Quick Quizzes

Stephanie Thacker and Robert King

As of 2014, these West Virginia natives were circuit judges for the United States Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit.

Bramwell

At one time this Mercer County town was the home of nineteen millionaires.

Nail City

Because of its role in the manufacture of an important iron product in the 1800s, Wheeling was nicknamed:

Randolph County

Becky Creek Wildlife Management Area is located in this county.

I. E. DuPont de Nemours and Company

Blennerhassett Island State Park is on property leased from this company.

Summers County

Bluestone Lake is located in what county?

Wheeling

During the Civil War, a new state government was formed in this city.

Treason

Harman Blennerhassett was indicted for this crime because of his plot with Aaron Burr.

Hallie Davis Elkins

Identify the only woman in American history to be the daughter, wife and mother of a United States senator.

Alexander Spotswood

In 1716, this lieutenant governor of Virginia led an expedition across the Blue Ridge Mountains into the Shenandoah Valley.

Cycling

In 1996, West Virginia hosted Olympic Game trials in this sport.

West Virginia Shawl

In 2008, the West Virginia Legislature adopted this as the official state tartan.

Harrison County

In 2012, this county had the highest natural gas production among West Virginia counties.

James Jarrett

In December 1958, this man was named head basketball coach at Charleston High School, becoming the first African-American in the state to be appointed head coach at a previously all-white public school.

Must be a resident of the county issuing the summons for jury duty.

In order to serve on a jury, a person must:

Harewood

In what West Virginia historic home were James and Dolly Madison married?

Moundsville

In what community is the Grave Creek Mound located?

Salem

In what community was the West Virginia Industrial Home for Girls located?

Cheat Lake

Lake Lynn was the original name for this Monongalia County lake.

Monroe

Moncove Lake State Park is located in what county?

Francis Pierpont and John Kenna

Name the only two West Virginians whose statues stand in the U. S. Capitol's Statuary Hall.

Roger Jones

On April 18, 1861, federal troops under the command of this officer set fire to the U.S. armory and arsenal at Harpers Ferry prior to the town's capture by Confederate forces.

The erection of a memorial at Kistler

On February 26, 1972, an impoundment dam on Buffalo Creek collapsed, sending millions of gallons of water down a narrow valley, killing 125 and leaving more than 4,000 homeless. The disaster resulted in:

Sara Jane Moore

On February 6, 1979, this woman, who was convicted of the attempted assassination of President Gerald Ford, was captured and returned to the women's federal penitentiary at Alderson after escaping the previous day.

Zero Percent

On July 1, 2013, the West Virginia sales tax rate on food (except prepared food, vending machine food, or soft drinks) became this percentage.

Linsly Institute

On June 20, 1863, inauguration ceremonies for Arthur I Boreman as governor of West Virginia were held in front of this Wheeling facility.

Children's Home Society

On May 4, 1896, this organization, which was dedicated to removing children from poorhouses and placing them with caring foster families, was formed in Charleston.

We Are...Marshall

On November 14, 1970, a chartered plane carrying the Marshall University football team and supporters of the program crashed near Huntington, killing 75 people. This motion picture, released in 2006, tells the story of the tragedy's aftermath.

A wave of colonial westward migration and settlement

One result of the treaties of Fort Stanwix and Hard Labor was:

Grant, Hancock, Jackson, and Mason

Original source names for West Virginia counties are derived from Native American words and phrases, as well as from the names of local, regional and national historical personalities. This grouping represents the use of national personalities as names for West Virginia counties.

Grant, Hancock, Jackson, Mason

Original source names for West Virginia counties are derived from Native American words and phrases, as well as from the names of local, regional and national historical personalities. Which grouping represents the use of national personalities as names for counties?

Charles Town

Powhatan College for Young Women (1900-14) was located in this Jefferson County community.

Mary Lou Retton

She was the first woman athlete to appear on the front of a box of Wheaties.

3 Way Catalytic Converter

Stewart Creek native Carl Keith was the co-inventor of this vehicle emissions control device.

Barbour County

Teter Creek Lake is located in this county.

Wood County

The 19th-century mansion Henderson Hall is located in this county.

Parkersburg

The Sumnerite African-American History Museum and Multipurpose Center commemorates Sumner School, the first free school for African Americans in present-day West Virginia. In what Wood County community was the school located?

National Road

The construction of this road through Wheeling in 1818 facilitated the opening of the western part of the United States.

Ritchie County

The first asphalt mine in the United States was located in this county.

Wheeling

The first capital of West Virginia was located in what city?

McDowell

The first food stamps issued in the United States were distributed in this West Virginia county.

Shannondale Springs

The site of this former Jefferson County resort is now a wildlife management area.

"Mountaineers are always free."

The state motto of West Virginia is "Montani Semper Liberi," which is Latin for:

Grave Creek Mound

The state's first site to be designated a National Historic Landmark is this site in Marshall County.

George Washington

The sword of this Revolutionary War hero, seized from his great-grandnephew during John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, was worn by Brown at the time of his capture.

Waitman Willey and Peter Van Winkle

These two men were West Virginia's first United States senators.

Blanche Lazzell and Grace Martin Taylor

These two women artists, born in Monongalia County in 1878 and 1903, were distant cousins.

Junior

This Barbour County community was named for the son of Henry Gassaway Davis.

Coolfont

This Berkeley Springs home named in honor of the springs was built by author John Herbert Quick in 1913.

