West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Appalachia connects mountainous parts of the South, the Midwest, the Rust Belt and even the Northeast. The Appalachian Regional Commission defined the boundaries for Appalachia in 1965 with the creation of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), a part of Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War on Poverty.” It was legislation that sought to expand social welfare, and some localities were eager for the money, while others resisted the designation. The boundaries and definition of Appalachia can now only be changed by an act of Congress. Politically, Appalachia encompasses 423 counties across 13 states — and West Virginia’s the only state entirely inside the region.