Virginia

• Population- 7,078,515
• Capital- Richmond
• Largest cities– Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake Bay
• Time zone- Eastern
• Date of Admission to the Union- June 25, 1788
• Slogan- “Virginia is for lovers”
• State website URL- www.virginia.gov

Located on the eastern Atlantic coast, Virginia is marked principally by its central coastal plain (Piedmont), mountains and valleys to the west (Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachian Mountain and Valley Region) and lush plateaus to the southwest (Appalachian Plateau). Rich in the nation’s history, the 10 th state of the union is birthplace to eight US presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson. One of the thirteen original colonies in the settling of the New World, the colony’s capital city of Jamestown was the first settlement established by British settlers in 1607.

A hundred years later Virginia voted for its independence from the British Empire, creating the Commonwealth of Virginia at the 1776 Virginia Convention. On April 17, 1861 Virginia seceded from the Union and joined the Confederate States in June of that year.

Virginia saw more battles in her hills than any other state. Visitors to Virginia today can visit the Appomattox Court House, historic site where Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant, ending the Civil War and bringing peace to a unified nation on April 9, 1865.

Tobacco was an important crop in the economic growth in Virginia during colonial days. After the Civil War agriculture diversified to include grains, corn, soybeans, peanuts and apples. Poultry, dairy, and cattle, as well as the coastal fisheries, are major industries in the state.

Today, soy generates greater income for Virginia farmers than tobacco crops. Wineries and vineyards dot the Blue Ridge Mountains and Northern Neck—and defense and government contracting are big employers in the state. Each summer visitors flock to Virginia Beach, the beaches of the Eastern Shore, or to fish the Chesapeake Bay. Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown give visitors an afternoon for exploring colonial times. And of course, Virginia is for Lovers any month of the year.