West Virginia is a great state with an interesting past. Did you know …
- Until June 20, 1863, West Virginia was part of the state of Virginia. But during the Civil War, West Virginia became the 35th state in the union. It all started when the majority of Virginia delegates voted to secede from the union and become part of the Confederate States of America. The people in the western part of the state disagreed with the decision and decided to form a state of their own. President Abraham Lincoln signed a law allowing West Virginia to become a separate state, and it remains one today. The citizens of West Virginia still celebrate June 20th as a legal holiday, “West Virginia Day.” It is the only state to have been created by presidential proclamation!
- Ob, Summer, and Cletus visit the state capital of Charleston, but the capital of West Virginia hasn’t always been in Charleston. When West Virginia became a state in 1863, Wheeling was the capital. The capital was moved to Charleston in 1870, then back to Wheeling in 1875. In 1877, a vote was held to decide between Martinsburg, Charleston, and Clarksburg as state capital. The capital was moved back to Charleston again and, despite recurring protests, it has remained there.
- The West Virginia capitol building was completed in February 1932. It cost over nine million dollars to construct!
- West Virginia was the first state to have a sales tax (in 1921), free rural mail delivery (1896), and outdoor advertising (1908). The first steamboat was also launched in West Virginia, in 1787, and the town of Grafton, West Virginia, was the first place to observe Mother’s Day (1908). West Virginia even has claim to the first brick street in the world! It was laid in Charleston in 1870.
Quick state facts:
- State animal: Black bear
- State bird: Cardinal
- State butterfly: Monarch butterfly
- State fish: Brook trout
- State flower: Rhododendron maximum, or “great laurel”
- State fruit: Golden Delicious apple
- State nickname: The Mountain State
- State motto: “Mountaineers Are Always Free.”
Check out where Ob, Summer, and Cletus drove on their trip through West Virginia!
