Nearly six years before President Lincoln signed the proclamation making West Virginia the 35th State in the Union, construction had begun on the Wheeling Custom House, headquarters for federal offices for the Western District of Virginia. Its completion, coinciding with the beginning of the Civil War, provided a facility for heated political discussions and constitutional conventions that led to eventual statehood for West Virginia in 1863. Here, issues dividing many Virginians - slavery being one of many - were debated, compromised and shaped into the skeleton of statehood. Serving as the Restored Government of Virginia (aligned with the Union) from 1861-1863, it is appropriately known today as West Virginia Independence Hall.

Person Interviewed: Randall Reid-Smith / Travis Henline / Sue-Beth Warren
Title: Commissioner WV Division Of Culture and History
Date: Year round
Hours: Monday through Saturday, 10am till 4pm
Location: Ohio County, West Virginia
Address: 1528 Market Street Wheeling, WV 26003
Phone: 304-238-1300
Website: www.wvculture.org/museum/wvihmod.html

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