COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 10
(By Senators Yoder, Barnes and Unger)
____________
[Originating in the Committee on Government Organization;
reported February 1, 2007.]
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Requesting the State of West Virginia and the United States federal
government to fully recognize that the counties of Berkeley
and Jefferson in the State of West Virginia are part of the
beautiful and historic Shenandoah Valley and part of the
Shenandoah Battlefields National Historic District and
Commission.
Whereas, The State of West Virginia was part of the State of
Virginia until the twentieth day of June, one thousand eight
hundred sixty-three; and
Whereas, The counties of Berkeley and Jefferson were not
officially added to the new State of West Virginia until 1872 upon
the ruling of the United States Supreme Court; and
Whereas, The court ruling split the Shenandoah Valley into two
sections, with Berkeley and Jefferson counties being part of the
State of West Virginia and part of a political arm called the Eastern Panhandle and the rest of the
Shenandoah Valley
being part
of the State of Virginia; and
Whereas, In 1996, the United States Congress established the
Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District and
Commission in the State of Virginia and did not include the
counties of Berkeley and Jefferson in the State of West Virginia;
and
Whereas, The Shenandoah Valley begins at the Potomac River in
the State of West Virginia and continues southwestward to near the
city of Roanoke in the State of Virginia and is flanked by the Blue
Ridge Mountains to the east and by the Allegheny Mountains to the
west; and
Whereas, The Potomac River forms the northern boundary for the
counties of Berkeley and Jefferson in the State of West Virginia
and the Blue Ridge Mountains are in eastern Jefferson County and
the Allegheny Mountains are in western Berkeley County; and
Whereas,
The Shenandoah River flows northward and empties into
the Potomac River at Harper's Ferry, West Virginia; and
Whereas,
The Shenandoah Valley is divided into two parts, the
Upper Shenandoah Valley located southward and so named because of
its high elevation and the Lower Shenandoah Valley located
northward and so named because of its low elevation; and
Whereas,
The history of Berkeley and Jefferson counties is a
land full of famous patriots, people, wars, great events, legend
and lore; and
Whereas,
The following historical persons have contributed to the history of Berkeley and Jefferson counties: George Washington;
Thomas Jefferson; Morgan Morgan; United States Senator Charles
James Faulkner; Revolutionary War Generals William Darke, Horatio
Gates, Charles Lee, Daniel Morgan and Adam Stephen; Davy Crockett;
James Rumsey, inventor of the steamboat; John Brown; Robert E. Lee;
"Stonewall" Jackson; J.E.B. Stuart; Turner Ashby; the Gray Ghost
and Confederate Spy, Belle Boyd; David Hunter and David Hunter
Strother (pen name "Porte Crayon"); and Martin Robinson Delaney,
the highest ranking black officer in the Civil War; and
Whereas, Harpers Ferry,
Jefferson County, in the State of West
Virginia
is recognized as a historical area and the events which
transpired there enriched our country's heritage; and
Whereas,
The Great Wagon Road, later called the Valley
Turnpike, provided travel for Indians, the early pioneers and
Revolutionary and Civil War soldiers, crossed the counties; and
Whereas, Boydville in Berkeley
County is
a historic farm that
needs to be nationally recognized; and
Whereas,
The Shenandoah Valley was known as the "Breadbasket
of the Confederacy" because of its richness of fertile soils that
sustained life for farms and orchards; and
Whereas,
The counties are home to the following: The oldest
United States military unit in continuous existence since 1735; the
B & O roundhouses, landmarks in twentieth century industrial
architecture that replaced buildings destroyed during the famous
Civil War raid by General Jackson; the first rural free mail
delivery in America begun by United States Postmaster General William L. Wilson, a son of Jefferson County; and Happy Retreat,
the home of Charles Washington; and
Whereas,
Berkeley and Jefferson counties
are the
birthplaces
of the following persons: United States President Andrew Jackson,
Senator and Governor of Virginia Harry Flood Byrd, baseball player
Hack Wilson, World War I Secretary of the War Newton D. Baker, the
Legend of Wizard Clip and western artist William Robinson Leigh;
and
Whereas,
Berkeley and Jefferson counties have been witness to
the great events, including the marriage of United States President
James and Dolly Madison; and
Whereas, The following
important
military actions took place
in
Berkeley and Jefferson counties: The Bee Line March; the Battle
of Falling Waters, which was the first engagement in the Shenandoah
Valley and the first cavalry action of the Civil War; the 1862
Battle of Harpers Ferry; the Jackson Valley Campaign; and Philip
Sheridan's successful Union Valley Campaign; and
Whereas,
The city of Martinsburg in Berkeley
County
is known
as the "Northern Gateway to the Shenandoah Valley", the "Queen
City" and is home to the famous Apple Pie Ridge, the first Apple
Carnival event held in 1909, the Apple Blossom and Apple Harvest;
and
Whereas,
Berkeley and Jefferson counties are the "Cradle of
America" and
should be eligible to become part of the Shenandoah
Valley Battlefields National Historic District and Commission and
be eligible for any other federal programs that are available for the Shenandoah Valley; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Legislature hereby requests
the State of West
Virginia and the United States federal government to fully
recognize that the counties of Berkeley and Jefferson in the State
of West Virginia are part of the beautiful and historic Shenandoah
Valley and part of the Shenandoah Battlefields National Historic
District and Commission
; and, be it
Further Resolved, That Berkeley and Jefferson counties, West
Virginia, should be eligible to become part of the Shenandoah
Battlefields National Historic District and Commission and be
eligible for any other federal programs that are available for the
Shenandoah Valley; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the Senate is hereby
directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the President of
the United States, West Virginia's congressional delegation, the
Governor of the State of West Virginia, the county commissions of
Berkeley and Jefferson counties, the mayors and city councils of
Bolivar, Charles Town, Harpers Ferry, Hedgesville, Martinsburg,
Ranson and Shepherdstown
and the county commissioners of Berkeley
and Jefferson counties, West Virginia.
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