West Virginia

A number of famous people were born in or lived in West Virginia. Lakers-Celtics Rivalry.
. Draft Picks (June 2004):. The minor league hockey team is:. Rookies:. The minor league baseball teams are:. Reserves:.

Listed alphabetically, the 55 counties of West Virginia are:. Starters:. The three largest Protestant denominations in West Virginia: Baptist (29% of the total state population), Methodist (15%), Presbyterian (4%).
. The religious affiliations of the citizens of West Virginia are:. They also have the record for most number of consecutive wins in a season (33). Females made up approximately 51.4% of the population. They are notable for having the highest number of wins (2,621), the highest winning percentage (61.9%), the most number of finals appearances (28), and the second most championships (14).

5.6% of West Virginia's population were reported as under 5, 22.3% under 18, and 15.3% were 65 or older.
The Los Angeles Lakers is a National Basketball Association team based in Los Angeles, California. The 5 largest ancestry groups in West Virginia are American (23.2%), German (17.2%), Irish (13.5%), English (12%), Italian (4.8%). Rudy Tomjanovich Head Coach in 2004, resigned February 2 citing health concerns. The racial makeup of the state is:. Phil Jackson Head Coach from 1999-2004 and 2005-Present, won three consecutive NBA titles on three different occasions, once with the Lakers. It was also last in the country in percentage of residents that speak a language other than English in the home (2.7%). The Lakers won 4 titles under his tenure and accumulated a 0.733 regular season win percentage.

Only 1.1% of the state's residents were foreign-born, placing West Virginia last among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in that statistic. Pat Riley Head Coach from 1981-91. As of 2003, West Virginia was probably the US state least affected by immigration. Purchased LA Lakers and Great Western Forum from Jack Kent Cooke. The population of West Virginia as of 2003 was 1,810,354. Jerry Buss owner since 1979. Given the unsettled present condition of the US steel industry, continuation of metal-working industries in the Northern Panhandle cannot be assured. In all aspects of heavy industry there is a perception that the electorate favors creation of factory jobs more than implementation of strict environmental controls; this is probably correct, but how much this outlook actually contributed to the choice of location in West Virginia is hard to determine. Bud Grant played for team before playing and coach football.

Also in the Northern Panhandle, Weirton has been the site of the only tin-processing industry in the USA. John Kundla (Hall of Fame coach during Minneapolis years). Metallurgy, especially steel, has been predominant in the Northern Panhandle due to a spill-over effect from the traditional center of the US steel industry in Pittsburgh. Bill Sharman (Basketball Hall of Famer; enshrined both for his playing career with the Boston Celtics and as a coach). In the Kanawha River Valley near Charleston and along the southern Ohio River Valley near Huntington chemicals predominate, attracted by a readily available labor force and access by barge carriers. Chick Hearn (broadcaster; Basketball Hall of Famer). Along the western edges of the state the large rivers of the mid-continent erode a distance into the hills and it is here, in the west, that some dense pockets of heavy industry appear. Marcus Douthit.

Other wild greens, such as sour dock, lambs quarters, and wild leek (or "ramps") are also still gathered by many for table use, although today more on the basis of avocation or keeping up traditions than out of necessity. Sasha Vujacic. Wild gathered ginseng contributed about $ 2 million in 2000 to the West Virginia economy, a figure larger than many conventional cultivated vegetable and fruit crops. Tony Bobbitt - Guard, 6'4", 190. One area where this practice is still significant is the gathering of wild North American ginseng, often for the Asian market. Sasha Vujacic - Shooting Guard, 6'7", 195. In traditional frontier agriculture there was much gathering of wild "greens" and forest produce to supplement the diet. Luke Walton - Small Forward, 6'8", 235.

In 2002, all of the top five counties by agricultural dollar value were located near the eastern Virginia border. Slava Medvedenko - Power Forward, 6'10", 250. In the ridge and valley area along the eastern border near Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, subsidiary valleys are wide and there are some belts of rich soil which are extensively farmed. Jumaine Jones - Small Forward, 6'8", 220. The chief animals raised were cattle and chickens. Brian Grant - Center, 6'9", 255. Income from animals exceeded income from plants by about 7 to 1, with much of the non-animal income derived from sales of fodder. Devean George - Small Forward, 6'8", 240.

