About Charleston

Charleston is the capital of West Virginia. Currently, Charleston is the largest city in the state. It is the county seat of Kanawha County. The Kanawha River meanders through the valley and mountains surrounding the capital city. The river is the trademark of commercial and recreational activity, and barges can be seen transporting coal daily. The City of Charleston, a gateway city with convenient access to three major interstate systems, has outstanding opportunities for its citizens. Several large companies are headquartered in the Charleston area including West Virginia-American Water Company, United National Banks, Inc., Gino’s Pizza and Spaghetti and Tudor’s Biscuit World.

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History

After the American Revolutionary War, pioneers began making their way out from the early settlements. Many slowly migrated into the western part of Virginia. Capitalizing on its many resources made Charleston an important part of Virginia and West Virginia history. Today, Charleston is the largest city in the state and the state capital.

Charleston’s history is rich and vibrant, going back more than 200 years. The Bullitt family was deeded 1,250 acres of land near the mouth of the Elk River in 1774. The land was later sold to Col. George Clendenin in 1786. The first permanent settlement, Fort Lee, was built in 1788 by Col. Clendenin and his company of Virginia Rangers.

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Fast Facts

City Population: 51,662

Median Age: 39.6

Ethnic Make-up:

White/Caucasian: 82.3%

African American: 16.2%

Other: 1.5%

Housing units: 115,409

Weather

By Car

Interstate
Charleston is one of the most accessible cities by auto, from all regions. Three interstate highways, I-64, I-77 and I-79, converge in Charleston, providing easy access from regional metropolitan centers.

West Virginia Department of Transportation
(304) 558-3900
Kanawha City Regional Office
140 Kanawha Mall
Charleston, WV 25387
(800) 642-9066
www.wvdot.com

Voter Registration

Secretary of State
(304) 558-6000
Elections Division
Bldg. 1, Suite 157-K
1900 Kanawha Blvd. East
Charleston, WV 25305-0770
www.wv.gov

You are eligible to register to vote in West Virginia if you are:
• A resident of West Virginia and the county where you register.
• A U.S. citizen.
• At least 17 years old and 18 before the next general election.
• Not currently under conviction for a felony, including probation or parole, or a court ruling of mental incompetence. (Voting rights are restored when the term of conviction ends.)

You may register at any time. To be eligible to vote in a specific election, you must register 21 days before that election. The easiest way to register is to download a mail-in registration form from the above website. You may also register to vote when getting your driver’s license.

WV State Democratic Party
(304) 342–8121
717 Lee Street, Suite 214
Charleston, WV 25301
www.wvdemocrats.com

WV State Republican Party
(304) 768-0493
PO Box 2711
Charleston, WV 25330
www.wvgop.org

Public Transportation

Kanawha Valley Regional Transportation (KRT)
(304) 343-7586
1550 Fourth Ave.
Charleston, WV
www.rideonkrt.com

City transportation consists of 65 buses on over 25 daily routes, including shuttle buses and old-time trolley buses. Trolleys and regular buses can be chartered for special events.

Inter-City Transportation
Amtrak
(800) 872-7245
350 MacCorkle Avenue – Southeast
Charleston, WV 25314
www.amtrak.com

Greyhound Bus
(304) 357-0056
300 Reynolds St.
Charleston, WV
www.greyhound.com

Service from City to numerous locations throughout the United States.

Air Transportation

Yeager Airport
Airport Rd
Charleston, WV 25311
(304) 345-0661
www.yeagerairport.com

Yeager Airport is about 3 miles east of downtown Charleston.  It has daily nonstop flights to 10 major cities within the US, and then connects to flights worldwide.

Parking
The long-term entrances are first as you round the hill at the top of Airport Road. Continue around the circle and past the Terminal Building to the short-term entrance. The parking facilities are attended 24 hours a day.

Rates
Grace period – 7 minutes

Short-Term
0-1 hour $1.50
Additional 1/2 hour $1.00
Daily maximum $8.00

Long-Term
0-2 hours $3.00
2-6 hours $3.50
6-10 hours $4.00
10-24 hours $6.00
Daily rate $6.00 (as many days as needed)

Meter Lot
25 cents per 15 minutes

Television

Radio

Newspapers

Charleston Newspapers
(304) 348-4800, (800) WVA-NEWS
1001 Virginia St. E.
Charleston, WV 25301
www.cnpapers.com

The Charleston Gazette is the largest circulation newspaper in West Virginia, published Monday through Friday in the morning. The Charleston Daily Mail is the city’s weekday afternoon newspaper, published Monday through Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, the Charleston Gazette and the Daily Mail combine to produce a newspaper titled the Charleston Gazette-Mail.

Attractions

Charleston’s doorway opens to reveal myriad attractions just a short drive away.

Spending time in Charleston is the perfect way to relax and enjoy yourself. Surrounding Charleston, however, are even more wonderful attractions. Check out some of the most popular ones close by the Charleston area.

Avampato Discovery Museum
(304) 344-8035
300 Leon Sullivan Way
Charleston, WV 25314
www.avampatoart.com

Located inside the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences-WV, the Avampato Discovery Museum features two floors of interactive science exhibits.

