Virginia

State: Virginia

Lat/Long: 37.0000, -80.0000

One of the original thirteen colonies, Virginia ratified the U.S. Constitution on June 25, 1788, becoming the tenth state in the Union. Virginia was a slave state and joined the Confederacy during the Civil War. During the war, the northwestern portion of Virginia applied to the U.S. Congress for statehood and became the state of West Virginia, and was admitted to the Union on June 20, 1863. Richmond was designated the state capital during the Revolutionary War.

Webster's New Geographical Dictionary (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 1988), 1302-03, 1335; Courtlandt Canby, The Encyclopedia of Historic Places (New York: Facts on File, 1984), 2:997-98, 1017-18.