Editing Wise County, Virginia (section)

==History==
The [[Cherokee]] colonized the area including Wise from the [[Xualae]] between 1671 and 1685. It was later contested by the [[Iroquois|Six Nations]] and the [[Shawnee]]. Cherokee and Shawnee hunting parties fought a protracted battle at the headwaters of the [[Clinch River]] for two days in the summer of 1786, a victory for the Cherokee although losses were heavy on both sides.

The first white explorers to reach present-day Wise county are said to have been [[Thomas Walker (explorer)|Thomas Walker]] and [[Christopher Gist]], both in 1750. Several forts were built all along the Clinch from 1774 onward, but only after [[Chickamauga Cherokee]] leader [[Bob Benge]] was slain in 1794 was present-day Wise considered safe for white settlers even to hunt in. One of the earliest settlers within the county was William Wells around 1792.<ref>Luther Foster Addison, 1988, ''The Story of Wise County'' pp. 1–26</ref>

In the 1880s, coal deposits became the dominant resource utilized in the area. The Stonega Coke and Coal Company (SC&C) was formed in the town of [[Appalachia, Virginia]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.swvamuseum.org/coalcamps.html|title=Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park|website=www.swvamuseum.org|access-date=June 22, 2019|archive-date=June 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190620015932/http://www.swvamuseum.org/coalcamps.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Immigration trends and economic conditions across the country attracted many people to the area for work, including African Americans and Irish, Polish, Italian, and Hungarian immigrants.

Virginia's two highest security state prisons are located in Wise County: [[Red Onion State Prison]], opened in 1998, and [[Wallens Ridge State Prison]], opened in 1999.<ref>[http://realradio804.com/va-continues-program-recognized-for-transforming-highest-security-prisons/ VA Continues Program Recognized for Transforming Highest-Security Prisons]</ref>

In July 2012 Dominion Energy built [[Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center]] in Wise County, a hybrid power plant that burns 80% coal and up to 20% biomass. In 2014, the plant was fined $47,651 by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality for emitting carbon monoxide and other gases at levels exceeding state regulations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Portals/0/DEQ/Enforcement/FinalOrders/Consent%20for%20VA%20City%20Hybrid%20Energy%20Center.pdf|title=State Air Pollution Control Board Enforcement Action- Order By Consent Issued To Virginia Electric Power Company, D/B/A Dominion Virginia Power For The Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center|website=Virginia Department of Environmental Quality|access-date=May 14, 2018|archive-date=January 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126221436/http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Portals/0/DEQ/Enforcement/FinalOrders/Consent%20for%20VA%20City%20Hybrid%20Energy%20Center.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>