Southern West Virginia

When you come to Southern West Virginia, you’re met with stunning landscapes, breathtaking views and a deep-rooted, cultural sense of place and hospitality. In this part of the Mountain State, its residents are deeply proud of their homes, their contributions, and the challenging journeys that past generations have had to endure. Many of the rural West Virginia towns that were once thriving coal communities, powering our entire nation, have over the past 100 years, experienced poor job markets, population loss and steep declines in public health and economic prosperity, which was only worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite these challenges, the entire region has seen growth and prosperity even since the onset of the global pandemic. The Southern West Virginia Community Network brings together partner and collaborators from throughout one of West Virginia’s most distressed regions to build upon the exciting momentum that’s been established over recent years.

The West Virginia Community Development Hub, host of the Southern WV Community Network, sees the network as an extension of their place-based and “on-the-ground” approach to rural community development. While the network is new, members of the network have already begun to capitalize on existing collaborative efforts to address four priority areas: Infrastructure, Housing, Workforce Development and Economic Development. 

The Southern WV Community Network is home to the state's only National Park, the recently designated New River Gorge National Park. The region is also home to ten state parks, world-class white-water rafting, and the highly successful Hatfield-McCoy Trail System. Not only has the region seen a dramatic increase in tourism and recreation economies, but also new investment in advanced manufacturing, aerospace, renewable energy and other sectors that are enabling the region to diversify their industry sectors and create new opportunities for the workforce.