West Virginia State University is a historically black public college in Institute, an unincorporated area of Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States and suburb of Charleston. In the Charleston-metro area, the school is usually referred to simply as "State" or "West Virginia State". It is one of the original 1890 Land-Grant colleges and is the smallest land-grant institution in the country. Dr. Hazo W. Carter, Jr. became the first president of West Virginia State University in 2004, after previously serving as the ninth president of West Virginia State College, when the school was granted university status. WVSU is located on Mound Builder Native American land granted to George Washington for his service in the King's Military before the Revolutionary War. As a slave plantation, it belonged to Governor Cabbel whose son Sam Cabbel inherited it. Sam Cabbel legally married one of his slaves, Mary Barnes and named her and their children in his will. The land was sold to the state to become the site of the 'West Virginia Colored Institute. Sam and Marry Cabbel and their children are buried on the campus of WVSU.