Outmigration

West Virginia's story of outmigration

Like much of Appalachia, West Virginia’s story is one of outmigration. Between 1950 to 2000, West Virginia lost nearly 800,000 people and still continues to lose population more than any other state. Most recently, census data show a 3.2% loss of West Virginia’s population in the years 2010-2020, which equals about 60,000 people. As a result of this most recent population decline, West Virginia has lost a congressional seat, its fourth since 1960; the entire state, which once had six representatives, now has only two congressional districts. This lack of representation contributes not just to governance but also to the feeling of invisibility West Virginians already experience, as well as the feeling of longing from those who have left.

Outmigration along the Hillbilly Highway also contributes to stereotypical perceptions of West Virginias outside the state. Outmigration both builds upon and contributes to perceptions of West Virginians outside the region; stereotypes developed during the earliest writing about Appalachia continue to persist today. Dually perceived as invisible by those who confuse West Virginia with Virginia and simplified by the hillbilly stereotype, West Virginians away from home experience a lack of understanding as well displacement and longing for place.

Recently, initiatives to draw visitors and new residents to the state have begun to take root. While much of this can be connected to statewide efforts to draw tourism on a large scale, like campaigns through the West Virginia Department of Tourism, or remote work initiatives like Ascend West Virginia, there are other, smaller-scale projects.

Thurmond, WV

For example, towns like Thurmond have been gutted and decimated by outmigration but are now potential sites of change; once a booming rail town, Thurmond is now a national historic site hosting a visitor’s center for the newly established New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.

Matewan, WV

Other examples are Williamson and Matewan, Mingo County towns associated with feuds, folklore, and rebellion in the coal fields but which are now centers of history, recreation, and health, jointly hosting an annual marathon that boasts thousands of participants from all over the world.

Moving on from the collective effects of outmigration involves reclaiming space that has been hollowed out and identities that are uniquely tied to place; West Virginians are doing this in many different ways.

West Virginia writers and artists

Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard

“West Virginia, My Home” captures beautifully the pain of leaving home and wanting to return while recognizing the impossibility of doing so

Cynthia Rylant

Cynthia Rylant (Track Number 33) speaks to West Virginian identity and the need to subsume the markers of place-based identity to counter stereotypes, but how embracing that identity helps displaced people to find who they really are and to share their experiences with others.

Writing Prompt

Displacement and migration affect not just the places people leave, but also the places where they settle. Not only that, displacement and outmigration affect identity: how people understand themselves as emplaced/displaced. Consider the effects of migration for yourself, or other places and people, and, if you can, make connections to Appalachian or West Virginian experience.

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