West Virginia Day

Celebrated annually on June 20, the day celebrates the state's 1863 admission to the Union as a result of the secession of several northwestern counties of Virginia during the American Civil War.

[1] It is mostly celebrated through festivals in major West Virginian cities.

During the Civil War, the Virginia General Assembly in Richmond chose to join the Confederate States of America, much to the chagrin of many Union loyalists in the counties bordering Pennsylvania and Ohio in the trans-Allegheny region of the state.

[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 President Abraham Lincoln.

West Virginia Day is celebrated in various different ways across the state, with things like festivals at the capitol in Charleston and Fayetteville.