West Virginia Fast Facts

Date Admitted to the Union:

June 20, 1863 - West Virginia was the 35th state. The western portion of Virginia did not wish to secede from the Union in 1861 and broke away to form its own state.

West Virginia State Capital:

Charleston

State Nickname:

Mountain State

State Motto:

Montani semper liberi.
Translation: Mountaineers Are Always Free

West Virginia State Bird:

Cardinal

West Virginia State Flower:

Rhododendron

West Virginia State Tree:

Sugar Maple

Cities With Population Over 50,000:

• Charleston
• Huntington

Famous People From West Virginia :

• Pearl S. Buck, Author
• Thomas Stonewall Jackson, US Civil War General (in an area that would become West Virginia)
• Anna Jarvis, Helped Found Mother's Day
• Mary Lou Retton, Gymnast and Olympic Gold Medalist
• Chuck Yeager, Test Pilot