Coal Becomes West Virginia State Rock
Published: June 3, 2009
GILBERT, W.Va.
Bituminous coal is now West Virginia’s official state rock.
Gov. Joe Manchin has signed a House of Delegates resolution making the designation based primarily on coal’s contribution to the state’s economy and history. West Virginia is the nation’s No. 2 coal producer behind Wyoming and a key source of energy to the South and East.
The resolution notes explorer John Peter Salley found coal near Racine in 1742 - he named the Coal River as a result. George Washington observed a Mason County coal fire in 1770, and Conrad Cotts opened the state’s first commercial coal mine near Wheeling in 1810.
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