At first, however, the new state was not called West Virginia. It was named “Kanawha,” a title later abandoned after delegates debated alternatives including “Allegheny, “Augusta,” “Columbia, “New Virginia,” and “Potomac” before settling on West Virginia. The constitutional steps leading to statehood remain one of the most closely studied episodes in West Virginia history and are detailed by the West Virginia Encyclopedia. A decision that changed American historyLincoln ultimately concluded that admitting West Virginia was both lawful and necessary to preserve the Union. Abraham Lincoln never saw the state he createdAlthough Abraham Lincoln signed the legislation that made West Virginia possible and proclaimed its admission to the Union, historians believe he never actually visited the new state.