture indicates that Charleston is named after Clendenin's father, Charles. In 1794, the [[Virginia General Assembly]] officially established Charlestown.<ref name=Andre>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1089 |title=Charleston |author=Richard A. Andre |encyclopedia=West Virginia Encyclopedia |location=Charleston, WV |publisher=West Virginia Humanities Council |access-date=March 7, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305062613/http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1089 |archive-date=March 5, 2017}} (Includes timeline)</ref> On the {{convert|40|acre|m2}} that made up the town in 1794, 35 people inhabited seven houses.

Charleston is part of [[Kanawha County]]. The origin of the word Kanawha (pronounced "Ka-NAH-wah"), ''Ka(h)nawha'', derives from the region's [[Iroquoian languages|Iroquoian]] dialects meaning "water way" or "Canoe Way", implying the metaphor "transport way". It was and is the name of the river that flows through Charleston. The "hard H" sound soon dropped out as various European arrivals developed West Virginia.<ref>Kanawha County was named in honor of the Great Kanawha River that runs through the county. The river was named for the Indian tribe that once lived in the area. The spelling of the Indian tribe varied at the time from Conoys to Conois to Kanawha. The latter spelling was used and has gained acceptance over time. {{cite web|url=http://www.polsci.wvu.edu/wv/Kanawha/kanhistory.html |title=Kanawha County History |access-date=October 31, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100616153312/http://www.polsci.wvu.edu/wv/Kanawha/kanhistory.html |archive-date=June 16, 2010}} (December 29, 2008)</ref> The phrase has been a matter of [[Register (sociolinguistics)|register]]. A two-story jail was the first county structure to be built, with the first floor dug into the bank of the [[Kanawha River]].

In 1791, [[Daniel Boone]], who was commissioned a lieutenant colonel of the Kanawha County militia, was elected to serve in the [[Virginia House of Delegates]]. Boone supposedly walked all the way to [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]], the state capital. He served alongside Major [[William Morris (Virginia politician)|William Morris Jr]], representing Kanawha.

===19th century growth===
[[File:Gilliland Cabin Apr 09.JPG|thumb|left|[[William S. Gilliland Log Cabin and Cemetery|Gilliland Log Cabin]]]]
By the early 19th century, salt brines were discovered along the Kanawha River, and the first [[salt well]] was drilled in 1806.{{sfn|Federal Writers' Project|1941}} This created great economic growth in the area. By 1808, 1,250 pounds of salt were being produced daily, and the ''Farmers' Repository'' newspaper began publication.<ref name=LOC>{{cite web|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/search/titles/results/?state=West+Virginia&city=Charleston&rows=50&sort=date |title=U.S. Newspaper Directory |location=Washington DC |work=Chronicling America |publisher=Library of Congress |access-date=March 7, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307233811/http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/search/titles/results/?state=West+Virginia&city=Charleston&rows=50&sort=date |archive-date=March 7, 2017}}</ref> An area adjacent to Charleston, Kanawha Salines (now [[Malden, West Virginia|Malden]]), became the world's top salt producer. Brine was heated over open flames, causing the water to evaporate and leaving a residue of salt crystals. Much of the work was done by enslaved peoples. Historian Cyrus Forman estimated that at the height of production as many as 3,000 slaves worked at more than 60 salt furnaces, which operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Easter |first=Makeda |date=April 4, 2020 |title=Slavery Documents from Southern Saltmakers Bring Light to Dark History |work=The Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2020-04-16/huntington-slavery-collection-west-virginia-salt-works |access-date=June 2, 2023}}</ref> The [[Holly Grove Mansion]] was established during this period.{{sfn|Federal Writers' Project|1941}} In 1818, the Kanawha Salt Company, the first trust in the United States, went into operation. In the same year, "Charlestown" was shortened to "Charleston" to avoid confusion with another [[Charles Town, West Virginia|Charles Town]] in eastern West Virginia, named after George Washington's brother, [[Charles Washington]].{{sfn|Hellmann|2006}} A [[lyceum]] was established around 1841.<ref name="davies">{{cite web|url=http://www.princeton.edu/~davpro/databases/index.html |title=American Libraries before 1876 |author=Davies Project |publisher=Princeton University |access-date=March 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150302215225/http://www.princeton.edu/~davpro/databases/index.html |archive-date=March 2, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Captain James Wilson, while drilling for salt, struck the first [[natural gas]] well in 1815. It was drilled at the site that is now the junction of Brooks Street and Kanawha Boulevard (near the present-day state capitol complex). In 1817, [[coal]] was first discovered and gradually became used as the fuel for the salt works. The Kanawha salt industry declined in importance after 1861, until the onset of [[World War I]] brought a demand for chemical products. The chemicals needed were [[chlorine]] and [[sodium hydroxide]], which could be made from salt brine.

