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The first edition of West Virginia: A History, published in 1985, was designed for informed West Virginians and others interested in the history of the state. The approach was primarily narrative and based upon the belief that most readers desired essential information and a faithful re-creation of the past rather than one predominantly interpretive or analytical.

In this second edition we have retained the same approach, but we have added a chapter on the 1980s and 1990s. We have also updated or amended some material in the text and bibliographical listings. Insofar as possible, we have based this work upon scholarly writings, both past and present, and commented upon their findings and interpretations, while at the same time we have offered our own views when they seemed essential or desirable. Although we subscribe to the belief that history may inform and elucidate the present, we have not attempted to draw out only those threads that seem to exist in the late twentieth century. The past has its own integrity, and recapturing it for its own sake may in the long run be as instructive as winnowings that appear to have special relevance to some later time. We have tried to recognize that integrity without ignoring pertinent threads from the past where they genuinely appear to exist.

In the course of our research, we have relied upon the staffs of numerous libraries, but our greatest dependence has been upon those of the Vining Library of West Virginia Institute of Technology, the West Virginia Division of Archives and History, the Kanawha County Public Library at Charleston, and the West Virginia University Library. They have been unfailingly sympathetic and helpful. The collection and reproduction of photographs have been greatly facilitated by the courtesies of Rodney Pyles, a former director of the West Virginia Division of Archives and History, and his cooperative staff; Rodney Collins, director of the Historical Preservation Unit of the West Virginia Division of Archives and History; Daniel Fowler and Ray Swick of the Blennerhassett Historical Park Commission, Parkersburg; and Professor Raymond Janssen of the Department of Geology of Marshall University. Dr. Kenneth R. Bailey and the West Virginia Institute of Technology Foundation rendered a valuable service by providing funds for preparation of the maps.

We also extend our thanks to Dr. Ken Hechler, West Virginia secretary of state; Dr. Gordon R. Short, vice-president for Academic Affairs, West Virginia Institute of Technology; Kenneth M. Ferguson, Planning and Research Division supervisor, West Virginia Department of Transportation; Sharon Lewis, West Virginia Department of Education; and Sharon Burgess Paxton, research analyst, West Virginia Development Office. Finally, we thank students and other readers for useful comments on the first edition of this work and for encouraging us to undertake a second edition.