20th June: West Virginia Admission Day

West Virginia Admission Day. West Virginia became the 33rd state on this day in 1863.

1. West Virginia was, in fact, one of only two states to be admitted to the Union during the Civil War (the other was Nevada). It is the only one created by proclamation of the President of the United States, and the only state created by carving out territory from another state - without that state’s permission. The state was originally going to be called Kanawha, but that idea lasted less than a month before the name was changed to West Virginia after Queen Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen.
2. It took West Virginia a while to decide what its capital was going to be. It was Wheeling, then it was changed to Charleston. Then they changed it back to Wheeling, and back to Charleston again. It's still Charleston at time of writing.
3. What did West Virginia ever do for us? Well, the first patent for a soda fountain was granted in 1833 to George Dulty in Wheeling; it was the first state to celebrate Mother's Day; Golden Delicious Apples were discovered here in 1775 (they are now the state fruit); the first electric railway in the world between Huntington and Guyandotte; and the first steamboat. On the down side, outdoor advertising and sales tax also started here.
4. Joining Golden Delicious apples as state symbols are the state tree - sugar maple, state animal - black bear, state flower - Rhododendron, state bird - Cardinal, state butterfly - monarch and state gem - Fossil Coral. West Virginia's nickname is the Mountain State and its motto is Montani semper liberi "Mountaineers Are Always Free."
5. Well, they're usually free. According to the crime index for 1997, West Virginia had the lowest crime rate in the country. Nevertheless, it was the first state to establish a prison exclusively for women - the Federal Industrial Institution for Women in Alderson. Diplomats from Germany, Italy and Japan were held at a spa resort in Allegheny Mountains in White Sulphur Springs during the second world war. Greenbrier was also the location of the nuclear bunker the US congress would hide out in in case of a nuclear attack.
6. One wonders how many of the women in the women's prison were there because they broke West Virginia's law that makes it illegal to dry your hair on a Sunday or send children to school with their breath smelling of Onions. Other wacky laws - men can have sex with any animal as long as it doesn’t weigh more than 40lbs but it is illegal to sleep on a train. In parts of the state it is forbidden to take a Lion, Tiger or leopard for a walk, even if it's on a lead and clergy are not allowed to spice up their sermons with jokes or funny stories.
7. West Virginia holds the record for “most towns named after cities in other countries” including Athens, Berlin, Cairo, Calcutta, Geneva, Shangai and many more. It also has a town called Mountain, which changed its name from Mole Hill. Weirton is another notable city because it stretches from one state border to another - the only city in the USA for which this is the case.
8. West Virginia is considered the southern most northern state and the northern most southern state. Perhaps not surprising, then, that it has been the scene of a few skirmishes during the US Civil War. The first major land battle fought between Union and Confederate soldiers in the Civil War was the Battle of Philippi on June 3, 1861; the Battle of Buffington Island near Ravenswood on July 19 a significant battle on water; and in 1863.Bailey Brown became the first Union solider to be killed in the conflict on May 22, 1861, at Fetterman,Taylor County.
9. The state's leading industry is tourism, but it used to be coal. 15% of the nations coal comes from West Virginia and it is home to the only house in the world to be built entirely from coal. Other things tourists might want to visit are the world's largest sycamore tree on the Back Fork of the Elk River in Webster Springs; the oldest brick street in the world in Charleston, dating back to 1870; or the New River Gorge Bridge near Fayetteville which is the second highest steel arch bridge in the US and the longest steel arch bridge (1,700 feet) in the world. Every October, people gather to parachute and bungee jump off this bridge.
10. West Virginia has the oldest population of any state. The median age is 40. Not surprising then that they had the oldest state governor in 1996 Cecil Underwood who was elected at the age of 74. Back in 1956 he was the state's youngest governor at the age of 34.