Southern West Virginia is a culturally and geographically distinct region in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

. Southern West Virginia is known for its

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

heritage and Southern affinity. The region is also closely identified with southwestern

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

and southeastern

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

, with close proximity to

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

and

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

. Today, Southern West Virginia continues to grapple with poverty and continuing population loss. Almost the entire region is located in

West Virginia's 3rd congressional district West Virginia's 3rd congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in southern West Virginia. The district covers the state's second-largest city, Huntington; includes Bluefield, Princeton, and Beckley; and has a long history of co ...

, which is represented by Carol Miller. Southern West Virginia, in a cultural and historical context, includes Boone County, Fayette County, Greenbrier County, Lincoln County, Logan County, McDowell County, Mercer County,

Mingo County Mingo County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,568. Its county seat and largest city is Williamson. Created in 1895, Mingo is West Virginia's newest county, named for the historic ...

, Monroe County, Nicholas County, Raleigh County, Summers County, and Wyoming County. Newrivergorgebridge

The City of Beckley, in Raleigh County, is the largest city in this region, followed by Bluefield, in Mercer County. Beckley has undergone a period of modest economic growth, and serves as the primary economic and cultural hub of much of Southern West Virginia.

Attractions

Places of interest and potential attractions include

New River Gorge The New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is a unit of the United States National Park Service (NPS) designed to protect and maintain the New River Gorge in southern West Virginia in the Appalachian Mountains. Established in 1978 as a nat ...

New River Gorge Bridge The New River Gorge Bridge is a steel arch bridge long over the New River Gorge near Fayetteville, West Virginia, in the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States. With an arch long, the New River Gorge Bridge was the world's longest sin ...

, Tamarack, Best of West Virginia, and

The Greenbrier The Greenbrier is a luxury resort located in the Allegheny Mountains near White Sulphur Springs in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, in the United States. Since 1778, visitors have traveled to this part of the state to "take the waters" of ...

Winterplace Ski Resort and

Summersville Lake Summersville Lake is a reservoir located in the US state of West Virginia. The lake is formed by a rock-fill dam (Summersville Dam) on the Gauley River, south of Summersville in Nicholas County. It is the largest lake in West Virginia, with ...

are both recreation options also present here. Southern West Virginia is also home for numerous renowned sports teams, including the

Bluefield Blue Jays The Bluefield Blue Jays were a minor league baseball team of the Rookie Appalachian League representing the twin cities of Bluefield, West Virginia, and Bluefield, Virginia. The team played their home games at Bowen Field at Peters Park, a histo ...

, the Princeton Rays, and the

West Virginia Miners The West Virginia Miners are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Beckley, West Virginia. The team began play in the Prospect League for the 2010 season. Home games are played at Linda K. Epling Stadium Linda K. Epling Stadium is a base ...

Educational institutions

;Colleges and Universities

Universities and colleges

Southern West Virginia has a large array of universities and colleges, including Appalachian Bible College, Bluefield State College,

Bridgemont Community and Technical College BridgeValley Community and Technical College (BVCTC) is a public community college with multiple campuses in West Virginia. It was formed in 2014 by the merger of Bridgemont Community and Technical College of Montgomery, West Virginia and Kanawha ...

Concord University Concord University (Concord) is a public university in Athens, West Virginia. It was founded on February 28, 1872, when the West Virginia Legislature passed "an Act to locate a Branch State Normal School, in the town of Concord Church, in the ...

University of Charleston The University of Charleston (UC) is a private non-profit university with its main campus in Charleston, West Virginia. The university also has a location in Beckley, West Virginia, known as UC-Beckley. History The school was founded in 1888 a ...

–Beckley, New River Community and Technical College, Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College,

West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine The West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) is a public medical school located in Lewisburg, West Virginia. Founded in 1974, WVSOM is one of three medical schools in West Virginia and the sole institution that grants the Doctor of Os ...

, and

West Virginia University Institute of Technology West Virginia University Institute of Technology (WVU Tech, WVIT, WVU Beckley, or West Virginia Tech) is a public college in Beckley, West Virginia. It is a divisional campus of West Virginia University. History The college was founded in 189 ...

Public high schools

The state's public high schools are Bluefield High School, Chapmanville Regional High School, Fayetteville High School (West Virginia), Greenbrier East High School, Greenbrier West High School,

Independence High School (West Virginia) Independence High School is a consolidated high school in rural Raleigh County, West Virginia, located in the town of Coal City, West Virginia. The names of Independence and its sister school and rival Liberty High School (Glen Daniel, West Virgin ...

, James Monroe High School (West Virginia), Lincoln County High School (West Virginia),

Liberty High School (Glen Daniel, West Virginia) Liberty High School, alternately referred to as Liberty-Raleigh or Liberty of Raleigh, is a consolidated high school in rural Raleigh County, West Virginia, located in the town of Glen Daniel, West Virginia. The names of Liberty and its sister sc ...

, Logan High School (West Virginia), Man High School, Meadow Bridge High School, Midland Trail High School, Mingo Central Comprehensive High School, Montcalm High School, Mount View High School (West Virginia), Nicholas County High School, Oak Hill High School (West Virginia), PikeView High School,

Princeton High School Princeton High School may refer to: * Princeton High School (Illinois), Princeton, Illinois * Princeton Community High School, Princeton, Indiana * Princeton High School (Minnesota), Princeton, Minnesota * Princeton Junior-Senior High School, Princ ...

, Richwood High School (West Virginia), River View High School (West Virginia), Scott High School (Madison, West Virginia),

Shady Spring High School Shady Spring High School is a high school in Shady Spring, West Virginia, which is a suburb of Beckley, West Virginia, including the gated community A gated community (or walled community) is a form of residential community or housing estat ...