As can be expected in a rugged terrain, raising animals was far more important than growing vegetative crops. Tierre Brown - Point Guard, 6'2", 190. This description of farming portrays an independent and self-sufficient base of small land owners, but also a significant amount of rural underemployment. Brian Cook - Power Forward, 6'9", 235. It should be noted that the rural poverty rate in West Virginia is 20.4% and that this figure is 5 points higher than the urban poverty rate. Vlade Divac - Center, 7'1", 260. Traditionally, informal means of supplementing farm income have also been practiced, such as small-scale logging and hunting for food, and to some extent they still are practiced. Chris Mihm - Center, 7'0", 265.

On the other hand, only 50.5% of the state's farmers considered farming to be their primary occupation, with a significant number of hours worked elsewhere each year, in such areas as factory wage employment when available. Chucky Atkins - Point Guard, 5'11", 160. Family and single-owner operation worked 92.7% of the farms, and an astounding 96.9% were totally or partly owned by the operator. Caron Butler - Small Forward, 6'7", 217. The modal average farm size was a smallish 140 to 179 acres (567,000 to 724,000 mē), most statistics in this section are taken from the 2002 US Census of Agriculture for West Virginia, which sold less than $2,500 of crops annually. Lamar Odom - Power Forward, 6'10", 225. Farming is practiced throughout West Virginia, but in a form different from large extensive cash-crop agriculture elsewhere in the USA. Kobe Bryant - Shooting Guard, 6'6", 220.

Small to medium oil and natural gas fields still exist and are scattered mostly in the Allegheny/Cumberland Plateau in an arc throughout the western part of state. Microphone Chick Hearn. West Virginia was one of the first states to engage in drilling for oil. 44 Jerry West. Most coal today is used by power plants to produce electricity. 42 James Worthy. Coal is little used now for home heating either. 33 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

The railways were once one of the largest customers for coal to drive the steam locomotives, but these have been replaced by diesel locomotives. 32 Magic Johnson. The state has an extensive network of railroads, and much of the coal is transported by rail. 25 Gail Goodrich. Today health and safety regulations and miners pay are much improved, and mining is usually the best paying job in the coalfields. 22 Elgin Baylor. Lewis and the United Mine Workers. 13 Wilt Chamberlain.

Nevertheles, labor organizing persisted under the leadership of John L. Gary Payton. The effort of unions to organize miners is a violent chapter in the state's history; at one point the federal army had to be called in to quell a rebellion, dropping the only bombs ever dropped by the US Army against its own citizens. Karl Malone. In past years the coal companies did mostly as they pleased, keeping miners in virtual servitude through credit at company stores. Derek Fisher. Higher prices for fuels may soon stimulate increased mining again. Robert Horry.

Coal has been one of the state's primary economic resources, although many mines have been closed. Shaquille O'Neal. This process of rounding up people already spread around here and there results in the typical zig-zag, curving, and extending shape of the resulting political unit. Green. In West Virgina the boundaries were formed after settlement for the purpose of rounding up people with a similar socio-cultural outlook (in this case pro-Union, anti-plantation, highlanders) who were already there, just as the European boundaries round up people with similar nationalities who had been there for a long time. A.C. In the USA most state boundaries were established close to the time of settlement and include long straight lines and simplfying features that aid in forming property subdivision for new settlers. Byron Scott.

This is because the processes that created West Virginia's eastern boundaries are more like the processes that created the boundaries of European countries. Michael Cooper. On a map West Virginia's complex shape and irregular outline make it look more like a European country in configuration than an American state. Norm Nixon. Sea level rose and fell many times during the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian eras, giving a variety of rock strata. Jamaal Wilkes. Some beds illustrate a coastal swamp environment, some river delta, some shallow water. Happy Hairston.

The underlying rock strata are sandstones, shales, bituminous coal beds, and limestones laid down in a near shore environment from sediments derived from mountains to the east, in a shallow inland sea on the west. 99 George Mikan (Minneapolis). Many of the coves are rich in biodiversity and scenic beauty, a fact that is appreciated by native West Virginians, who refer to their home as almost Heaven. 44 Jerry West. The native vegetation for most of the state was originally mixed hardwood forest of oak, chestnut, maple, beech, and white pine, with willow along the waterways. 42 James Worthy. (The two plateaus are essentially the same, the difference being only the naming convention of north and south, with West Virginia happening to be in the middle.). 34 Clyde Lovellette (Minneapolis).

