HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) - On this date in 1861, the first Constitutional Convention began to create West Virginia as a state.

It laid out the county names that we still know to this day: Kanawha, Putnam, Cabell, and many more.

It also specifically set forth that West Virginia would be a separate state from Virginia in the United States.

However, it would take until June of 1863 to be founded as a state.

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