, Sherman High School (Seth, West Virginia), Summers County High School, Tug Valley High School,

Valley High School (Smithers, West Virginia) Valley High School was a combined middle and high school, serving grades 6 through 12, located in Smithers, West Virginia. On September 7, 2016, a special state committee voted to close the school and split the student body between Riverside Hi ...

Van Junior-Senior High School Van High School is a combined junior and senior high school in Van, West Virginia, USA, serving the southwestern part of Boone County, West Virginia. The school has a rivalry with Scott High School due to the threat of consolidation. When it comes ...

Westside High School (West Virginia) Westside High School is a consolidated regional high school in Clear Fork, West Virginia serving the western half of Wyoming County, West Virginia. It opened in 2002 and consolidated the former Oceana High School and Baileysville High School, al ...

Woodrow Wilson High School (Beckley, West Virginia) Woodrow Wilson High School (also, just “Beckley”) is a high school located in Beckley, West Virginia, teaching grades nine through twelve. It is one of four secondary schools in the Raleigh County Public School District. The school’s colors ...

, and

Wyoming East High School Wyoming East High School is a consolidated regional high school in New Richmond, West Virginia serving the eastern half of Wyoming County, West Virginia. It opened in 1998 and consolidated the former Pineville High School and Mullens High School ...

Private secondary schools

Southern West Virginia's private secondary schools are

Beth Haven Christian School Beth may refer to: Letter and number *Bet (letter) Bet, Beth, Beh, or Vet is the second letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician Bēt , Hebrew Bēt , Aramaic Bēth , Syriac Bēṯ , and Arabic . Its sound value is the voiced bi ...

Bluefield International Academy Bluefield International Academy was a residential boarding school located in Bluefield, West Virginia. The school occupied an area of and used the ancient Indian Gurukul Education in India is primarily managed by state-run public educat ...

, Greater Beckley Christian School,

Mercer Christian Academy Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader, ...

Mountain View Christian School A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

Regional Christian School In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

Rainelle Christian Academy Rainelle is a town on the western edge of Greenbrier County, West Virginia, Greenbrier County, West Virginia, United States. It sits at the base of Sewell Mountain and Sims Mountain, and is bisected by the Meadow River. The only means of transpo ...

Seneca Trail Christian Academy Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...

, Trinity Christian Academy, and

Victory Baptist Academy The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitute ...

Historical events and landmarks

The main historical events and landmarks located in Southern West Virginia are the

Hatfield–McCoy feud The Hatfield–McCoy feud, also described by journalists as the Hatfield–McCoy conflict, involved two rural United States, American families of the West Virginia–Kentucky area along the Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River (Kentucky-West Virgini ...

John Henry (folklore) John Henry is an American folk hero. An African American, he is said to have worked as a "steel-driving man"—a man tasked with hammering a steel drill into rock to make holes for explosives to blast the rock in constructing a railroad tunnel. ...

, and

The West Virginia Mine Wars ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

Media

TV

TV networks based in Southern West Virginia include the

WVVA WVVA (channel 6) is a television station licensed to Bluefield, West Virginia, United States, serving the Bluefield– Beckley– Oak Hill market as an affiliate of NBC and The CW Plus. Owned by Gray Television, the station maintains studios on ...

- Bluefield -

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

- 6, the WOAY - Oak Hill - ABC - 4, the WVNS -

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest i ...

- CBS - 59, and the WLFB - Bluefield - Religious - 40.

Radio

Radio stations based in Southern West Virginia include

WCIR-FM WCIR-FM (103.7 MHz) is a contemporary hit radio formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Beckley, West Virginia, United States, serving Southern West Virginia. WCIR-FM is owned and operated by Southern Communications. Coverage area The sta ...

- Beckley -

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "conte ...

- 103.7 FM,

WTNJ-FM WTNJ (105.9 FM) is a country formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Mount Hope, West Virginia Mount Hope is a city in Fayette County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 1,414 at the 2010 census. History The community to ...

- Mt. Hope -

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whil ...

- 105.9 FM,

WHAJ-FM WHAJ (104.5 FM, "J104") is a contemporary hit radio formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Bluefield, West Virginia, serving Southern West Virginia and Southwestern Virginia. WHAJ is owned and operated by Charles Spencer and Rick Lamber ...

- Bluefield -

Hot AC Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, qui ...

- 104.5 FM, WVOW-FM -

Logan Logan may refer to: Places * Mount Logan (disambiguation) Australia * Logan (Queensland electoral district), an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Logan, Victoria, small locality near St. Arnaud * Logan City, local g ...

- Variety - 101.9 FM,

WJLS-FM WJLS-FM (99.5 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Beckley, West Virginia, serving Southeastern West Virginia and Southwestern Virginia with a country music format. The station, which utilized the call letters WBKW from 1957 to 1990, was ...

- Beckley -

- 99.5 FM, WXCC-FM - Williamson -

- 96.5 FM, WAXS-FM - Oak Hill -

Oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as wel ...

- 94.1 FM, and

WRON-FM WRON-FM is a country formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Lewisburg, West Virginia, serving the Lewisburg/ Ronceverte/ Rainelle/ Union area. WRON-FM is owned and operated by Radio Greenbrier, Inc. Station Swap and SaleAll Accessreporte ...

- Ronceverte - Good Time Oldies - 97.7 FM.

Population

External links

Southern West Virginia Convention & Visitors Bureau
{{coord, 37, 50, N, 81, 10, W, region:US-WV_scale:1000000, display=title Regions of West Virginia Geography of Appalachia Geography of West Virginia

Attractions

Educational institutions

Universities and colleges

Public high schools

Private secondary schools

Historical events and landmarks

Media

TV

Radio

Population

See also

External links