List of West Virginia state symbols

The following is a list of symbols of the U.S. state of West Virginia .

Insignia

Further information: List of U.S. state, district, and territorial insignia

Type	Symbol	Year	Image
Coat of arms	The Coat of Arms of West Virginia	1863 [1]
Flag	The flag of West Virginia consists of the coat of arms, wreathed below in rhododendron and bannered with "State of West Virginia" above, on a white field bound in blue	1929 [1]
Motto	Montani Semper Liberi (Mountaineers [are] Always Free)	1863, [1] [2] 1872 [3]	—
Seal	The Great Seal of the State of West Virginia	1863 [1] [2]

Flora and fauna

Type	Symbol	Year	Image
Animal	Black bear	1954, [1] 1973 [3]
Bird	Cardinal	1949 [1]
Butterfly	Monarch butterfly	1995 [3]
Fish	Brook trout	1973 [1]
Flower	Rhododendron	1903 [1]
Fruit	Apple	1972 [3]
	Golden Delicious apple	1995 [3]
Insect	Honey bee	2002 [3]
Reptile	Timber rattlesnake	2008 [4]
Tree	Sugar maple	1949 [1] [3]

Inanimate

Type	Symbol	Year	Image
Fossil	Jefferson's ground sloth ( Megalonyx jeffersonii )	2008 [4]
Gem	Silicified Mississippian Lithostrotionella coral	1990 [3]
Rock	Bituminous coal	2009 [5]
Soil	Monongahela	1997 [3] [6]

Cultural

Type	Symbol	Year	Image
Colors	Old gold and blue	1963 [1]
Official holiday	West Virginia Day – June 20	1927 [3]	—
Official songs	"Take Me Home, Country Roads", "The West Virginia Hills," "West Virginia, My Home Sweet Home" and "This Is My West Virginia"	1971, 1963, 2014 [7]
Steam Locomotive	Cass Scenic Railroad #5	2004 [8]
Tartan	West Virginia Shawl (adaptation)	2008 [9]
State Firearm	Harpers Ferry M1819 Hall Rifle	2013 [10]	State rifle of West Virginia

References

1. "State Symbols". West Virginia's State Treasurer's Office. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
2. "Wrap-up: The Newsletter of the West Virginia Legislature" (PDF). Vol. XVIII, no. 7. West Virginia Legislature. February 28, 2007. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
3. "State Symbols". West Virginia Legislature. Archived from the original on October 7, 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
4. "Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 28". West Virginia Legislature. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
5. Ward, Ken (June 3, 2009). "Coal: West Virginia's official rock". The Charleston Gazette . Retrieved July 18, 2012.
6. "Monongahela -- West Virginia State Soil" (PDF). US Department of Agriculture (FTP). Retrieved July 18, 2012.^{[dead ftp link]}(To view documents see Help:FTP)
7. Archived March 8, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
8. "Departmental, Statistical & General Information" (PDF). wvlegislature. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
9. "House Concurrent Resolution No. 29 (2008)". West Virginia Legislature. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
10. "Did you know: WV has an official state firearm (2022)". WVNS 59 News. Retrieved June 13, 2025.