The town continued to grow until the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] began in 1861. After the [[Virginia Secession Convention of 1861]] and a referendum, Virginia seceded from the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]]. But Charleston, like much of western Virginia, was divided in loyalty between the Union and the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]]. On September 13, 1862, the Union and Confederate armies clashed in the [[Battle of Charleston (1862)|Battle of Charleston]]. The [[Confederate States Army|Confederates]] won, but could not hold the area for long. Union soldiers returned in force six weeks later and retook the city.{{sfn|Federal Writers' Project|1941}} Charleston remained under Union control for the remainder of the war.
[[File:Second Charleston West Virginia capitol building.jpg|thumb|left|The second capitol building of West Virginia was built in 1885 after Charleston was declared the capital city. It burned down in 1921.]]
In addition to the dispute over slavery, the North wanted to separate West Virginia from the rest of the state for economic reasons. The heavy industries in the North, particularly the steel business of the upper [[Ohio River]] region, depended on coal from western Virginia mines. Federal units from Ohio marched into western Virginia early in the war solely to capture the mines and control transportation in the area.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}} The [[Wheeling Convention]] of 1861 declared the Ordinance of Succession, and the Confederate state government in [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]], illegal and void, and formed the Unionist [[Restored Government of Virginia]]. The Restored Government and the United States Congress approved the formation of the state of [[West Virginia]], which was admitted on June 20, 1863, as the 35th state, and the Restored Government of Virginia moved to [[Alexandria, Virginia|Alexandria]].{{sfn|Hellmann|2006}}

Choosing the state capital proved difficult. For several years, the capital moved between [[Wheeling, West Virginia|Wheeling]] and Charleston.{{sfn|Britannica|1910}} In 1877, the citizens voted on a permanent location. Charleston received 41,243 votes, [[Clarksburg, West Virginia|Clarksburg]] 29,442, and [[Martinsburg, West Virginia|Martinsburg]] 8,046; Wheeling was not considered. Eight years later the state capitol opened in Charleston.{{sfn|Federal Writers' Project|1941}}

The West Virginia Historical and Antiquarian Society was headquartered in Charleston in 1890.<ref name=StateArchives /><ref>{{citation|author=Appleton Prentiss Clark Griffin |title=Bibliography of American Historical Societies |quote=West Virginia |pages=942+ |series=Annual Report of the American Historical Association |location=Washington, DC |publisher=Government Printing Office |edition=2nd |year= 1907 |hdl= 2027/uc2.ark:/13960/t7dr2pp5f}}</ref> In 1891, the West Virginia Colored Institute, now known as [[West Virginia State University]], was established. The next year, [[West Virginia Junior College|Capitol City Commercial College]] was founded.{{sfn|Chamber of Commerce|1901|p={{page needed|date=September 2022}}}} Charleston's [[Basilica of the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart]] was completed in 1897.

===20th century===
[[File:Street in Negro section, Charleston, West Virginia, September 1938.jpg|thumb|An African American neighborhood in Charleston, 1938]]
Charleston became the center of state government. Natural resources, such as [[coal]] and [[natural gas]], along with [[railroad]] expansion, also contributed to growth. New industries such as chemical, [[glass]], [[timber]] and [[steel]] migrated to the state, attracted by the area's natural resources. The city established a chamber of commerce in 1900.{{sfn|Chamber of Commerce|1901|p={{page needed|date=September 2022}}}} There was a large amount of new construction in Charleston during this period. A number of those buildings, including churches and office buildings, still stand in the heart of downtown along and bordering Capitol Street. The State Bureau of Archives and History was established in 1905, and the Charleston Public Library was established in 1909.<ref name=StateArchives>{{cite web|url=http://www.wvculture.org/history/archives/services.html |title=West Virginia State Archives |publisher=[[West Virginia Division of Culture and History]] |access-date=March 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316095528/http://www.wvculture.org/history/archives/services.html |archive-date=March 16, 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=Library>{{cite web|url=http://kanawhalibrary.org/about/history/ |title=About Us: History |location=Charleston |publisher=Kanawha County Public Library |access-date=March 7, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307210358/http://kanawhalibrary.org/about/history/ |archive-date=March 7, 2017}}</ref>

