I understand that West Virginia only joined the US officially in 1863, almost 90 years after the first of the colonies did so. It was the last state east of the Mississippi River to do so. Why? What was it like living in West Virginia at the time? Could people escape the rule of US law by fleeing to West Virginia? How did the area govern itself up until then?
The short answer to this is that West Virginia was governed by the Virginia legislature before 1863, as it was a part of Virginia until it seceded to form its own state.
For a longer answer, you may be interested in these older threads on the topic:
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/3lctso/why_was_west_virginia_allowed_to_secede_from/
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/252ajj/why_didnt_southwestern_virginia_join_west/