Though the relief is not high, the plateau region is extremely rugged in most areas. 33 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. About 3/4 of the state is within the Cumberland/Allegheny Plateaus region which is not true mountains but rather a dissected plateau. 32 Magic Johnson. The state is sometimes referred to as The Mountain State, which is a bit of a misnomer, as the only true mountains are the belt of Ridge-and-valley Appalachians along the eastern border with Virginia. 25 Gail Goodrich. The Ohio River and the Potomac River form parts of the boundaries. 22 Elgin Baylor (Minneapolis-Los Angeles).

It is bordered by Pennsylvania and Maryland to the north, by Ohio and Kentucky to the west, and by Virginia to the east. 22 Slater Martin (Minneapolis). See: List of West Virginia counties. 19 Vern Mikkelsen (Minneapolis). The current governor, inaugurated in 2005, is Democrat Joe Manchin. 17 Jim Pollard (Minneapolis). The governor is elected every four years, on the same day as the president, sworn in during January. 13 Wilt Chamberlain.

The remainder of the year sees legislators gathering periodically for interim meetings to discuss issues which will see debate during the next regular session. 11 Bob McAdoo. Typically, the legislature is in session between January and early April. Their most bitter rivals are the Boston Celtics who have more Championship than them. Consequently, the legislators hold a full-time job in their community of residence, which stands in stark contrast to the neighboring states of Pennsylvania and Ohio. The 2004-05 season marks only the fourth time the Laker franchise has failed qualifying for the post-season since the team moved to Los Angeles in 1960. Legislators are not full-time, but part-time. Los Angeles is the only city to have two NBA teams (the other is the Los Angeles Clippers.).

The legislature is bicameral, consisting of the House of Delegates and a Senate. This took place in a time before efforts were made to speed up gameplay, such as the addition of the shot clock. The capital is Charleston, in the south west area of the state. On November 22, 1950, the Lakers were leading until the fourth quarter, when the Pistons pulled ahead to win 19 to 18. See: List of Governors of West Virginia. As the Minneapolis Lakers, the team holds the record for the lowest-scoring NBA game ever played along with the Fort Wayne Pistons. The final installment of this sum was paid off in 1939. 2004-05 Record: 34-48.

The issue was finally settled in 1915, when the United States Supreme Court ruled that West Virginia owed Virginia $12,393,929.50. NBA Championships: 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001, 2002. For several decades thereafter, the two states disputed the new state's share of the Virginian government's debt. National Basketball League Championship: 1948. Following the war, Virginia had hoped for at least partial reunification with West Virginia; however, West Virginia remained as an independent state within the Union. Logo Design: A gold basketball, with purple text "LOS ANGELES LAKERS" superimposed. See Wheeling Convention. Official Colors: Purple (Pantone 526) and Gold (Pantone 123) (Alternate Color: Laker Blue).

Vote records for the remaining 9 counties were lost during the war.[4] (http://www.ls.net/~newriver/va/vasecesh.htm) This new state was admitted to the union in 1863, following Abraham Lincoln's signing of an act on December 31, 1862 that authorized this. Former Arena: Great Western Forum. 18 West Virginia counties voted in favor of secession, 20 voted against secession, and one resulted in a tie. Home Arena: Staples Center. Though the new state's government was avowedly unionist, the counties it contained were divided in their secession votes. Formerly known as: Detroit Gems (1946-1947), Minneapolis Lakers (1947-60). Eventually, the state of Kanawha was renamed West Virginia. Founded: 1946 in National Basketball League, joined NBA in 1948.

This reformed government authorized the creation of the state of Kanawha, consisting of the 55 counties that now make up West Virginia. Upon the secession of Virginia from the union on April 27, 1861, anti-secessionist legislators convened a rump legislature and formed a pro-Union reformed government based in Wheeling which claimed to represent all of Virginia. Western Virginia contained several anti-secessionist pockets, particularly around the Wheeling region, and the only three counties in Virginia to vote for Abraham Lincoln. However, the American Civil War allowed western Virginia to form its own state.