The city's first chemical manufacturer began operation in 1913.{{sfn|Federal Writers' Project|1941}} Three years later, the [[Libbey-Owens-Ford]] glass manufactory was built,<ref name=WVE>{{cite web|url=http://www.wvencyclopedia.org |title=West Virginia Encyclopedia |location=Charleston, WV |publisher=West Virginia Humanities Council |access-date=March 8, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170319185213/http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/ |archive-date=March 19, 2017}}</ref> as well as [[Charleston High School (West Virginia)|Charleston High School]]. Another large manufacturer, [[Owens-Illinois|Owens Bottle Company]], opened in 1917. [[Charleston City Hall]] was built in 1921. In the same year, a fire at the capitol building resulted in a new, hastily built structure being opened, but it too burned down in 1927. A Capitol Building Commission, created by the legislature in 1921, authorized construction of the [[West Virginia State Capitol|present capitol]]. Architect [[Cass Gilbert]] designed the buff-colored [[Indiana limestone]] structure in the [[Neo-Renaissance|Italian Renaissance]] style, with a final cost of just under $10 million. After the three stages of construction were completed, Governor [[William G. Conley]] dedicated the West Virginia State Capitol on June 20, 1932. Charleston Municipal Airport was established in 1909.{{sfn|Hellmann|2006}} In 1934, the city library expanded to become the Kanawha County Public Library system.<ref name=Library /> In 1935, [[Morris Harvey College]] relocated to Charleston from [[Barboursville, West Virginia]].<ref name=UC>{{cite web|url=http://www.ucwv.edu/About-UC/UC-at-a-Glance/History/ |title=Our History |publisher=University of Charleston |access-date=March 8, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308222506/http://www.ucwv.edu/About-UC/UC-at-a-Glance/History/ |archive-date=March 8, 2017}} (Timeline)</ref>

[[File:Chemical-plant-charleston-wv1.jpg|thumb|left|A chemical plant near Charleston in 1939]]
[[Charleston Municipal Auditorium]] was completed in 1939.{{sfn|Federal Writers' Project|1941}} During [[World War II]], the first and largest [[styrene-butadiene]] plant in the U.S. opened in nearby [[Institute, West Virginia|Institute]], providing a [[Synthetic rubber|replacement]] for [[Natural rubber|rubber]] to the war effort.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/341651/institute_and_wwii__creation_of_synthetic_rubber_plant_was/index.html |first=Clarence M. |last=Nelson |title=Institute and WWII: Creation of Synthetic Rubber Plant Was Exciting |publisher=redOrbit |date=December 28, 2005 |access-date=February 14, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090920210307/http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/341651/institute_and_wwii__creation_of_synthetic_rubber_plant_was/index.html |archive-date=September 20, 2009}}</ref> After the war ended, Charleston was on the brink of some significant construction. One of the first during this period was Kanawha Airport (now [[Yeager Airport]], named after General [[Chuck Yeager]]). Built in 1947, the construction encompassed clearing {{convert|360|acre|km2|1}} on three mountaintops and moving more than nine million cubic yards of earth.<ref name=Andre /> Kanawha Boulevard, a riverfront four-lane road, was also built in the early 1940s.{{sfn|Federal Writers' Project|1941}} The [[Charleston Civic Center]] opened in 1959. Charleston began to be integrated into the [[Interstate Highway System]] in the 1960s when three major interstate systems—[[Interstate 64 in West Virginia|I-64]], [[Interstate 77 in West Virginia|I-77]] and [[Interstate 79#West Virginia|I-79]] were designated, all converging in Charleston. In 1961, the [[Kanawha River]] flooded much of the lower-lying parts of Charleston.{{sfn|Hellmann|2006}} In 1973, Morris Harvey College was renamed to be the [[University of Charleston]].<ref name=UC />

