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
Virginia State Route 144 and north as a continuation of Chester Road through an interchange with the SR 288 freeway. What would become SR 144 was first commissioned in 1930 as SR 425. It was significantly shorter than today's route, only running from State Route 407 in Chester to State Route 410 in Centralia. The route was given its current designation during the 1933 Virginia state highway renumbering. In 1943, it was extended west along SR 407 for a short length, then south to US 1 and US 301 using the routing of what was at the time State Route 621, a secondary road;