Under the United States constitution, state boundaries could not be redrawn without the consent of the state in question. Considerable disagreements existed between those in the western part of Virginia and plantation owners in the plains and tidewater regions. It was originally the western part of the state of Virginia. West Virginia is the only American state formed as a direct result of the American Civil War.

The US Navy has named a series of ships USS West Virginia in honor of this state. It is also home to the Green Bank Telescope at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. Tourist sites include the New River Gorge Bridge (where on Bridge Day (http://www.wvbridgeday.com/) the federal government, which controls the landing site, allows BASE jumping [3] (http://www.wvbridgeday.com/bridge-day-BASE-jumping.php) from the bridge), as well as many national and state parks. The state has a rich, stark beauty reflecting its topography.

The state is noted for its coal mining heritage, and union organizing mine wars in particular. West Virginia broke away from Virginia during the American Civil War. suburbs in western Maryland and Virginia. While many consider it part of the South, many in the state's Northern Panhandle feel a greater affinity for Pittsburgh, while those in the Eastern Panhandle feel a greater connection with Washington D.C.

West Virginia is a culturally Southern state of the United States, known as The Mountain State.. The three largest Protestant denominations in West Virginia: Baptist (29% of the total state population), Methodist (15%), Presbyterian (4%). The religious affiliations of the citizens of West Virginia are:. Females made up approximately 51.4% of the population.

5.6% of West Virginia's population were reported as under 5, 22.3% under 18, and 15.3% were 65 or older. The 5 largest ancestry groups in West Virginia are American (23.2%), German (17.2%), Irish (13.5%), English (12%), Italian (4.8%). The racial makeup of the state is:. It was also last in the country in percentage of residents that speak a language other than English in the home (2.7%).

Only 1.1% of the state's residents were foreign-born, placing West Virginia last among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in that statistic. As of 2003, West Virginia was probably the US state least affected by immigration. The population of West Virginia as of 2003 was 1,810,354. Given the unsettled present condition of the US steel industry, continuation of metal-working industries in the Northern Panhandle cannot be assured. In all aspects of heavy industry there is a perception that the electorate favors creation of factory jobs more than implementation of strict environmental controls; this is probably correct, but how much this outlook actually contributed to the choice of location in West Virginia is hard to determine.

Also in the Northern Panhandle, Weirton has been the site of the only tin-processing industry in the USA. Metallurgy, especially steel, has been predominant in the Northern Panhandle due to a spill-over effect from the traditional center of the US steel industry in Pittsburgh. In the Kanawha River Valley near Charleston and along the southern Ohio River Valley near Huntington chemicals predominate, attracted by a readily available labor force and access by barge carriers. Along the western edges of the state the large rivers of the mid-continent erode a distance into the hills and it is here, in the west, that some dense pockets of heavy industry appear.

Other wild greens, such as sour dock, lambs quarters, and wild leek (or "ramps") are also still gathered by many for table use, although today more on the basis of avocation or keeping up traditions than out of necessity. Wild gathered ginseng contributed about $ 2 million in 2000 to the West Virginia economy, a figure larger than many conventional cultivated vegetable and fruit crops. One area where this practice is still significant is the gathering of wild North American ginseng, often for the Asian market. In traditional frontier agriculture there was much gathering of wild "greens" and forest produce to supplement the diet.

In 2002, all of the top five counties by agricultural dollar value were located near the eastern Virginia border. In the ridge and valley area along the eastern border near Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, subsidiary valleys are wide and there are some belts of rich soil which are extensively farmed. The chief animals raised were cattle and chickens. Income from animals exceeded income from plants by about 7 to 1, with much of the non-animal income derived from sales of fodder.

As can be expected in a rugged terrain, raising animals was far more important than growing vegetative crops. This description of farming portrays an independent and self-sufficient base of small land owners, but also a significant amount of rural underemployment. It should be noted that the rural poverty rate in West Virginia is 20.4% and that this figure is 5 points higher than the urban poverty rate. Traditionally, informal means of supplementing farm income have also been practiced, such as small-scale logging and hunting for food, and to some extent they still are practiced.

