CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A history professor reminded people on Tuesday that Charleston hasn't always been the capital of West Virginia -- and once no more than 100 people, most of them soldiers, even lived in the area that now is the heart of the state.

The city underwent a permanent transformation after it became the state capital in the 1880s, merging from a sleepy southern village to a bustling metropolis in the 1960s, said Billy Joe Peyton, who lectured to a packed house at the state Culture Center's library on Tuesday night.

The lecture "Charleston: Then & Now," was presented by Peyton, an associate professor and chairman of the history department at West Virginia State University and the author of "Charleston," published in 2010 as part of Arcadia's Then & Now series.

Charleston had meager origins. The first permanent settlement was by Col. George Clendenin and a small company of Virginia Rangers in 1788 at the site of the present corner of Brooks Street and Kanawha Boulevard.

Although the population of the settlement continued to increase through the 1860s, it wasn't until after the Civil War that the city really started to bloom, Peyton said.

"The population almost doubled every 10 years or so," he said.

Charleston has seen its fair share of changes in architecture, including having three separate locations and buildings for the state Capitol.

The first Capitol, built in 1886, lasted until a fire destroyed it in January 1921, Peyton said.

An acquaintance of Peyton's regaled him with a story while he was writing his book about how when he was in high school, the fire department came to the school and asked all the senior boys to head over and help fight the fire.

"Can you imagine the amount of lawsuits if that happened now?" he said with a laugh.

But the high school boys were instrumental in saving a lot of documents that would have been lost in that fire, he said.

Even before the young men were asked to risk life and limb to save government charters, the fire would be one to remember, Peyton said.

"It went up in flames aided by 50,000 rounds of ammunition that was stored in the attic," Peyton said. "It was like the Fourth of July on January 3."

A second, temporary Capitol burned down in 1927 before the current Capitol Complex was completed in the 1940s.

As Charleston grew, the center of commerce merged from its early prominent place on Kanawha Boulevard near the river up Capitol Street, Peyton said.

"People at that time saw a complete evolution of Capitol Street," he said. Historic pictures from Peyton's books show Capitol Street littered with Saturday shoppers who spent their time shopping at many of the shoe, jewelry and department stores that lined the street.

"It was a place to be seen," he said.

And everything Capitol Street was, Summers Street was not.

"I call Summers Street the naughty sibling of Capitol Street," he said. "I bet some of you can still smell cigarette butts and beer."

Summers Street, once home to numerous bars, all-night diners and adult entertainment establishments, is now home to quieter clientele, mostly limited to office space and a few retail establishments.

Although numerous things have changed in Charleston, many of the historical reminders are left behind, Peyton said.

A majority of the East End was placed on the historic registry, along with scores of downtown buildings, he said. One can walk down Capitol Street and still see many of the old buildings that used to be bustling with customers.

"Charleston is lucky to have as many historic buildings," Peyton said. "A lot of other cities that underwent the same rapid change can't say the same."

Reach Kathryn Gregory at kathr...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5119.