Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 10.djvu/403

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WEST PARK
343
WEST VIRGINIA

WEST PARK, a city of Ohio, in Cuyahoga co., on the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern, and the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis railroads. It is a residential suburb of Cleveland. Pop. (1910) 3,179; (1920) 8,581.

WESTPHALIA, the name given at different periods to (1) one of the circles of the old German empire, (2) one of Napoleon's kingdoms (1807-1813), conferred on his brother Jerome; and (3) now to a province of Prussia. The latter is bounded by Rhenish Prussia, Holland, Hanover, Brunswick, Hesse, and Nassau. Its area is 7,803 square miles. The surface in the S. and N. E. is generally mountainous; the northwest spreads out into extensive and often marshy plains, and belongs to the basin of the Ems; the northeast and a small part of the east to the basin of the Weser; the remainder, constituting the far larger portion of the whole, belongs to the basin of the Rhine, whose chief tributaries are the Ruhr and Lippe. Besides iron and coal in abundance the minerals include copper, lead, zinc, marble, slate, sulphur, antimony, and salt; and the manufactures are varied and important. The province is divided into the three circuits of Münster, Minden, and Arnsberg. Münster is the capital. Pop. about 4,500,000.

WESTPHALIA, PEACE OF, the name given to the peace concluded in 1648 at Münster and Osnabrück, by which an end was put to the Thirty Years' War. By this peace the sovereignty of the members of the empire was acknowledged. The concessions that had been made to the Protestants since the religious peace in 1555 were confirmed. The elector-palatine had the palatinate of the Rhine and the electorate restored to him; Alsace was ceded to France; Sweden received western Pomerania, Bremen, Verden, Wismar, and a sum equal to $3,750,000; Brandenburg, Mecklenburg, Hanover, and Brunswick were compensated by the secularization of numerous ecclesiastical foundations. The independence of the United Provinces was recognized by Spain, and that of Switzerland by the empire. See Thirty Years' War.

WEST POINT, a United States military post in Orange co., N. Y.; on the Hudson river, and on the West Shore and the New York, Ontario and Western railroads; 52 miles N. of New York City. It is widely known as the seat of the United States Military Academy. Here are a cemetery where the remains of many distinguished army officers are interred, and the ruins of Fort Putnam. During the Revolutionary War, West Point was fortified to control the river, and a heavy chain was stretched across the river to Constitution Island to prevent British warships from ascending the river. In 1777 the place was captured and destroyed by the British, but new fortifications were built at a cost of $3,000,000. Benedict Arnold was given command of the place Aug. 5, 1780, but escaped on the 25th, after the apprehension of Maj. John André, and the discovery of their plot. There are several important monuments in West Point, including the statue of General Sedgwick, the monument of Kosciusko, that of Major Dade, etc. See United States Military Academy.

WEST SPRINGFIELD, a town which includes several villages, in Massachusetts, in Hampden co., on the Connecticut river and on the Boston and Albany railroad. It is the center of an important farming and market gardening region, and has manufactures of paper and cigars. There are many interesting old houses, a high school building, and a public library. Pop. (1910) 9,225; (1920) 13,443.

WEST TAMPA, a city of Florida, in Hillsboro co., adjoining Tampa. It is one of the most important cigar manufacturing centers of the United States. Pop. (1910) 8,258; (1920) 8,463.

WEST VIRGINIA, a State in the South Atlantic Division of the North American Union; bounded by Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio; admitted to the Union, June 19, 1863; capital, Charleston; number of counties, 55; area, 24,170 square miles. Pop. (1890) 762,794; (1900) 958,800; (1910) 1,221,119; (1920) 1,463,701.

Topography.—The State is hilly and mountainous. The Allegheny Mountains form the Virginia boundary line. A continuation of the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee crosses the State about 20 miles W. of the Alleghenies. This range embraces the Flat Top, Cotton Hill, Greenbrier, Gauley, and Rich mountains. The surface W. of these mountains gradually descends to the Ohio river, this river forming the principal water system of West Virginia. The chief rivers are the Big Sandy, Kanawha, Guyandotte, and Monongahela, all of which are navigable and enter the Ohio. The Kanawha is fed by the Greenbrier, Gauley, Elk, and Coal rivers. The Potomac river forms part of the N. boundary line. There are numerous waterfalls in these streams all of which afford excellent water power, the falls at Harper's Ferry being especially noted.

Geology and Mineralogy.—The E. por-