On the other hand, only 50.5% of the state's farmers considered farming to be their primary occupation, with a significant number of hours worked elsewhere each year, in such areas as factory wage employment when available. Family and single-owner operation worked 92.7% of the farms, and an astounding 96.9% were totally or partly owned by the operator. The modal average farm size was a smallish 140 to 179 acres (567,000 to 724,000 mē), most statistics in this section are taken from the 2002 US Census of Agriculture for West Virginia, which sold less than $2,500 of crops annually. Farming is practiced throughout West Virginia, but in a form different from large extensive cash-crop agriculture elsewhere in the USA.

Small to medium oil and natural gas fields still exist and are scattered mostly in the Allegheny/Cumberland Plateau in an arc throughout the western part of state. West Virginia was one of the first states to engage in drilling for oil. Most coal today is used by power plants to produce electricity. Coal is little used now for home heating either.

The railways were once one of the largest customers for coal to drive the steam locomotives, but these have been replaced by diesel locomotives. The state has an extensive network of railroads, and much of the coal is transported by rail. Today health and safety regulations and miners pay are much improved, and mining is usually the best paying job in the coalfields. Lewis and the United Mine Workers.

Nevertheles, labor organizing persisted under the leadership of John L. The effort of unions to organize miners is a violent chapter in the state's history; at one point the federal army had to be called in to quell a rebellion, dropping the only bombs ever dropped by the US Army against its own citizens. In past years the coal companies did mostly as they pleased, keeping miners in virtual servitude through credit at company stores. Higher prices for fuels may soon stimulate increased mining again.

Coal has been one of the state's primary economic resources, although many mines have been closed. This process of rounding up people already spread around here and there results in the typical zig-zag, curving, and extending shape of the resulting political unit. In West Virgina the boundaries were formed after settlement for the purpose of rounding up people with a similar socio-cultural outlook (in this case pro-Union, anti-plantation, highlanders) who were already there, just as the European boundaries round up people with similar nationalities who had been there for a long time. In the USA most state boundaries were established close to the time of settlement and include long straight lines and simplfying features that aid in forming property subdivision for new settlers.

This is because the processes that created West Virginia's eastern boundaries are more like the processes that created the boundaries of European countries. On a map West Virginia's complex shape and irregular outline make it look more like a European country in configuration than an American state. Sea level rose and fell many times during the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian eras, giving a variety of rock strata. Some beds illustrate a coastal swamp environment, some river delta, some shallow water.

The underlying rock strata are sandstones, shales, bituminous coal beds, and limestones laid down in a near shore environment from sediments derived from mountains to the east, in a shallow inland sea on the west. Many of the coves are rich in biodiversity and scenic beauty, a fact that is appreciated by native West Virginians, who refer to their home as almost Heaven. The native vegetation for most of the state was originally mixed hardwood forest of oak, chestnut, maple, beech, and white pine, with willow along the waterways. (The two plateaus are essentially the same, the difference being only the naming convention of north and south, with West Virginia happening to be in the middle.).

Though the relief is not high, the plateau region is extremely rugged in most areas. About 3/4 of the state is within the Cumberland/Allegheny Plateaus region which is not true mountains but rather a dissected plateau. The state is sometimes referred to as The Mountain State, which is a bit of a misnomer, as the only true mountains are the belt of Ridge-and-valley Appalachians along the eastern border with Virginia. The Ohio River and the Potomac River form parts of the boundaries.

It is bordered by Pennsylvania and Maryland to the north, by Ohio and Kentucky to the west, and by Virginia to the east. See: List of West Virginia counties. The current governor, inaugurated in 2005, is Democrat Joe Manchin. The governor is elected every four years, on the same day as the president, sworn in during January.

The remainder of the year sees legislators gathering periodically for interim meetings to discuss issues which will see debate during the next regular session. Typically, the legislature is in session between January and early April. Consequently, the legislators hold a full-time job in their community of residence, which stands in stark contrast to the neighboring states of Pennsylvania and Ohio. Legislators are not full-time, but part-time.

The legislature is bicameral, consisting of the House of Delegates and a Senate. The capital is Charleston, in the south west area of the state. See: List of Governors of West Virginia. The final installment of this sum was paid off in 1939.

The issue was finally settled in 1915, when the United States Supreme Court ruled that West Virginia owed Virginia $12,393,929.50. For several decades thereafter, the two states disputed the new state's share of the Virginian government's debt. Following the war, Virginia had hoped for at least partial reunification with West Virginia; however, West Virginia remained as an independent state within the Union. See Wheeling Convention.

