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. They created a
Unionist state government in
Wheeling under
Francis 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. 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. June 20 had been informally celebrated across West Virginia over the next six decades until the
West Virginia Legislature gave the holiday formal recognition in 1927. The day has traditionally been celebrated with festivities at the state capitol complex in
Charleston and 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 in
Charleston and
Fayetteville. ==References==