[[File:CAPITOL STREET "MAIN DRAG" OF CHARLESTON - NARA - 551125.jpg|thumb|Capitol Street, June 1973]]
In 1983, the [[Charleston Town Center]] opened its doors downtown. It was the largest urban-based mall east of the [[Mississippi River]], featuring three stories of shops and eateries. Downtown revitalization began in earnest in the late 1980s. Funds were set aside for streetscaping as Capitol and Quarrier streets saw new building facades, trees along the streets, and brick walkways installed. For a time, the opening of the Charleston Town Center Mall had a somewhat negative impact on the main streets of downtown Charleston, as many businesses closed and relocated into the mall. Also in 1983, West Virginia Public Radio launched a live-performance radio program statewide called ''[[Mountain Stage]]''.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mountainstage.org/Pages/default.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091030234033/http://www.mountainstage.org/ |url-status=dead |title=Home |archive-date=October 30, 2009 |website=www.mountainstage.org |access-date=October 26, 2019}}</ref> What began as a live, monthly statewide broadcast went on to national distribution in 1986 through [[National Public Radio]] and around the world on the [[Voice of America]] satellite service.

The Robert C. Byrd Federal Building, Haddad Riverfront Park, and Capitol Market are just a few of the new developments that have helped growth in the downtown area during the 1990s. Charleston launched its city website in 1998.<ref>{{cite web|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/19981205023347/http://www.cityofcharleston.org/ |url=http://www.cityofcharleston.org |archive-date=December 5, 1998 |title=City of Charleston, West Virginia |via=Internet Archive, [[Wayback Machine]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000925092129/http://www.officialcitysites.org/WestVirginia/Cities/Charleston.htm |url=http://www.officialcitysites.org/WestVirginia/Cities/Charleston.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 25, 2000 |title=United States of America: West Virginia |work=Official City Sites |editor1=Kevin Hyde |editor2=Tamie Hyde |location=Utah |oclc=40169021}}</ref>

[[File:Photograph of President William J. Clinton Addressing the Citizens of Charleston, West Virginia - NARA - 2945739.jpg|thumb|President [[Bill Clinton]] addressing a crowd in Charleston in 1993]]

===21st century===
2003 marked the opening of the [[Clay Center (Charleston, West Virginia)|Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences]].<ref name=Andre /> The center includes the Maier Foundation Performance Hall, the Walker Theatre, the Avampato Discovery Museum and the [https://www.theclaycenter.org/museum-of-art/ Juliet Art Museum]. Also on site is the ElectricSky Theater, a 175-seat combination [[planetarium]] and dome-screen cinema. Movies shown at the theatre include educational large format ([[70 mm film|70 mm]]) presentations and are often seen in similar [[IMAX#Dome and Omnimax|Omnimax]] theatres. Planetarium shows are staged as a combination of pre-recorded and live presentations. The [[West Virginia Music Hall of Fame]] was established in 2005.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lilly |first=John |title=West Virginia Music Hall of Fame |url=http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/2420 |website=West Virginia Encyclopedia |publisher=West Virginia Humanities Council |date=January 21, 2016 |access-date=November 29, 2021 |archive-date=November 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108025827/http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/2420 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Many festivals and events were also incorporated into the calendar, including Multifest, Vandalia Festival, a July 4 celebration with fireworks at Haddad Riverfront Park, and the already popular Sternwheel Regatta, which was founded in 1970, provided a festive atmosphere for residents to enjoy. In 2005 FestivALL Charleston was established and has grown into a ten-day festival offering a variety of performances, events and exhibits in music, dance, theatre, visual arts and other entertainments.

Charleston has one central agency for its economic development efforts, the Charleston Area Alliance. The Alliance works with local public officials and the private sector to build the economy of the region and revitalize its downtown. Charleston also has an economic and community development organization focused on the East End and West Side urban neighborhood business districts, Charleston Main Streets.