U.S.A: All about West Virginia Quiz

Answer: Point Pleasant

Mothman was reportedly seen around Point Pleasant in West Virginia between 1966-1967. He has been described as a humanoid, bird-like, man-sized creature. "The Mothman Prophecies" is a 1975 book that investigated the apparitions, in which the author connects the appearance of Mothman to the collapse of the Silver Bridge on the Ohio River in 1967.

Answer: Mitt Romney

Romney is often cited to be West Virginia's oldest city, standing since 1762.

Hampshire County was established by the Virginia General Assembly almost ten years earlier than the establishement of Romney, in 1753. It was made of parts of Augusta and Frederick counties, then part of the neighbouring state of Virginia.

Mitt Romney (born in Detroit, Michigan, 1947) is a Republican politician who ran for the 2012 U.S Presidential election, losing to Barack Obama. Stephen Ailes, who served as U.S Secretary of the Army from 1964-65, was born in Romney, West Virginia.

Answer: Punch Jones Diamond

Peterstown is located in Monroe County, West Virginia.

The Punch Jones Diamond was a 34.48 carat (6.896 g) diamond, the largest alluvial (formed in clay, sand and silt) diamond to ever be discovered in North America. It was discovered by 12 year old William "Punch" Jones and his father, Grover C. Jones, Sr, while they were throwing horseshoes, one of which landed on the diamond. Believing they had only found quartz, the family kept the diamond in a shoe box for 14 years. Punch brought the diamond to a geology professor in 1943, who was shocked at the discovery. Punch was killed in World War II. The diamond was finally sold by his family in 1984, for $74,250. Punch's mother, Grace, is quoted to have wished they had thrown it back in the river, for all the controversy and attention is brought her family.

Answer: White Sulphur Springs

In 1955, Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered the U.S Department of Defense to construct emergency plans for Congress, in case of nuclear war. The Greenbrier Luxury Resort was chosen for its location, being relatively close to Washington, but also far enough to avoid the damage of an atomic bomb, should it fall on Washington. There was a military hospital inside, once used by Eisenhower as a patient.

Construction of the bunker started in 1957 and was completed by 1962. It lies 720 (220 m) feet underground, and although would not have survived a direct nuclear hit, it would be capable of protecting those inside from a blast around 15-30 miles (25-50 km) away and shield them from the fallout. The Mosler Safe Company of Ohio designed the bunker's four doors. The actual plan they had to get Congress to the bunker however, is unclear. Greenbrier is a five hour drive by car, or a one hour flight. It would be seemingly only useful if the U.S government had advanced knowledge of a nuclear attack.

Answer: Weirton

Weirton is mainly situated in West Virginia's Hancock County, but part of it also lies within the state's Brooke County. A river separates it from Steubenville, Ohio, and it is also only around 35 (55 km) miles west of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Although filmed in West Virginia, the plot of "Super 8" takes place in a fictional town of Ohio, named "Lillian." Weirton also features in the revered 1978 film, "The Deer Hunter."

Answer: Harpers Ferry

Heyward Shepherd was a free black man, a baggage handler around the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in Harpers Ferry. He had a wife and five children in nearby Winchester. It was ironic that he was killed in this raid, as it was started by John Brown, an abolitionist who intended to start a slave revolt. He and his party accosted Shepherd, and shot him in the back when he did not comply, turning to warn others in the vicinity of the incoming raid.

The monument (built in 1931) has attracted controversy due to the "happy slave" narrative it originally promoted (despite the fact that Shepherd was born free, and was never a slave) and plaques have since been added to correct this assertion.

Answer: Clarksburg

Clarksburg is the county seat of Harrison County, West Virginia. It is situated on the West Fork River. Every Labor Day weekend annually, Clarksburg hosts the three-day West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival, attracting around 100,000 people a time.

The Oak Mounds were built around 1 - 1000 AD by a Pre-Columbian Native American tribe, and consist of two earth mounds just outside of the city.

Answer: Missouri

West Virginia also shares a border with Kentucky to the south-west. It borders Pennsylvania to the north, Ohio to the northwest and Virginia and Maryland to the east.

Answer: Ripley

Ripley is the county seat of Jackson County, West Virginia.

In 1897, 6,000 people came from miles away to witness the public hanging of John F. Morgan, aged 27. It was one of the most notorious murder cases at the time, attracting nationwide attention. Morgan murdered Chloe Greene and two of her three young children with a hatchet. One child escaped to report what Morgan had done. The Jackson Herald asserted that there was a "county fair" atmosphere among those waiting to see Morgan die. After the execution a law to ban public hanging was established in the state, in an effort to avoid the circus, spectacle and possible danger of such a large crowd gathering in such circumstances. Hanging was West Virginia's official method of execution until 1949.

West Virginia abolished capital punishment in 1965.

Answer: Wheeling Suspension Bridge

The city of Wheeling, West Virginia has the Wheeling Suspension Bridge. It was the first bridge to cross a large river situated west of the Appalachian mountains, and was designed by American engineer, Charles Ellet Jr (1810-1862) who also established the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge (the first railway suspension bridge to cross the Niagara Gorge) the same year he built the Wheeling Suspension Bridge.

Answer: Monongahela

The Monongahela is around 130 miles (210 km) long. It winds through West Virginia and neighbouring Pennsylvania. The Braddock Expedition of 1755 (a failed British military expedition) occurred on this river, where the British failed to capture the French fort, Fort Duquesne.

The Monongahela was also the site of a plane crash in 1956 that has since generated much speculation and conspiracy theory. A B-52 bomber flying from Nellis Air Force Base in southern Nevada, crashed close to the Glenwood Bridge in Pennsylvania. Four out of the six survived the crash, and incoming exposure. Two drowned. The aircraft was never recovered, despite the fairly shallow waters it had crashed into.

Answer: Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum

The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum was built between the 1850s-1880s. Its construction took longer than originally planned, due to the American Civil War interrupting the proceedings. Richard Snowden Andrews was the architect. The building's area is 26.5 acres (10.7 ha).

Answer: Josephs Mills

Located in Tyler County, West Virginia, Josephs Mills is an unincorporated community located on the Middle Island Creek.

Cecil H. Underwood (1922-2008) was a Republican politician who became the youngest Governor of West Virginia in 1956, aged 34. In 1996, he then became the oldest governor of West Virginia, aged 74.

Answer: Spring Hill Cemetery

Spring Hill Cemetery is a historic district of Charlestown, West Virginia. It is approximately 170 acres (70 ha) in area, and includes five cemeteries on one complex: the Spring Hill Cemetery, Lowenstein Cemetery, B'nai Israel Cemetery, Mountain View Cemetery and Mount Olivet Cemetery.

Answer: Gauley

Gauley River is around 105 miles (170 km) long and joins the New River (which flows through North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia before merging with the Gauley) to structure the Kanawha River, which is a tributary of the Ohio River.