West Virginia Day

The New River Gorge Bridge, in Fayetteville (WV), is the longest steel-arch bridge in the United States spanning 1, 815 feet across the New River Canyon. Ironic to its name, the New River is actually one of the oldest rivers in the World and flows south to north, opposite from most rivers because it was formed before the mountains. West Virginia is the only state in the Union to have acquired its sovereignty by proclamation of the President of the United States.

West Virginia Day is a state holiday celebrated every June 20 in the American state of West Virginia. The day celebrates the anniversary of the creation of the state as a result of the secession of several northwestern counties of Virginia during the American Civil War.

During the Civil War, the Virginia General Assembly in Richmond chose to join the Confederate States of America, much to the chagrin of most of the inhabitants in the trans-Allegheny region of the state who had long expressed their resentment toward the political elites in Richmond. Loyal unionists gradually pushed for the creation of a new state. After two years of legal maneuvering, West Virginia was formally admitted to the United States of America on June 20, 1863.

June 20 had been informally celebrated across West Virginia over the next six decades until the West Virginia Legislature gave the holiday formal recognition in 1927. The day has traditionally been celebrated with festivities at the state capitol complex in Charleston and at other locations across the state.

Fun Facts about West Virginia: West Virginia was the first state to have a sales tax. It became effective July 1, 1921. According to the crime index for 1997, West Virginia had the lowest crime rate in the country.

Source: wikipedia.org | wv.gov

Come to West Virginia and we’ll show you how to live... how to treat people. We’re open for business. West Virginia is truly on the move.

Joe Manchin

I think family is very important in West Virginia and has long been so because the mountains made travel difficult in the past, and family members had to depend on each other.

David Selby

A lot of West Virginia is untouched. It doesn’t have as many strip malls, it has these old towns that feel like it used to be how it looked. Charleston has this river that runs through it, and it’s really beautiful.

Sam Trammell

I’m a native West Virginian and I’ve been called everything from a hillbilly to a stump jumper. I’m always proud of it; I’m very proud to be a West Virginian.

John Raese

I couldn’t describe the smells of West Virginia, even if I tried. It has something to do with the leaves composting in the woods, the cold trickle of little creeks and waterfalls, the ferns greening up everything. But somewhere deep below, I can smell the rock and the coal this state is built on.

(Miranda Warning)

Heather Day Gilbert