Good thing I started early tonight.
" 6. The world's largest sycamore tree is located on the Back Fork of the Elk River in Webster Springs."
Let's take a quick look.
Platanus occidentalis
Back Fork of Elk River, Webster Co.
112 Feet tall.
http://www.gasp.athens.oh.us/wvbigtrees.shtml
Tennessee lists one at 120 feet, http://members.aol.com/hdoka/trees/champtre.htm
And here's a reference to 168 feet in Indiana. http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/plaocc/botanical_and_ecological_characteristics.html
" 10. Cecil Underwood is the nation's oldest governor. He turned 77 on November 5, 1999"
The site doesn't appear to be Y2K compliant.
________
" 13. One of the nation's oldest and largest Indian burial grounds is located in Moundsville. Its 69 feet high, 900 feet in circumference, and 50 feet high. "
Read carefully. If that doeesn't work, draw a quick sketch and mark how high it is.
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"1. West Virginia is the only state in the Union to have acquired its sovereignty by proclamation of the President of the United States."
Just one of the many ways that Abe stomped on the Constitution.
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"7. The first state sales tax ..."
" 22. West Virginia was the first state to have a sales tax. "
At least they put down the same date for both entries.
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" 26. Organ Cave, near Ronceverte, is the third largest cave in the United States and the largest in the state."
According to this list, it isn't even the longest in West Virginia, and ranks 9th in the country.
http://www.pipeline.com/~caverbob/usalong.htm (warning - list is over 800 caves long, so you might want to hit the stop button at some point.
Maybe they meant deep instead of long? No, it's #116 on that list.
http://www.pipeline.com/~caverbob/usadeep.htm _________
"30. One of the first suspension bridges in the world was completed in Wheeling in November 1849"
Since I used this in my attack on the Waco bridge, I'm estopped from being too aggressive, but recall the cable vs chain discussion from the Texas list.
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" 32. Moundsville is the site of the continent’s largest cone-shaped prehistoric burial mound. It is 69 feet high and 900 feet in circumference"
That's two votes for 69' and only one (so far) for 50'. (See entry 13).
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" 33. The first electric railroad in the world, built as a commercial enterprise, was constructed between Huntington and Guyandotte."
No year. Here's a picture of a train from that area in the 1880s. No wires.
http://www.cityofhuntington.com/Visiting/history/history9.asp But here are a couple of claims from Baltimore:
AUGUST 04 1885
Electric locomotives introduced on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad to carry trains through the 3.6 mile Baltimore Tunnel.
AUGUST 10 1885
The Baltimore & Hampden Line becomes the first commercial electric railroad.
http://avenue.org/nrhs/histaug.htm 