West Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, Virginia. After Virginia seceded from the Union in 1861, the northwestern counties of Virginia loyal to the United States started the process which would ultimately create the State of West Virginia on June 20, 1863. Settling on a state capital location proved to be difficult. For several years, the capital of West Virginia shifted back and forth between Wheeling and Charleston. Other locations, including Martinsburg and Clarksburg were offered as alternatives. The state's citizens voted on the final location of their capital, Charleston, on August 7, 1877. From the state's inception in 1863, the legislature met in the
West Virginia Route 17 West Virginia Route 17 West Virginia Route 17 is a north-south state highway located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of West Virginia. The southern terminus of the route is at West Virginia Route 10 in Stollings a short distance east of Logan. The northern terminus is at West Virginia Route 85 in Madison. The current alignment of WV 17 was once part of U.S. Route 119. US 119 was moved off of this routing when Corridor G was complete from Chapmanville to Danville by 1976. Once that section of four-lane highway was completed, US 119 was realigned