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settling on their traditional lands. The fort was named for General Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee, one of George Washington’s most trusted officers, who later become governor of Virginia.
By the early 19th century, salt was discovered along the Kanawha River, and the first salt well was drilled in 1806. This brought people to Charleston to work in the salt production kilns (the salt water had to be dried to produce salt). The Kanawha Salt Company was founded in 1818.
It is common for salt deposits to act as a cap for natural gas and oil. Captain James Wilson, accidentally dug through the salt and so struck the first natural gas well in 1815. Then, in 1817, coal was discovered and was used instead of timber as the fuel for the salt works.
Charleston grew steadily as a regional and manufacturing center until the days of the Civil War.
As Charleston was at that time in Virginia, it became part of the Confederacy. That resulted in the Battle of Charleston in 1862.
But the Union really had control of Charleston and most of the western part of Virginia. This produced a problem about creating a new state out of Union-held territory. That is why, during the Civil War, West Virginia officially became a state through Presidential Proclamation. On June 20, 1863, West Virginia became the 35th state.
But in fact there were more reasons for the separation. The western area did not have many
Capitol Street