VIRGINIA Main Info

The history of America is closely tied to that of Virginia, particularly during the Colonial period. Jamestown, founded in 1607, was the first permanent English settlement in North America and slavery was introduced there in 1619. The surrenders ending both the American Revolution (Yorktown) and the Civil War (Appomattox) occurred in Virginia. The state is called the “Mother of Presidents” because eight U.S. presidents were born there.

Today, the service sector provides one-third of all jobs in Virginia, generating as much income as the manufacturing and retail industries combined in 1999 and accounting for 23% of gross state product. (The largest component of the service sector is business services, which includes computer and data processing services.)

Virginia has a large number of manufacturing industries, including transportation equipment, food processing, electronic and other electrical equipment, chemicals, textiles and apparel, lumber and wood products, and furniture.

Virginia is one of the top ten coal producers in the U.S. Coal accounts for roughly 70% of Virginia's mineral value; crushed stone, sand and gravel, lime, and kyanite are also mined.

Points of interest include Mt. Vernon, home of George Washington; Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson; Stratford, home of the Lees; Richmond, capital of the Confederacy and of Virginia; and Williamsburg, the restored Colonial capital.

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel spans the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, connecting Cape Charles with Norfolk. Consisting of a series of low trestles, two bridges and two mile-long tunnels, the complex is 18 miles (29 km) long. It was opened in 1964.

Other attractions are the Shenandoah National Park, Colonial National Historical Park, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, the Booker T. Washington birthplace near Roanoke, Arlington House (the Robert E. Lee Memorial), Luray Caverns, the Skyline Drive, and the Blue Ridge National Parkway.

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Selected famous natives and residents:

Richard Arlen actor;
Arthur Ashe tennis player;
Pearl Bailey singer;
Russell Baker columnist;
Warren Beatty actor;
George Bingham painter;
Richard E. Byrd polar explorer;
Willa Cather novelist;
Roy Clark country music artist;
William Clark explorer;
Henry Clay statesman;
Joseph Cotten actor;
Ella Fitzgerald singer;
William H. Harrison president;
Patrick Henry statesman;
Sam Houston political leader;
Thomas Jefferson president;
Robert E. Lee Confederate general;
Meriwether Lewis explorer;
Shirley MacLaine actress;
James Madison president;
Moses Malone basketball player;
John Marshall jurist;
Cyrus McCormick inventor;
James Monroe president;
Opechancanough Powhatan leader;
John Payne actor;
Walter Reed army surgeon;
Matthew Ridgway general;
Bill “Bojangles” Robinson dancer;
George C. Scott actor;
Sam Snead golfer;
James “Jeb” Stuart Confederate army officer;
Thomas Sumter general;
Zachary Taylor president;
Nat Turner leader of slave uprising;
John Tyler president;
Booker T. Washington educator;
George Washington first president;
James E. West, inventor;
Woodrow Wilson president;
Tom Wolfe journalist.