Eric Douglas, Chris Schulz, Jack Walker, Maria Young Published

Happy W.Va. Day — 161 Years!

firework shells explode over the river with flags in the foreground
A United States flag and a West Virginia flag fly over the Kanawha River from the back of the Hobby III sternwheeler.
Eric Douglas/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

It’s West Virginia Day! Let’s celebrate with photos taken by our news staff and a little state history.

people walk in front of a house decorated with hundreds of carved and lighted pumpkins.
The West Virginia Pumpkin House in West Virginia.
kids and families "ice skate" on a fake surface in front of the state capitol building
A winter festival in front of the West Virginia Capitol Building.
faded signs decorate a red brick building
Faded painted signs including Mail Pouch adorn a building in Pt. Pleasant, West Virginia.
fans celebrate a touchdown at a football game
Fans celebrate a touchdown during a recent football game at West Virginia University.
brown steel beams in geometric shapes with the ground far below
The view from the walkway underneath the New River Gorge Bridge.
stainless steel statue of a mysterious creature with red eyes and large wings.
The Mothman statue in Pt. Pleasant, West Virginia.
Colorful quilts are spread across several tables placed along the walls of a carpeted room. Behind the tables, additional quilts hang from the walls.
Quilts for sale hang on the walls and tables of Tamarack, an arts marketplace in Beckley.
A crowd of people stands in a dark parking lot, looking at hot air balloons illuminated against the night sky. The most prominent hot air balloon in the photo is red and shaped like a pig, and a fire is lit beneath it, causing it to emanate bright, red lighting.
Kicking off an annual festival, pilots display their hot air balloons in a mall parking lot in Morgantown, lighting them up against the dark backdrop of the night sky.
Icicles poke out from layers of a rock formation that form a small cliff on the side of the road.
Icicles formed on rocks this January next to a road leading to Thurmond, a town in Fayette County.

As every eighth grader knows, West Virginia officially left Virginia on June 20, 1863, in the middle of the Civil War to become a separate state. 

On the Virginia Museum of History and Culture page titled, “Why is there a West Virginia?” it says: 

Secession from Virginia was the hope of some western Virginians as early as 1829. Many western Virginians felt underrepresented in the legislature, overtaxed and shortchanged in state spending. In many counties, rugged terrain made plantation agriculture impractical.

Following Virginia’s vote to secede from the United States in 1861, leaders in 27 counties organized to remain loyal to the federal government. After a half-year of war, they were able to expand their base, reaching across the natural barrier of the Allegheny Mountains, to add 21 additional counties and consume two-fifths of the territory of Virginia. 

What’s Happening On W.Va. Day?

There are activities all over the state. 

The official gathering at the State Capitol and Culture Center in Charleston is free and open to the public.

The celebration will begin at 10:30 a.m. with the State Capitol Dome Murals Project Dedication ceremony in the Capitol’s main building – second floor rotunda, featuring Gov. Jim Justice, Cabinet Secretary Randall Reid-Smith, Del. Jonathan Pinson, R-Mason, Sen. Vince Deeds, R-Greenbrier, students from the West Virginia Ambassadors Camp and Brody Hammers playing piano. 

The ceremony will conclude at 11 a.m. and will be followed by a reception in the Great Hall of the Culture Center, where First Lady Cathy Justice will cut the West Virginia birthday cake. Cupcakes, cookies and refreshments will be served. The first lady will also announce the winner of the inaugural Hot Dog Sauce competition.

The Culture Center and State Museum will be open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for guests to tour the museum and exhibit areas. Visitors are encouraged to sign the state’s birthday card to commemorate the day. Quilts and wall art will be on display.

A row of trees is separated by a green lane in an orchard. Both rows of trees are covered in white apple blossoms.
Apple trees in one of the Shanholtz orchards in full bloom, three weeks earlier than normal.
A blonde woman wearing eclipse glasses and smiling stands amidst a crowd sitting on a green. She wears a grey quarter zip sweater with a "flying WV" logo visible on the right of the sweater's chest. The crowd spreads behind her until a grassy hill rises towards a red brick building.
Jane Connor stands to observe the eclipse using her eclipse glasses at the West Virginia University Mountainlair green April 8, 2024.
A cow with largely white hide and black markings stands in a field of tall grass waving in the wind to the right of frame and facing the camera. Closer to the center of frame is another cow with a primarily black hide and white markings, facing the right of frame. To the left of the black cow can be seen two more cow heads just peeking over the tall grass. In the background can be seen a wooden shed with a metal roof in the top right corner in front of a fence line, as well as a pond that dominates the top right of frame.
Manure from livestock that has grazed in fields treated with herbicides can also be a source of contamination.

Photos by Eric Douglas, Chris Schulz, Jack Walker and Maria Young.

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