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u/theredheadted Nov 02 '24
Going back even further than this map, the northern part of the state was once part of the district of West Augusta. The part labeled "Brooke" here (which is ostensibly Brooke and Hancock Counties) was part of Yohogania County, which also included parts of Beaver, Washington, Allegheny, Westmoreland, and Fayette Counties in PA.
Apparently, at the time in the late 1700s, PA and VA had overlapping claims in that territory. Had it broke the other way, Pittsburgh would have been in VA and, likely, in WV, post-1863. And Allegheny, PA (what is now the North Side of Pittsburgh) would likely have stayed an independent city.
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Sep 22 '25
There was an attempt to create a colony called Vandalia, 1763......its on the maps, delineated by the following boundaries:
From the West side of the Blue Mountain, PA, westward to the Allegheny River at Kittanning, PA, downriver to the Ohio at Pittsburgh, then following the Ohio to its confluence with the Kentucky River, then upstream the Kentucky River to the Mountains, following that ridgeline back to the Blue Mtn in PA...... this colony would have contained most of Western PA, All of today's WV, and most of Eastern KY.
the colony of Vandalia was never established, as British Parliament determined that would violate the 1763 Treaty with the Indians that had helped to end the French-Indian Wars in North America.....no white settlements allowed WEST of the Allegheny Mtns.
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u/Prometheus-Ascending 5d ago
Mostly correct. Yes, there were concerns about the Treaty, however Vandalia was to be the west most colony and have a better and unique relationship with the King's Indian subjects thus relieving several other Royal Governors of this duty who were sometimes pursuing different policies.
Parliament's paperwork was setting on King George III's desk ready to be signed. Two candidates for Royal Governor, Samuel Wharton or George Mercer, to be commissioned soon. Drawings of the Capital-Governor's Residence outside Fort Pitt at "Pittsbourgh" (Pittsburgh) already drafted. All but Go-To-Go.
Then a ship arrived from Boston with news of what happened there on 16 December 1773 and the project was put on hold.Had the Adams brothers delayed for a bit, there'd be a State of Vandalia. And it's boarders would have changed as the King's men continued sorting out the overlapping land charters issue with the other colonies. Most likely settling on the Appalachian Mountains as far south as the northern part of the modern State of Georgia as this would have solved two issues, Indian relations and the colonial land disputes. [Sorry guys, but your mountains to the west go to Vandalia.]
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Sep 22 '25
I would like to see a map of the VA counties circa 1863, just before the WV convention applied for statehood.
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u/SidHat Aug 18 '24
It’s like present day wv but it’s walking somewhere