- There is never enough fun facts about this beautiful state!
What do you know about Virginia? Did you know that it’s more than 60% covered in forest?
- The city Hampton became home to the country’s first free public school, the Syms-Eaton Free School, in 1634. Several schools have followed since then in the same location or with the same name.
- The state has 15.4 million acres of forest land, 61% of the
state’s total land area. - In 1801, Thomas Jefferson was elected as the 3rd president of the US.
- There are three National Monuments within the state including Booker T. Washington (the tobacco farm where the famous civil rights leader was born into slavery), Fort Monroe (a six-sided-star-shaped fort with a long, rich history), and George Washington’s Birthplace.
- Virginia is no stranger to strange laws. Some locals laws include the following: in Norfolk it’s illegal to spit on a seagull, in Richmond it’s illegal to flip a coin to decide who’s paying for coffee, and in Culpeper it’s illegal to wash a mule on a sidewalk. Did you know this about Virginia?
- Virginia has the most Confederate memorials in the country, but recent protests may result in several being torn down.
- As part of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a hijacked passenger jet crashed into the Pentagon in 2001.
- Virginia has also been nicknamed the “Mother of Presidents”.
- Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. It was established on May 4, 1607. More than 80% of the colonists died with a few years of founding it.
- Virginia is the 3rd largest seafood producer in the country, known for its hardshell clams, oysters, menhaden, sea scallops, and Chesapeake blue crabs.
- There is one UNESCO World Heritage Site in the state: Monticello and the University of Virginia. Monticello was Thomas Jefferson’s plantation home, which he designed himself. He also designed some buildings at the University of Virginia, including The Rotunda, which is a half-scale model of the Pantheon in Rome.
- The state was named after Queen Elizabeth I, who never got married, hence she was famously called the “Virgin Queen”.
- In 1788, it became the 10th state to join the Union.
- Virginia has been called the “Home of the Internet”, as Loudoun County hosts data centers that cater to three-quarters of the web’s traffic. Ashburn, located in the county, is nicknamed “the Data Center Capital of the World.”
- In 1776, Virginia native Thomas Jefferson penned the
Declaration of Independence. This is a fact you probably already knew about Virginia! - In 1943, the headquarters of the US Department of Defense, called the Pentagon, was opened in Arlington.
- Prior to European arrival, the area of Virginia was occupied by three indigenous peoples: the Iroquoians, the Eastern Siouans, and the Algonquians.
- The coat of arms features the Roman goddess Virtus and the tyrant she defeated. The goddess is holding a spear and a sword, while the tyrant is holding a whip and a chain. The tyrant’s crown has fallen to the right. The goddess symbolizes the state of Virginia, while the tyrant symbolizes Great Britain.
- Mount Rogers is the highest point in Virginia, at 5,729 ft (1,746 m) above sea level. What do you know about Virginia and it’s highest peak?
- Dirty Dancing was partially filmed in Mountain Lake, Virginia (the other parts were filmed in Lake Lure, North Carolina).
- In 1861, the state seceded from the Union and joined the Confederate States, and the Civil War began.
- Virginia was readmitted to the Union in 1870.
- Rockbridge County resident Cyrus McCormick created the mechanical reaper in 1831 after he combined the work of multiple farming tools. His invention increased the crop yields of farmers by up to 200%.
- America’s first test tube baby was developed at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, which resulted in the country’s first successful IVF pregnancy. A little baby girl was born by Caesarian on December 28, 1981.
- In 1672, a peninsula in Petersburg, Virginia was renamed Pocahontas Island.
- The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is one of only 12 bridge-tunnels in the world. Its total length is 17.6 mi (28.3 km). What a cool fun fact about Virginia!
- In 1698, Williamsburg became the capital.
- While most people consider the first Thanksgiving to have taken place in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621, another Thanksgiving ceremony took place earlier in Virginia in 1619. When a ship arrived safety from Bristol, England, the crew conducted a ceremony of thanks.
- In 1624, the state became a royal colony.
- The 1st rotary-dial telephones were installed in Norfolk in 1919.
- Richmond is the capital city, with a population of 226,000, it just barely makes the list of 100 largest cities in the US.
- Hilton hotels and Dollar Tree are both headquartered in
the state. - West Virginia broke away from Virginia and formed its own state in 1863, mainly because of political differences and views towards slavery.
- Patrick Henry, one of the founding fathers of the US, famously said “Give me liberty or give me death” at St. John’s Church in Richmond in 1775.
- The state is located in the mid-Atlantic and Southeastern region of the United States. The Appalachian Mountains run diagonally across the state. How cool is this about Virginia?
- The greater Richmond area has 1.26 million people, making it the 45th largest metropolitan area in the country.
What’s the coolest thing you learned about Virginia? Let me know in the comments!