Charleston History Facts and Timeline

(Charleston, West Virginia - WV, USA)

The real history of modern-day Charleston began at the end of the American Revolutionary War (1775 to 1783), when settlers chose the western side of the Virginia territory as the place to start a new community.

A sizeable plot of land, measuring more than 485 hectares / 1,200 acres was purchased by one Colonel George Clendenin in the year 1786. He favored this site due to its position in between the Elk River and the Kanawha River. The following year, Clendenin erected Fort Lee and founded his community, naming it 'Charles Town' after his father.

History buffs tracing the roots of Charleston will be interested to learn that the site of the original Fort Lee settlement was at the junction of today's Kanawha Boulevard and Brooks Street, on the eastern bank of the Kanawha River and close to the West Virginia State Capitol Building.

Founding of the City, Growth and Salt

A few years passed and the settlement of Charleston was officially recognised by the Virginia General Assembly. By now, there were just a handful of houses, occupied by large families supporting their community by farming the land.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the fortunes of Charleston were about to take a turn for the better, following the discovery of salt next to the river. A salt well was created to extract this valuable commodity and a prosperous era in the city's history began. Neighboring Malden (then known as Kanawha Salines) teamed up with Charleston, quickly becoming the world's biggest producer of salt.

Coal, Conflict and Capital Status

The discovery of coal helped to power the growing business of salt extraction, and the demand for salt continued for the next few decades, declining in the 1860s at the time of the Civil War (1861 to 1865).

Conflict came in the year of 1862, when the Battle of Charleston took place on September 13th. General Loring arrived with his Confederate army of 5,000 men to fight the Union forces and take control of the city. However, although he was successful, his victory lasted just six weeks and he rapidly withdrew when under threat of attack.

Following the end of the Civil War, the territory of Virginia was divided and the state of West Virginia officially came into being, becoming North America's 35th state. Deciding upon a state capital took several years, and both Charleston and Wheeling (roughly 170 miles / 274 km to the northeast) intermittently took on this prestigious role. Eventually, following a state vote in 1877, it was decided that Charleston should be the capital and the next decade in history saw the construction of the very first West Virginia State Capitol Building.

The 20th Century Onwards

A time of great prosperity came in the early part of the 20th century, when coal, natural gas, timber and steel production all brought wealth to the city. Growth continued when the railroad was extended, providing better transportation connections to the rest of the state. In 1932, the current West Virginia State Capitol Building was built, after the previous incarnation suffered major fire damage roughly a decade earlier.

Charleston's Wertz Airfield was closed during the Second World War, due to a huge rubber factory being built next door and blocking the approaches. After the war, previous plans to build a new airport were implemented and Kanawha Airport (later renamed as Yeager Airport) was born.

Other important dates in the history of Charleston include the completion of the Civic Center in 1959, the construction of interstates I-64, I-77 and I-79 in the 1960s, and the opening of the Charleston Town Center shopping mall in 1983. More recently, the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences arrived in 2003, with its planetarium, theater and museums, while some significant annual festivals also began in this decade, such as FestivALL each June.