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 972 West Virginia Route 972 West Virginia Route 972 was a short north–south state highway in Mineral County, West Virginia. It was decommissioned in July 2017, becoming an extension of WV 93. The route connected U.S. Route 220 to U.S. Route 50 in the New Creek Valley. New Creek, West Virginia, the only populated place on the route, is located midway between US 50 and US 220. Route 972 was the highest numbered road in the state of West Virginia. Prior to 1972, WV 972 was part of US 220. In 1972, US 220 was moved to its present alignment east