List of West Virginia state symbols

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]	image[permanent dead link]

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]
Tartan	West Virginia Shawl (adaptation)	2008[8]

References