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As the result of an election on a statewide basis, where the cities of Martinsburg, Clarksburg and Charleston received votes, in the fall of 1877 Governor Jacob issued a proclamation declaring that, after eight years, Charleston, having received the majority of the vote, was to be the permanent seat of government.
This is very true. In fact, Wheeling being the first capital wasn't even on the ballot. Of course if Wheeling was the capital, it would easily win the contest for worst located capital city by far.
Though it's not a very large state geographically; Massachusetts kind of left it's western areas out to dry with having Boston be the capital.
Do you think Boston is too crowded right now? If so do you think the capital and the state agencies can be moved west to relieve pressure on the largest city in the state?
One interesting aspect is that U.S. capital cities by and large haven't become overcrowded as they are not the principal cities of business/commerce. This phenomenon is why:
* Brazil moved its capital from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia in the 1960s
* South Korea moved many of its ministries from Seoul to centrally-located Sejong City (also good for national security purposes, though I hear the bureaucrats hate it since Sejong City is far away from everything)
* Malaysia moved many of its ministries from Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya (which is anyway part of the KL metropolitan area)
* Japan is considering moving the capital and/or its ministries away from Tokyo
I know some states have many of their agencies outside of the state capital. For example many Maryland state agencies are actually headquartered in Baltimore City and unincorporated areas of Anne Arundel County. (my home state Texas only has one major state agency outside of Austin, the prison system or TDCJ headquartered in Huntsville. Some politicians are trying to move the agency's HQ to Austin but the politicians from Huntsville are fighting the move.)
P.S. the California Supreme Court is actually in San Francisco
Carson City is another bad location for a state capital. Clark County(where a vast majority of Nevadans live) is in the southeast corner of Nevada. There is no interstate route between Las Vegas and Carson City, and Carson City is all the way in the northern corner of Nevada.
Juneau, Alaska can only be reached via air and sea, no road to the rest of the state. Residents are against opening a highway for environmental reasons and the state's also rejected moving the capital to Anchorage.
State capitals aren't that important though, the legislature just meets there once a year and the governor lives there.
Juneau, Alaska can only be reached via air and sea, no road to the rest of the state. Residents are against opening a highway for environmental reasons and the state's also rejected moving the capital to Anchorage.
State capitals aren't that important though, the legislature just meets there once a year and the governor lives there.
Juneau is exactly what I first thought of. It's in a strange location in Alaska, it can't really grow because of where it's located and it's somewhat hard to get to.
Most states have a centrally located capital which is good.
Juneau is exactly what I first thought of. It's in a strange location in Alaska, it can't really grow because of where it's located and it's somewhat hard to get to.
Most states have a centrally located capital which is good.
I will agree with others here, Juneau is the worst. Only way in is boat or plane. And boat is not even reasonable. Fortunately, many in AK can do government business in Anchorage or Fairbanks.
If going by a centralized location, Macon or Warner Robins would've been a better location than Atlanta. Also, Grand Island or Kearney is more centralized for Nebraska than Lincoln.
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