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West Virginia State Symbols, Songs, and Emblems
For the latest symbols information, visit the NETSTATE CHRONICLE.
| Designation | Symbol / Emblem | Adopted |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sources...The State of West Virginia. West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code. Charleston: The State of West Virginia, 2011. Web.
|
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| Great seal | Find out more... | 1863 | ||||
| Flower | Big laurel (Rhododendron maximum) | 1903 | ||||
| Day | West Virginia Day, June 20 | 1927 | ||||
| Flag | Find out more... | 1929 | ||||
| Song | "West Virginia, My Home Sweet Home," by Julian G. Hearne, Jr. | 1947 1963 |
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| Tree | Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) | 1949 | ||||
| Bird | Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) | 1949 | ||||
| Song | "The West Virginia Hills," words and music by Ellen King and H.E. Engle | 1961 1963 |
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| Centennial song Song |
"This is My West Virginia," by Iris Bell "This is My West Virginia," by Iris Bell |
1962 1963 |
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| Colors | Old gold and blue | 1963 | ||||
| Animal | Black bear (Ursus americanus) | 1973 | ||||
| Fish | Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) | 1973 | ||||
| Gem | Chalcedony | 1990 | ||||
| Butterfly | Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) | 1995 | ||||
| Fruit | Apple (Malus Mill.) Golden delicious apple (Malus Mill.) |
1972 1995 |
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| Folk dance | Folk dance | 1986 | ||||
| Intertribal Tribe/Organization | Appalachian American Indian Tribe/Organization | 1996 1998 |
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| Soil | Monongahela silt loam | 1997 | ||||
| Insect | Honeybee | 2002 | ||||
| Steam locomotive | Cass Scenic Railroad State Park's Shay No. 5 | 2004 | ||||
| Year-round professional theatre | Greenbrier Valley Theatre | 2006 | ||||
| Youth ballet | River City Youth Ballet Ensemble | 2007 | ||||
| Fossil | Megalonyx jeffersonii | 2008 | ||||
| Reptile | Timber rattlesnake | 2008 | ||||
| Tartan | West Virginia shawl | 2008 | ||||
| Rock | Bituminous coal | 2009 | ||||
| Firearm | Hall flintlock model 1819 | 2013 | ||||
| Song | "Take Me Home Country Roads," by John Denver, Taffy Nivert, and Bill Canoff | 2014 | ||||
Making laws in West Virginia
The West Virginia Legislature offers How a Bill Becomes Law to help us understand how laws are made in West Virginia.
For more information about West Virginia with a bit about the Legislature, young people can visit the legislature's Kid's Page. Information about the Legislature is provided as you scroll through a series of pages. It does not look like the Kid's Page receives much attention.
For older students and adults, the legislature offers a Citizen's Guide to the Legislature.
Additional Information
State Symbols: West Virginia State Legislature.
West Virginia
Facts and Symbols
Kathy Feeney
West Virginia Facts and Symbols, by Kathy Feeney. 24 pages. Publisher: Capstone Press; Rev Upd edition (August 2003) Reading level: Grades 3-4. Interest level: Grades 3-9. Perfect for report writing! Easy-to-read text covers major West Virginia symbols such as the state flag, seal, bird, tree, flower, animal, and more. A "Fast Facts" section highlights the state's capital city, largest city, physical size, population, natural resources, farm products, and primary manufactured goods. Also included are full-page maps that introduce the concept of the map key, which is great for teaching map-reading skills.
State Names, Seals
Flags and Symbols
Benjamin F. Shearer
Barbara S. Shearer
State Names, Seals, Flags and Symbols, by Benjamin F. Shearer, Barbara S. Shearer. 544 pages. Greenwood Press; 3 Sub edition (October 30, 2001) This is one of the best, and most comprehensive, books we could find about the official state names and nicknames, mottoes, seals, flags, capitols, flowers, trees, birds, songs, and miscellaneous designations of each state. This, coupled with the 1938 Shankle book, formed the basis of our symbol library. If you're serious about your states symbols, you'll want to have this book and the one below. This book also contains information about state holidays, license plates, sports teams, universities and other trivia.
State Names, Flags, Seals, Songs, Birds, Flowers, and Other Symbols, by George Earlie Shankle. 522 pages. Reprint Services Corp; Revised edition (June 1971) Reprint of the 1938 revised edition. The first comprehensive book about our state symbols! From the preface: "This book grew out of the desire of its author to know, about his native state, a great many facts which he found exceedingly difficult to obtain. After three years of research in the Library of Congress, he is able to give to the public this storehouse of information, which could have been gathered from not library less fertile in source material..."
Visit the NETSTATE West Virginia State Book Store for additional West Virginia related books, including West Virginia Reference Books, History, Biographies and Cookbooks.
