West Virginia's capitol and largest city is Charleston. The city, which is situated at the meeting point of the Elk and Kanawha rivers, had a population of 48,864 in 2020 and was expected to reach 48,018 in 2021. An estimated 255,020 people called the Charleston metropolitan region home as of 2021. Charleston, the county seat of Kanawha County, is the hub of business, government, and industry.
Early industries important to Charleston included salt and the first natural gas well. Later, coal became essential to the city's and the region's economic growth. Today, the city's economy is heavily reliant on commerce, utilities, the government, healthcare, and education.
The first permanent settlement, Fort Morris, was built in fall 1773 by William Morris prior to Lord Dunmore's War, and was used extensively during the American Revolution. The Virginia House of Delegates officially founded the town of Charleston in 1794, electing William Morris, Leonard Morris, and Daniel Boone as trustees.
Charleston is the site of the annual 15-mile Charleston Distance Run as well as the Charleston Dirty Birds of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. The city is home to Yeager Airport and the University of Charleston. Satellite campuses of West Virginia University, Marshall University, and West Virginia State University are all nearby.
