West Virginia was long part of Virginia. Morgan Morgan began settlement of the region in 1727, and a great battle with the Indians took place at Point Pleasant in 1774. West Virginia became a separate state of the Union in 1863. Alleghany County, Virginia, with an area of 458 square miles, was formed in 1822 from Bath, Botetourt, and Monroe and was named for the Alleghany Mountains. At Fort Mann in this county, a battle took place in 1763 between settlers and Indians led by Cornstalk.