West Virginia Day in 2025

When is West Virginia Day?

West Virginia Day is a state holiday observed in West Virginia, USA.

This public holiday is celebrated on June 20th or the nearest weekday if June 20th falls on a weekend. 

History of West Virginia Day

West Virginia Day marks the anniversary of the creation of the state as a result of the secession of several north-western counties of Virginia during the American Civil War.

Depending on your point of view, West Virginia can be considered as either the most northerly of the southern states or the most southerly of the northern states. The geographic location of the region literally put it on the front line at the outbreak of the American Civil War.

When Virginian delegates met to vote to secede from the union on April 17th 1861, the majority of north-western delegates had voted against seceding. Many in Virginia's mountainous western region opposed slavery and felt little connection to a government they saw as dominated by wealthy plantation owners. A meeting took place in the city of Wheeling, where delegates voted to side with the Union and form a separate state.

On April 20th 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation to formally admit West Virginia into the Union on June 20th 1863, giving West Virginia the distinction of being the only state in the Union to have acquired its sovereignty by proclamation of the President of the United States.

West Virginia Day became a legal holiday by Chapter 59, Acts of the Legislature, Regular Session, 1927.

Did you know?

West Virginia's nickname is the Mountain State and its motto is "Mountaineers Are Always Free" (seen on the flag above in Latin). With an mean altitude of 1,500 feet, it is the state with the highest average altitude east of the Mississippi.

The coat of arms of West Virginia was adopted in 1863. It depicts two crossed rifles and a Liberty cap, representing the importance of fighting for liberty, beneath a boulder. The boulder is flanked by a farmer with an ax and plow, representing agriculture, and a miner with a pickax, anvil and sledgehammer, representing industry. The state flag was adopted in 1929 and consists of a white background, representing purity, with a dark blue border symbolizing the United States. The state seal is surrounded by the rhododendron, the state flower. Other symbols of West Virginia include: the cardinal (state bird); the sugar maple (state tree); the black bear (state animal); and the Golden Delicious apple (state fruit).