Steven Mikes

This Clarksburg native and member of the Liberty High School class of 1982, helped design the Curiosity rover that landed on Mars on August 6, 2012.

Jim Grobe

This Huntington native was named the 2006 college football Coach of the Year by the Associated Press.

Dwight Morrow

This Huntington native was the father-in-law of Charles Lindbergh.

St. Albans

This Kanawha County community was once known as Coalsmouth.

Kellian Whaley

This Point Pleasant resident, a congressman for both Virginia and West Virginia and a major in the 9th West Virginia Infantry, was captured at Guyandotte but made a daring escape from his Confederate captors.

Preston County

This West Virginia county borders both Pennsylvania and Maryland.

Wayne County

This West Virginia county was named for the general who led an American army to victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794.

Grant County

This West Virginia county, formed in 1866 from Hardy County, was named for a Union Civil War general who later became president of the United States.

David Lynn

This Wheeling native served as Architect of the U.S. Capitol from 1923 to 1954.

Jesse Burkett

This Wheeling native was the first West Virginian inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame.

Douglas Dick

This actor, born in Charleston in 1920, played "Sam" in his first film, "The Searching Wind," in 1946.

Battle of Point Pleasant

This battle, fought on October 10, 1774, was the only notable engagement of Lord Dunmore's War.

Steve Harvey

This comedian, who was born in Welch, starred in the comedy series Me and the Boys, hosted It's Showtime at the Apollo, and currently hosts a morning radio show in Los Angeles.

Gilmer County

This county's population grew at the 3rd fastest rate between 2000 and 2010 according to the census.

Geno Smith

This former WVU football player became a quarterback for the New York Jets in 2013.

Jon McBride

This former astronaut, who piloted the Challenger when it was launched on October 5, 1984, was a Republican candidate for governor of West Virginia in 1996.

Ed Etzel

This former rifle coach at West Virginia University won a gold medal in the 1984 Olympics.

Jared Arter

This former slave was the principal of an African-American school at Hill Top, Fayette County, from 1908 to 1915.

Harry S. Truman

This future president attended the inauguration of Gov. Matthew M. Neely.

Millard Lampell

This graduate of West Virginia University, who helped form the Almanac Singers in 1940, won an Emmy Award in 1966 for writing the television drama, Eagle in a Cage.

Petersburg

This graduate of West Virginia University, who helped form the Almanac Singers in 1940, won an Emmy Award in 1966 for writing the television drama, Eagle in a Cage.

Buddy Starcher

This legendary country music entertainer, who was born on March 16, 1906 in Jackson County, recorded "History Repeats Itself," which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1967.

Billie Holiday

This legendary jazz singer was incarcerated in the Federal Reformatory for Women in Alderson from May 27, 1947, to March 16, 1948.

Bill Cole

This man is the current president of the West Virginia Senate.

Carte Goodwin

This man succeeded Robert C. Byrd as United States Senator from West Virginia in a short, appointive capacity.

J.M. Heck

This man, one of two officers under which the 76th Regiment in Monongalia County refused to muster on May 11, 1861, went on to command the 25th Virginia Infantry during the Battle of Rich Mountain.

Rufus Maxwell

This man, who in 1852 received a patent for his improvement to churns, served in the West Virginia Legislature from 1866 to 1870.

James Morrow

This man, who served as principal of Marshall College 1872-1873, was the grandfather of Charles Lindbergh's wife Anne.

Mason Dixon Line

This part of West Virginia's boundary is not a natural boundary.

Aracoma

This woman, who was killed in battle in present-day Logan County in 1780, was the daughter of Chief Cornstalk.

Pocket veto a bill by not acting upon it

Under the West Virginia constitution, the governor does NOT have the ability to do what while the Legislature is in session?

June 20, 1863

West Virginia became a state on this date.

Belle Boyd

What Martinsburg native was probably the most noted female spy for the Confederacy?

Emanuel Willis Wilson

What West Virginia governor gained national attention by refusing to extradite members of the Hatfield family during the Hatfield-McCoy feud?

Martin Delaney

What West Virginia native became the highest ranking African American during the Civil War?

Jack Warhop

What West Virginia native gave up Babe Ruth's first two major league home runs?

Pearl S. Buck

What West Virginia-born author won the Nobel Prize for writing "The Good Earth"?

Alexander Campbell

What West Virginian founded the Disciples of Christ Church?

Thomas Harris

What West Virginian sat on the commission which tried the conspirators against President Abraham Lincoln?

Thornsbury Bailey Brown

What West Virginian was the first soldier killed in the Civil War?

William Henry Edwards

What West Virginian wrote "Butterflies of North America?"

Ken Hechler

What West Virginian wrote "The Bridge at Remagen"?

Mercer County

What county was named for the Revolutionary War general killed at the Battle of Princeton?

It marks a boundary between West Virginia and Pennsylvania

What is the purpose of the Mason-Dixon line?

Prato Rio

What was the name of Revolutionary War General Charles Lee's home?

Patrick Gass

What western Virginian published a book about his participation in the Lewis and Clark expedition?

Spruce Knob

Where is the highest point in West Virginia?

Municipal Judge

Which position is NOT considered to be a member of the judicial branch of government in West Virginia?

Joseph H. Diss DeBar

Who designed the Great Seal and Coat of Arms of West Virginia?

Minnie Buckingham Harper

Who was the first African-American woman to serve in a legislative body in the United States?

Elizabeth Kee

Who was the first woman from West Virginia to be elected to the United States Congress?