West Virginia Day
| West Virginia Day | |
|---|---|
| Observed by | West Virginia |
| Date | June 20 |
| Next time | June 20, 2024 |
| Frequency | annual |
West Virginia Dayis a state holiday in the US state ofWest Virginia.Celebrated annually on June 20, the day celebrates the state's 1863admission to the Unionas a result of thesecessionof several northwestern counties of Virginia during theAmerican Civil War.[1]It is mostly celebrated through festivals in major West Virginian cities.
History[edit]
During the Civil War, theVirginia General AssemblyinRichmondchose to join theConfederate States of America,much to the chagrin of many Union loyalists in the counties borderingPennsylvaniaandOhioin the trans-Alleghenyregion of the state.[2]They created aUnionist state governmentinWheelingunderFrancis Pierpont,which began to call for the creation of a new Union state in western Virginia, but the inclusion of many Confederate counties in the new state complicated their efforts.[3]After two years of legal maneuvering, West Virginia was formally admitted to the United States of America on June 20, 1863 via proclamation by PresidentAbraham Lincoln.
June 20 had been informally celebrated across West Virginia over the next six decades until theWest Virginia Legislaturegave the holiday formal recognition in 1927.[4]The day has traditionally been celebrated with festivities at the state capitol complex inCharlestonand at other locations across the state. West Virginia Day is celebrated in various different ways across the state, with things like festivals at the capitol inCharlestonandFayetteville.
References[edit]
- ^Remarks by U.S. SenatorRobert C. Byrd,Happy Birthday, West Virginia!,June 20, 2003
- ^Ambler, Charles Henry,A History of West Virginia,Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1933, pg. 357. "There is no denying the fact that West Virginia was largely the creation of the Northern Panhandle and of counties along the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad..."
- ^Curry, Richard Orr,A House Divided, A study of Statehood Politics and the Copperhead Movement in West Virginia,Univ. of Pittsburgh Press, 1964, pg. 49.
- ^Official State of WV website
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