Welcome to the Mountain State! Like so many Eastern states, West Virginia is represented by the ever popular sugar maple, cardinal, and brook trout. More unique are West Virginia’s official state animal, reptile, and amphibian—the black bear, timber rattlesnake, and northern red salamander. (Continued below)
| Nicknames & Slogans | |||
| Nicknames | The Mountain State, Panhandle State, Switzerland of America | ||
| Symbols of State | |||
| Motto | Montani Semper Liberi | 1863 | > |
| Song | “West Virginia, My Home Sweet Home” | 1947 | > |
| Song | “The West Virginia Hills” | 1961 | > |
| Song | “This Is My West Virginia” | 1963 | > |
| Song | “Take Me Home Country Roads” | 2014 | > |
| EcoSymbols | |||
| Flower | big laurel (Rhododendron maximum) | 1903 | > |
| Tree | sugar maple (Acer saccharum) | 1949 | > |
| Fruit | Golden Delicious apple (Malus) | 1972 | > |
| Bird | cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) | 1949 | > |
| Animal | black bear (Ursus americanus) | 1973 | > |
| Reptile | timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) | 2008 | > |
| Amphibian | northern red salamander (Pseudotriton ruber) | 2015 | > |
| Fish | brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) | 1973 | > |
| Insect | honeybee (Apis mellifera)  |
1978 | > |
| Butterfly | monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) | 1995 | > |
| Gem | Lithostrotionella (fossil coral) | 1990 | > |
| Rock | bituminous coal | 2009 | > |
| Fossil † | giant ground sloth (Megalonyx jeffersonii) | 2008 | > |
| Soil | Monongahela Silt Loam | 1997 | > |
| Cultural Symbols | |||
| Colors | Old gold and blue | 1963 | > |
| Tribal Group | Appalachian American Indians of West Virginia | 1996 | > |
| Steam Locomotive | Shay No. 5 | 2004 | > |
| Tartan | West Virginia shawl | 2008 | > |
| Year-round Professional Theatre | Greenbrier Valley Theatre | 2006 | > |
| Youth Ballet | River City Youth Ballet Ensemble | 2007 | > |
| Language | English |
2016 | > |
| Firearm | Hall flintlock model 1819 | 2013 | > |
West Virginia has three official fossils. The giant ground sloth is the state fossil proper. The state gem is Lithostrotionella, a fancy word for a type of fossilized coral. The state rock is bituminous coal, which is the fossilized remains of ancient plants.
My three favorite West Virginia symbols are probably the state tree, flower, and motto. The sugar maple recalls the legendary beauty of the Mountain State’s fall foliage. The big laurel—a species of rhododendron—can be seen on West Virginia’s state flag, along with the state motto, which translates “Mountaineers are always free.”
Unfortunately, mottoes don’t belong on flags. Some people argue that flags shouldn’t depict people, other. My West Virginia flag proposal replaces the laurel blossoms with a maple leaf. However, the state flower is recalled by the white field (background).
If you think state flags and flowers are nothing more than trivia, guess again. A thorough exploration of the more than 1,500 items adopted as state symbols embraces geography, history, and psychology.
You have found the best state symbols website, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg. The introduction above is adapted from Geobop’s State Symbols and My State Symbols Book, by far the biggest and most detailed state symbols references ever. You can learn still more about the symbols of the 50 states in the books Flag Quest and Grading the States. (Learn more about them here.)
After you spend some time exploring your favorite state’s symbols, you can come back here and tell us what you think about them.
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