Charleston West Virginia
About Charleston
Charleston is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers in Kanawha County. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 51,400, while its metropolitan area had 304,214. New definitions from February 28, 2013 placed the population at 240,000.[6] The metropolitan area is the second-largest in the State of West Virginia behind the Huntington-Ashland-Ironton metropolitan area. Charleston is the county seat of Kanawha County.
Early industries important to Charleston included salt and the first natural gas well.[7] Later, coal became central to economic prosperity in the city and the surrounding area. Today, trade, utilities, government, medicine and education play the central role in the city's economy.
The first permanent settlement, Ft. Lee, was built in 1788. In 1791, Daniel Boone was a member of the Kanawha County Assembly.
Charleston is the home of the West Virginia Power (formerly the Charleston Alley Cats and the Charleston Wheelers) minor league baseball team, the West Virginia Wild minor league basketball team, and the annual 15-mile (24 km) Charleston Distance Run. Yeager Airport and the University of Charleston are also located in the city.
Charleston is also home to the 130th Airlift Wing of the West Virginia Air National Guard.
