The New Student's Reference Work/Charleston (West Virginia)

Charleston, capital of West Virginia and county seat of Kanawha County, is situated on the Kanawha River at its junction with the Elk. The Kanawha has an excellent system of locks and dams, which afford facilities for shipping coal from the rich New River mines. Charleston is the center of trade for large coal and lumber interests. Its industries include woolen-mills, machine-shops, boiler-works, iron-foundries, steel-plants, dye-works, marble-works, wagon-shops, glass-works, furniture-factories and one of the largest axe-factories in the world. It has many fine public buildings, among which are the Capitol and Capitol Annex, Court-House, Y. M. C. A. building, modern and well-equipped houses and handsome churches. Population, 22,996.