<P> The First Convention was organized after Lord Dunmore , the colony 's royal governor , dissolved the House of Burgesses when that body called for a day of prayer as a show of solidarity with Boston , Massachusetts , when the British government closed the harbor under the Boston Port Act . The Burgesses , who had been elected by propertied freeholders throughout the colony , moved to Raleigh Tavern to continue meeting . The Burgesses declared support for Massachusetts and called for a congress of all the colonies , the Continental Congress . The Burgesses , convened as the First Convention , met on August 1 , 1774 , and elected officers , banned commerce and payment of debts with Britain , and pledged supplies . They elected Peyton Randolph , the Speaker of the House of Burgesses , as the President of the Convention ( a position he held for subsequent conventions until his death in October 1775 ) . </P>
<P> The First Convention was organized after Lord Dunmore , the colony 's royal governor , dissolved the House of Burgesses when that body called for a day of prayer as a show of solidarity with Boston , Massachusetts , when the British government closed the harbor under the Boston Port Act . The Burgesses , who had been elected by propertied freeholders throughout the colony , moved to Raleigh Tavern to continue meeting . The Burgesses declared support for Massachusetts and called for a congress of all the colonies , the Continental Congress . The Burgesses , convened as the First Convention , met on August 1 , 1774 , and elected officers , banned commerce and payment of debts with Britain , and pledged supplies . They elected Peyton Randolph , the Speaker of the House of Burgesses , as the President of the Convention ( a position he held for subsequent conventions until his death in October 1775 ) . </P>
where was west virginia 's first constitutional convention held
where was west virginia 's first constitutional convention held
August 1 , 1774
August 1 , 1774