How did West Virginia get its name?
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Some say it’s the best Virginia, but West Virginia might once have been known as Westsylvania, or as the more grandiloquent Vandalia. So what happened? Find out here, with West Virginia native Catherine Moore.
Yo yo, Catherine—as usual, you’re right on it with this thoughtful, funny and really smart piece. It’s animated and definitely gets me to put down the dishes I’m washing to just settle in and see everything you paint for us listeners.
This plucky piece is perfect!
Quotei’m glad you enjoyed it, john! it was a lot of fun to do, as it’s a topic near and dear to my heart…
QuoteIt is too bad that they did not choose a different, distinct name for WVa, but it is still a very beautiful, but very misunderstood state. I too have to explain where I am from. I am originally from Southwestern Virginia (SWVA) and too often people think I mean southern WVa. Some people get it, but for most the distinction is lost. I currently reside in Richmond, Va., and when I travel outside of the south all people seem to know about Virginia is that Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy, but we are so much more than that! Oh well, I’ll just continue to educate people as I meet them! Cheers on a terrific show.
Quotei’m confused…the shenandoah river DOES run through West Virginia.
QuoteHello Liz,
Good catch. You’re right, the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah River do, technically, lie partially within the borders of West Virginia. Both occur in far eastern Jefferson County. The Blue Ridge forms the border between Jefferson County, WV, and Loudoun County, VA, for about 16 miles. A few miles to the west of that, the Shenandoah River flows northeast through about 16 miles of Jefferson County, on the way to its confluence with the Potomac at Harpers Ferry. So yes, a small patch of Jefferson County in the far Eastern Panhandle can boast the presence of both the Blue Ridge and the Shenandoah.
However, in my experience, neither of these geographical landmarks is very West Virginia-centric, and I certainly wouldn’t think of either if you asked me to name some important natural features of the state. If you’re gonna write a song about WV, there are so many more West Virginia-y rivers to choose from! Like the Kanawha, Gauley, or Greenbrier. And as far as mountains go, we’re all about the Alleghenies in WV. On the other hand, both landmarks ARE, in my humble opinion, quite VIRGINIA-centric (that’s where I live now, and believe you me, Virginians are proud of those two, and for good reason), hence my quibbling.
Does this all make sense? In any case, thanks for the listen & the correction; and by all means, take me to task if feel differently…! I’m always interested to hear how others think about these things…
QuoteI see where you are coming from. I lived for a time in Harpers Ferry- as much as that is West Virginia, its also so close to both Maryland and Virginia that its hard to say I’ve “lived” in West Virginia because I really am not familiar with any other part of the state. But to Harpers Ferry, the Shenandoah is most definitley part of their West Virginia landscape.
So, is the song written about “west” Virginia or West Virginia? Is that even an argument?
QuoteI think it’s a lovely fantasy written by three guys who were from neither Virginia, nor West Virginia. And not really all that knowledgeable about either one. Art doesn’t have to be accurate. It’s not really and truly about either one. It’s about the idea of your heart always belonging to the cool pine air of those steeply forested hillsides with the river flashing in the distance, and the road stitching it all together. They may have called that spot in the mind West Virginia, but it could just as easily have been Transylvania. (That would have scanned, too: Carpathian mountains; Danube river….)
So, since the land of West Virginia is so dear to the soul of all West Virginians, in that sense, the song is truly about West-by-God Virginia. But since I know that the land has the same meaning for all true Virginians, it’s also about Virginia.
QuoteSuch a great point, Lindsay! The song IS about much more than one specific state; it’s about a feeling–of nostalgia for the past, of belonging to a community, of wonder in nature. I think West Virginia–and maybe “Appalachia” more generally–is a symbolic shortcut to many of those feelings for Americans. It is often associated–rightly or wrongly–with a purer and simpler past. So it makes sense that the song would use that landscape as a trope to talk about nostalgia for an idealized home place. Quite effective, as evidenced by the song’s seemingly universal appeal! (I was in Japan some years ago, and people would light up when I mentioned that I was from West Virginia–they all knew “Country Roads” by heart from the karaoke circuit.)
And you’re right that art doesn’t necessarily have to be “accurate”–but that doesn’t change the fact that the song’s inaccuracies still drive me nuts!
Basically, I thought it was a good anecdote to gain entrance into the larger point of the piece–that our state’s identity is often lumped in with “regular” Virginia and that way back when, we had a chance to set ourselves apart.
If anyone’s interested, the summer 2004 issue of Goldenseal (http://www.wvculture.org/goldenseal/summer04/index.html), “The Magazine of West Virginia Traditional Life,” has an article about the writing of “Country Roads.” It’s not online, but back issues can be ordered.
Catherine
QuoteFeel free to be driven nuts by inaccuracies all you like.
I will freely admit that the song drives me bonkers, too; and I live in westERN Virginia. I just give myself that little speech about poetic license and what-not and pretend it matters.
QuoteI am having difficulty locating the article on other would-be states (such as Franklin) which you said in the podcast you had posted on the website. I wanted to see what you had said about the State of Jefferson movement in Northern CA and Southern OR around the start of WW II.
Quotehow did virgina get its name
QuoteVirginia was named after Queen Elizabeth I (the Virgin Queen) by Sir Walter Raleigh, aka Raleigh NC. Raleigh was searching for El Dorado (the famous city of gold) but instead laid claim to the area which is now North Carolina and Virginia.
QuoteFeel free to be driven nuts by inaccuracies all you like.
I will freely admit that the song drives me bonkers, too; and I live in westERN Virginia. I just give myself that little speech about poetic license and what-not and pretend it matters.
QuoteAnd you’re right that art doesn’t necessarily have to be “accurate”–but that doesn’t change the fact that the song’s inaccuracies still drive me nuts!
Basically, I thought it was a good anecdote to gain entrance into the larger point of the piece–that our state’s identity is often lumped in with “regular” Virginia and that way back when, we had a chance to set ourselves apart.
QuoteCool cool it’s amazing!
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