WEST VIRGINIA

State of West Virginia

ORIGIN OF STATE NAME: The state was originally the western part of Virginia. NICKNAME: The Mountain State. CAPITAL: Charleston. ENTERED UNION: 20 June 1863 (35th). SONGS: "The West Virginia Hills," "West Virginia, My Home Sweet Home," and "This Is My West Virginia." MOTTO: Montani semper liberi (Mountaineers are always free). COAT OF ARMS: A farmer stands to the right and a miner to the left of a large ivy-draped rock bearing the date of the state's admission to the Union. In front of the rock are two hunters' rifles upon which rests a cap of liberty. The state motto is beneath and the words "State of West Virginia" above. FLAG: The flag has a white field bordered by a strip of blue, with the coat of arms in the center, wreathed by rhododendron leaves; across the top of the coat of arms are the words "State of West Virginia." OFFICIAL SEAL: The same as the coat of arms. ANIMAL: Black bear. BIRD: Cardinal. FISH: Brook trout. FLOWER: Rhododendron. TREE: Sugar maple. FRUIT: Apple. COLORS: Old gold and blue. LEGAL HOLIDAYS: New Year's Day, 1 January; Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., 3rd Monday in January; Lincoln's Birthday, 12 February; Washington's Birthday, 3rd Monday in February; Memorial Day, last Monday in May; West Virginia Day, 20 June; Independence Day, 4 July; Labor Day, 1st Monday in September; Columbus Day, 2nd Monday in October; Veterans Day, 11 November; Thanksgiving Day, 4th Thursday in November; Christmas Day, 25 December. TIME: 7 AM EST = noon GMT.

⁵⁰ BIBLIOGRAPHY

Duda, Mark Damian. West Virginia Wildlife Viewing Guide. Helena, Mont.: Falcon, 1999.

Forbes, Harold M. West Virginia History: Bibliography and Guide to Studies. Morgantown: West Virginia University Press, 1981.

Johnson, Clint. In the Footsteps of Stonewall Jackson. Winston-Salem, N.C.: John F. Blair, 2002.

Lilly, John, ed. Mountains of Music: West Virginia Traditional Music from Goldenseal. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1999.

——. West Virginia: A History. 2nd ed. Lexington, Ky.: University of Kentucky Press, 1993.

Shaffer, John W. Clash of Loyalties: A Border County in the Civil War. Morgantown: West Virginia University Press, 2003.

Thomas, Jerry Bruce. An Appalachian New Deal: West Virginia in the Great Depression. Lexington, Ky.: The University Press of Kentucky, 1998.

West Virginia Politics and Government. Edited by Richard A. Brisbin, Jr., et al. Lincoln, Nebr.: University of Nebraska Press, 1996.