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 Facts About
Virginia
 
In 1607, Jamestown (near the mouth of the James River), became the first
permanent English settlement in America. This stunning land of
mountains, valleys and rivers played major roles in both the
Revolutionary War and Civil War, and in fact, many leaders of same were
Virginians, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick
Henry, Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee, to name but a few. Both wars
took very heavy tolls on Virginia - and in the Civil War - more men
fought and died here than in any other state. At Appomattox, in April of
1865, Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant - officially ending
the Civil War. Tobacco farming was introduced in the early 1600s, and
within a few years, plantations covered the land - from Richmond to the
Chesapeake Bay. Even today, Tobacco remains Virginia's most profitable
crop. Hampton Roads, one of America's most important commercial and
military ports, sits at the entrance of the Chesapeake at Norfolk. Here
the U.S. Navy keeps its Atlantic Fleet. Virginia is tightly woven into
the fabric of America. This historic home of seven U.S.
 Presidents
is renown for the architecture and splendor of colonial America.
Capital: Richmond
Population:
7,203,542
Entered the Union:
June 25, 1788
As the: 10th
State
Motto: Thus
Always to Tyrants
Nickname: Old
Dominion State
Flower: American
Dogwood
Bird: Cardinal
Song: "Carry Me
Back To Old Virginia"
Origin of Name:
Named for England's "Virgin Queen," Elizabeth I.
Points of Interest:
Arlington and the Washington D.C. area, colonial Williamsburg, historic
Fredericksburg, Norfolk and Virginia Beach, the capital city of
Richmond, and the numerous Civil War and Revolutionary War sites found
throughout the state.
Bordering States:
Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia.
Numerous Facts & Trivia:
The major cash crop of Virginia is tobacco and many of the people who
live there earn their living from the tobacco industry.
Jamestown, the first of the original 13 Colonies was founded for the
purpose of silk cultivation. Silk to be traded with the Court of King
James. After blight fungus destroyed the mulberry trees (silkworm food),
sericulturist planted tobacco as a cash crop.
Jamestown was the first English settlement in the U.S. It was also the
first capital of Virginia.
Virginia is known as "the birthplace of a nation".
Arlington County was originally part of the ten-mile square parcel of
land surveyed in 1791 to be part of Washington, DC. The U.S. Congress
returned that portion of the land to the "Commonwealth of Virginia"
following a referendum among its citizens.
Eight United States Presidents were born in Virginia: George Washington,
Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Harrison, John
Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson.
Six Presidents' wives were born in Virginia: Martha Washington, Martha
Jefferson, Rachel Jackson, Letitia Tyler, Ellen Arthur, Edith Wilson.
Seven Presidents are buried in Virginia: Washington, Jefferson, Madison,
Monroe, Tyler, Taft and Kennedy.
The present state capital in Richmond was also the capital of the
Confederacy.
The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg is the second oldest in
the United States, it was founded in 1693.
The State nickname is "Old Dominion".
The State flower is not really a flower, but the blossom of the dogwood
tree, which is also the state tree.
The first peanuts grown in the United States were grown in Virginia.
The Blue Ridge Mountains are located in Virginia.
The American Revolution ended with the surrender of Cornwallis in
Yorktown.
On March 9, 1862 at Hampton Roads, Virginia, the USS Monitor and the CSS
Virginia (formerly the USS Merrimac) met in one of the most famous naval
engagements in US history. Their battle, the first of its kind between
metal armored vessels, changed for all time the nature of naval warfare.
10th of the 13 original colonies, Virginia was admitted to the union
June 25, 1788.
The state motto is "Sic Semper Tyrannis". (Thus always to tyrants)
Union Passenger Railway was the first successful electric street railway
transit agency. It was formed in 1888 at Richmond.
The states of Kentucky & West Virginia were formed from sections of the
state of Virginia
About 1/2 of all the people in the United States live within a 500 mile
radius of the Capital of Virginia.
Virginia has had 3 capital cities: Jamestown, Williamsburg, and
Richmond.
Richmond was also the capital of the Confederate States during the Civil
War
Over 1/2 the battles fought in the civil war were fought in Virginia.
Over 2,200 of the 4,000 battles.
In Virginia more people work for the United States government than any
other industry. About 1/4 of Virginia's workers.
Virginia's largest private employer is also the world's largest ship
building yard.
Virginia is the home base for the United States Navy's Atlantic Fleet.
The tomb of the Unknown Soldier is in Arlington National Cemetery.
The Pentagon building in Arlington is the largest office building in the
world.
The Pentagon has nearly 68,000 miles of internal telephone lines.
Dulles International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the
world.
General Thomas Jackson got his nickname "Stonewall" in Manassass. The
site of 2 major Civil War Battles.
The first Thanksgiving in North America was held in Virginia in 1619.
Yorktown is the site of the final victory of the American Revolution.
Virginia has been dubbed the "Internet Capital of the world".
The Atlantic headquarters of NATO is located in Norfolk.
The Great Dismal Swamp is in Virginia near the North Carolina border.
Virginia Beach is the largest city in Virginia. Its population is
expected to surpass 500,000 residents by 2010.
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel is the world's largest bridge-tunnel
complex.
Wild Ponies have roamed freely on Assateague Island for centuries.
The world's only oyster museum is on Chincoteague Island.
Busch Garden's Old Country Theme Park is located near Williamsburg.
President Thomas Jefferson designed his own home and called it
Monticello.
George Washington's home, Mount Vernon, is located in Virginia.
Robert E. Lee, Commanding General of the Army of Northern Virginia,
surrendered his men to Ulysses Grant, General-in-Chief of all United
States forces, on April 9, 1865 at the Appomattox Court House.
Patrick Henry made his "Give me Liberty or Give me Death" speech in St.
John's Church in Richmond.
Bristol is legally two cities but they share the same main street. One
in Virginia and one in Tennessee each with its own government and city
services.
Waynesboro was the site of the last major battle of the Civil War in
central Virginia, the Battle of Waynesboro in 1865 between Generals
Jubal Early and Philip Sheridan.
Colvin Run Mill in Great Falls has an early 19-century wooden water
wheel and operating gristmill. The old Miller's House features an
exhibit about the process of milling and the families who operated the
mill.
Learn more at 50states.com
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