1. In 1873, the state's first public high school was established in Wheeling. It was the first in the state to offer a four-year curriculum.

2. In 1901, the West Virginia Legislature passed the first child labor law in the United States, prohibiting children under the age of 12 from working in coal mines.

3. On January 22, 1922, the West Virginia State Capitol building was officially dedicated. The building took eight years to construct and cost over $10 million.

4. In 1973, the West Virginia Constitution was amended to allow for the creation of a unified court system, which replaced the previous system of separate courts for different parts of the state.

5. On January 22, 2014, a major chemical spill occurred in Charleston, West Virginia, when thousands of gallons of a coal-cleaning chemical leaked into the Elk River. The spill left over 300,000 people without access to clean water for several days.