Spruce Knob, West Virginia |
 West Virginia is unique. It is the only state to have been carved out of the territory of another state without that state’s permission. It is also the only state in the Union to have been created by Presidential decree. Consisting of counties that seceded from Virginia during the Civil War, West Virginia was proclaimed a state by Abraham Lincoln on 20 June 1863. (As a result, I was amused to see that the West Virginia state flag displays the date of the birthday of one of my brothers, while the North Carolina state flag contains my birthday.) West Virginia’s Latin motto, Montani semper liberi, also appeals to me: it means Mountaineers are always free. |