In April 1861, as Virginia debated seceding from the Union, Governor John Letcher instructed Wheeling Mayor Andrew Sweeney to seize control of the Wheeling Custom House, but Sweeney defied the order and secured the building for the United States, laying the ground for West Virginia statehood. Designed by Ammi B. Young, the first Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department, the Renaissance Revival building had opened in 1859 and housed the custom office, post office, and federal courthouse, and West Virginia militia also used it as an arsenal during the Civil War. In June 1861, 100 delegates from 34 counties met in the third-floor courtroom for the Second Wheeling Convention, adopted a Declaration of Rights, established the Restored Government of Virginia, declared themselves Virginia's legitimate government, and elected Francis H. Peirpont governor. In early August they reconvened there and called for separation from Virginia. On December 31, 1862, Abraham Lincoln signed the West Virginia statehood bill, and the following March a revised constitution was adopted providing for slavery's gradual abolition. On June 20, 1863, West Virginia became the Union's 35th state, with Arthur Boreman elected its first governor, and the state capitol was relocated to nearby 1413 Eoff Street. West Virginia was the only state to secede from a Confederate state.

Photo: Devry Becker Jones

Wheeling, West Virginia · USA