Charleston is West Virginia's State Capital in
Kanawha County (
Southern Region), as part of the
Charleston, West Virginia metro area.
Interstates 77, 79 and 64 converge in the city, Amtrak stops at the downtown train depot, and mountaintop Yeager Airport is a 10 minute drive.
Charleston was founded in 1794. From 1788-95, Daniel Boone lived across the river. He served in the Virginia Assembly in 1791.
Remains of an American Indian burial ground are in
South Charleston at MacCorkle and D streets. Appalachian music, ethnic and traditional foods, West Virginia arts and crafts, dancing, storytelling and contests are part of the Vandalia Gathering, held on the Capitol lawn and in the Cultural Center on Memorial Day weekend.
Vandalia, proposed as the 14th colony during the late 1760s, would have encompassed most of present-day West Virginia and most of Kentucky.
Nearby Kanawha State Forest offers camping, swimming, hiking, cross country skiing, horseback riding, picnicking, playgrounds, fishing and hunting.
