


West Virginia is a state where the Appalachian culture shows clear links to the European heritage of the people who settled here. The Welsh, German and Italian immigrants came to work in the natural resource industries of coal, oil and natural gas and found mountainous countryside that today offers superb outdoor recreation in all four seasons. The Swiss who came to farm found challenging landscapes yet the farming traditions carry on in West Virginia where many cottage industries sell specialty foods and handcrafted products... More