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[[Image:West_Virginia_State_Flag.gif|thumb|right|The state flag of West Virginia]]

[[Image:West_Virginia_State_Flag.gif|thumb|right|The state flag of West Virginia]]

'''West Virginia''' became the thirty-fifth state on June 20, 1863, after separating from [[Virginia]] during the [[American Civil War]].  Its official nickname is "The Mountain State," which is apt considering that West Virginia has the highest mean elevation of any state east of the Mississippi River.  West Virginians commonly refer to themselves as Mountaineers.  The team name of the state's flagship university-- West Virginia University-- is also the Mountaineers.  "Montani semper libre," the state's slogan, means "Mountaineers will always be free."   

'''West Virginia''' became the thirty-fifth state on June 20, 1863, after separating from [[Virginia]] during the [[American Civil War]].  Its official nickname is "The Mountain State," which is apt considering that West Virginia has the highest mean elevation of any state east of the [[Mississippi River]].  West Virginians commonly refer to themselves as Mountaineers.  The team name of the state's flagship university-- West Virginia University-- is also the Mountaineers.  "Montani semper libre," the state's slogan, means "Mountaineers will always be free."   

==Founding==

==Founding==