Vote records for the remaining 9 counties were lost during the war.[2] (http://www.ls.net/~newriver/va/vasecesh.htm) This new state was admitted to the union in 1863, following Abraham Lincoln's signing of an act on December 31, 1862 that authorized this. 18 West Virginia counties voted in favor of secession, 20 voted against secession, and one resulted in a tie. Though the new state's government was avowedly unionist, the counties it contained were divided in their secession votes. Eventually, the state of Kanawha was renamed West Virginia.

This reformed government authorized the creation of the state of Kanawha, consisting of the 55 counties that now make up West Virginia. Upon the secession of Virginia from the union on April 27, 1861, anti-secessionist legislators convened a rump legislature and formed a pro-Union reformed government based in Wheeling which claimed to represent all of Virginia. Western Virginia contained several anti-secessionist pockets, particularly around the Wheeling region, and the only three counties in Virginia to vote for Abraham Lincoln. However, the American Civil War allowed western Virginia to form its own state.

Under the United States constitution, state boundaries could not be redrawn without the consent of the state in question. Considerable disagreements existed between those in the western part of Virginia and plantation owners in the plains and tidewater regions. It was originally the western part of the state of Virginia. West Virginia is the only American state formed as a direct result of the American Civil War.

The US Navy has named a series of ships USS West Virginia in honor of this state. It is also home to the Green Bank Telescope at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. Tourist sites include the New River Gorge Bridge (where on Bridge Day (http://www.wvbridgeday.com/) the federal government, which controls the landing site, allows BASE jumping [1] (http://www.wvbridgeday.com/bridge-day-BASE-jumping.php) from the bridge), as well as many national and state parks. The state has a rich, stark beauty reflecting its topography.

The state is noted for its coal mining heritage, and union organizing mine wars in particular. West Virginia broke away from Virginia during the American Civil War. suburbs in western Maryland and Virginia. While many consider it part of the South, many in the state's Northern Panhandle feel a greater affinity for Pittsburgh, while those in the Eastern Panhandle feel a greater connection with Washington D.C.

West Virginia is a culturally Southern state of the United States, known as The Mountain State.. Lost Counties, Cities and Towns of Virginia. Charles Elwood Yeager. Woodson.

Carter G. Jerry West. Washington. Booker T.

Dr. Vance. Cyrus R. Sir John William David Swan.

General Adam Stephen. Ellsworth Milton Statler. Morgan Spurlock. Red Sovine.

Sam Snead. Smith. Michael W. Harry F. Sinclair.

Alex Schoenbaum. Soupy Sales. Nick Saban. Jack Rollins.

"Jay" Rockefeller IV. John D. Cal Ripken, Jr. Mary Lou Retton.

Walter Philip Reuther. Ed Rabel. Page. William N.

Nick Nolte. John Forbes Nash, Jr. Randy Moss. Kathy Mattea.

"Pistol Pete" Pete Maravich. MacCorkle. William A. Jessica Lynch.

Pfc. Chief Logan. Matt Lauer. John Kruk.

John Knowles. Don Knotts. Knight. John S.

Grandpa Jones. Johnnie Johnson (musician). Stonewall Jackson (born and raised before partition of Virginia; died in the year of partition). Julia Neale Jackson.

Hot Rod Hundley. Sam Huff. Lou Holtz. Homer Hickam.

John Henry. Devil Anse Hatfield. Hall. Tom T.

Hal Greer. Henry Louis Gates Jr. Jennifer Garner. Bob Evans.

General John Echols. Brig. General Isaac H. Duval. Brig.

Duncan. Donald F. Brad Dourif. Paul Dooley.

Joyce DeWitt. Bob Denver. Mike D'Antoni. Ted Cassidy.

Johnson N. Camden. Harry Flood Byrd. Byrd. Robert C.

Selva Lewis "Lew" Burdette. Mark Bulger. Pearl Buck. Nnamdi Azikiwe.

Dr. State Quarter design: . State motto: Montani semper liberi ("Mountaineers Are Always Free"). De facto state anthem: "Take Me Home, Country Roads" by Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert, and John Denver (most famously performed by Denver).

State songs: "West Virginia, My Home Sweet Home," "The West Virginia Hills," and "This Is My West Virginia"