Virginia - #10, June 25, 1788

The second Commonwealth in our series (after Massachusetts), Virginia also has the longest continuous history of any of the American States, with the founding of Jamestown in 1607. During the Civil War, Richmond, the current state capital, served as the capital of the Confederacy. Of course, some still refer to Richmond as "the Occupied City." It was during the Civil War that the state of West Virginia (#35) was created, which we will visit in about four months. The Virginia General Assembly is the oldest legislature in the Western Hemisphere.

Virginia owns the Presidency. It has produced the most so far. The Mother of the Presidency lays claim to eight presidents (in order of appearance):

1. George Washington
2. Thomas Jefferson
3. James Madison
4. James Monroe
5. William Henry Harrison
6. John Tyler
7. Zachary Taylor
8. Woodrow Wilson
   

Partially due to its proximity to my home state of Maryland, I have been to Virginia a fair number of times. We have friends who live in Charlottesville (where we have spent several nice weekends - taking drives up along Skyline Drive). I have been to several professional meetings in Virginia and will return to Richmond for a meeting in the fall. I have done the Civil War tour through the state (Manassas, Richmond, Petersburg, and others). I have been to Hungry Mother State Park in southwestern Virginia.

Mrs. BA and I have several friends that live in Northern Virginia and we travel "across the river" to see them on occasion. Sometimes its hard, though because all the roads seem to be named Glebe. But we soldier on.

There is a fair amount of history to recount about the Commonwealth, but you can read that from any one of the number of links below. Here's what Brave Astronaut has been reporting in this series so far.

Virginia's Governor is a Republican (and mentioned on most shortlists for the vice presidency in the upcoming election), Bob McDonnell. Virginia's governors are elected for three year terms and may not run for reelection (but can be elected again - as long as it is not consecutive). It's Virginia. The two Senators of the Commonwealth of Virginia are Democrats, former governor Mark Warner, and Jim Webb, who will retire at the end of the current term. There are 11 House districts in Virginia and the delegation currently has 8 Republicans and 3 Democrats.

• 1st District - Robert Wittman (R)
• 2nd District - Scott Rigell (R)
• 3rd District - Bobby Scott (D)
• 4th District - J. Randy Forbes (R)
• 5th District - Robert Hurt (R)
• 6th District - Bob Goodlatte (R)
• 7th District - Eric Cantor (R) (Cantor is also currently the Majority Leader in the House)
  
• 8th District - James Moran (D)
• 9th District - Morgan Griffith (R)
• 10th District - Frank Wolf (R)
• 11th District - Gerry Connolly (D)

Facts

• State Capital - Richmond
• Largest City - Virginia Beach
  
• Date of Admission - June 25, 1788
• Area - 42,774.2 sq mi (35th)
• State Motto - "Sic Semper Tyrannis" (allegedly uttered by this man upon assassinating Abraham Lincoln, who was not from Virginia)
  
• State Nickname - The Old Dominion, Mother of Presidents
  
• State bird - Cardinal
  
• State wildflower - The Dogwood ("It's both a tree and a flower - I'll take a dozen")
  
• State University - The University of Virginia
  
• State Archives - The Library of Virginia
  
• Population (2011 est.) - 8,096,604
  
• Signers of the Declaration of Independence* - Carter Braxton, Benjamin Harrison (William Henry's father), Thomas "Mr. Adams - LEAVE ME ALONE!" Jefferson, Francis Lightfoot Lee, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Nelson, Jr., George Wythe
  

* - close readers of this blog may have noted that I have been inserting quotes in the names of the signers - for those who have been wondering - the quotes are from 1776, which opened last night at Ford's Theatre. Get your tickets now, the show runs through May 9.

Links

• virginia.gov - the Official Website of the Commonwealth of Virginia
  
• The Virginia Tourism site - virginia.org (Remember, Virginia is for Lovers)
  
• The Encyclopedia Britannic entry for Virginia
• Wikpedia
• 50states.com entry for Virginia
• Encyclopedia Virginia
  

Prominent Virginians (more here and here. Discuss)

• Arthur Ashe
  
• Warren Beatty and his older sister, Shirley
  
• Sandra Bullock
• Willa Cather (born in VA, but really owned by Nebraska)
• Patsy Cline
  
• Ella Fitzgerald
• Stonewall Jackson
  
• Robert E. Lee (that's his house that you can see from DC, that's now in the middle of a cemetery)
  
• Lewis and Clark
  
• Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall
• Dave Matthews (although born in South Africa, he has spent most of his adult life in Charlottesville)
  
• Cyrus McCormick
  
• Walter Reed (yes, he was a real person, not just a hospital)
  
• George C. Scott
  
• Sam Snead
  
• Jeb Stuart
• Nat Turner
• Maggie L. Walker (the first African-American Woman Bank President and the first woman to form a bank)
• Booker T. Washington
• L. Douglas Wilder (first African-American to be elected governor of a state)