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Culture & Performing Arts

Charleston has many performing arts groups ranging from nonprofessional community groups to the professional with outstanding guest artists. These groups include: Charleston Ballet; Charleston Chamber Music Society; Charleston Civic Chorus; Charleston Community Music Association; Charleston Light Opera Guild; Children’s Theatre of Charleston; Friends of Old Time Music and Dance (FOOTMAD); Kanawha Players; The West Virginia Youth Symphony Orchestra. For more information, call Fund for the Arts at (304) 345-0775.

Charleston Stage Company
(304) 343-5272
123 Summers St
Charleston, WV 25301

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Shopping

Currently there are 2 shopping malls in the city of Charleston. The largest mall in the city and the state is the Charleston Town Center Mall. Opening in 1983, the Town Center Mall is a 3 story shopping and dining facility, with 130 specialty stores. Macy’s, Sears and J.C. Penny are the mall’s current anchor stores. There are also 6 major restaurants located on street level and 12 fast food restaurants representing the food court, located on the third floor of the mall. The other mall in the city is the Kanawha Mall located in the Kanawha City neighborhood of Charleston. This mall is much smaller in size compared to the Town Center Mall, with Elder- Berman and Gabriel Brothers as anchor stores.

There are 3 major shopping plazas located in nearby South Charleston, including Southride Center, Dudley Farms Plaza and The Shopps at Trace Fork.

Charleston Town Center Mall
(304) 345-9525
3000 Charleston Town Center
Charleston, WV 25389
www.charlestontowncenter.com

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Spectator Sports

West Virginia Power Baseball
(304) 344-2287
601 Morris Street, Suite 201
Charleston, WV 25301
South Atlantic League
Appalachian Power Park
www.wvpower.com

West Virginia Wild Basketball
International Basketball League
South Charleston Community Center

West Virginia Chaos Soccer
(304) 932-4152
USL Premier Development League
Schoenbaum Soccer Field
224 Capitol Street
Charleston, WV 25301
www.westvirginiachaos.com

Community Centers

Kanawha City Community Center
(304) 348-6484
3511 Venable Avenue
Charleston, WV 25304

Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center
(304) 348-6404
314 Donnally Street
Charleston, WV 25301

North Charleston Community Center
(304) 348-6884
2009 7th Avenue
Charleston, WV 25312

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Golf Courses

Berry Hills Country Club
(304) 744-8790
1 Berry Hills Drive
Charleston, WV 25314

Cato Park
(304) 348-6859
100 Baker Lane
Charleston, WV 25302

Coonskin Golf Course
(304) 341-8013
2000 Coonskin Drive
Charleston, WV 25311

Education

Community Colleges
Community colleges exist for two major purposes. The first is to serve as a bridge from high school to college by providing courses for transfer toward a bachelor’s degree. Four out of 10 collegebound high-school graduates start their college education this way.

The second function of community colleges is to prepare students for the job market by offering entry-level career training as well as courses for adult students who want to upgrade their skills for the workplace. They often offer programs that are not available at four-year schools, like fashion design.

Liberal Arts Colleges
Liberal arts colleges offer a broad base of courses in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Most are private and focus mainly on undergraduate students. Classes tend to be small and personal attention is available.

Online Learning
Recent years have witnessed the rise of online degree programs, to allow the busy professional a chance to work at their own pace from the comfort of their home on the path to getting a degree. The costs to students are typically the same as for traditional classes— and financial aid is equally available—while the cost to the institution can be much less.

There are online universities ranging from legitimate distance learning systems to fly-by-night degree-mills. It’s important to research a particular institution before deciding to enroll in their system. Generally, brick-and-mortar schools that also offer online classes are the safest, though there are plenty of fully accredited online universities out there.

Nearly 3 million students are believed to be taking online classes at institutions of higher education in the United States this year. That number has been growing about 25% a year recently. Now, virtually all public higher education institutions, as well as a vast majority of private, for-profit institutions, now offer online classes. By contrast, only about half of private, nonprofit schools offer them. Online schools offer everything from Associate’s degrees to Doctoral programs with available emphases in everything from Business Administration to Criminal Justice to Nursing. Some programs require students to attend some campus classes or orientations, but many are delivered completely online. Online courses generally require a computer with a broadband connection, but are now a serious option for the busy professional.

Public vs. Private
Public colleges are usually less expensive, particularly for in-state residents. They get most of their money from the state or local government. Private colleges rely on tuition, fees, endowments, and other private sources. Private colleges are usually smaller and can offer more personalized attention and often more prestige.

Universities
Generally, a university is bigger than a college and offers more majors and research facilities. Class size often reflects institutional size and some classes may taught by graduate students.

University of Charleston
(304) 357-4750
2300 MacCorkle Avenue Southeast
Charleston, WV 25304
(800) 995-GO UC
www.ucwv.edu

West Virginia State University
(304) 766-3000
Rte 25
Institute, WV 25112
www.wvstateu.edu

West Virginia University Institute of Technology
(304) 442-3071
405 Fayette Pke
Montgomery, WV 25136
www.wvutech.edu

Upper Division
Upper-division schools offer the last two years of undergraduate study, usually in specialized programs leading to a bachelor’s degree. Students then generally transfer to an upper-division college after completing an associate degree or after finishing a second year of study at a four-year college.