In addition to Father’s Day, there’s another reason to celebrate here in West Virginia. On June 11, 1861 delegates met in Wheeling and nullified the Virginian ordinance of secession and proclaimed “The Restored Government of Virginia,” thereby refusing to secede from the Union as part of Virginia.
West Virginian statehood was approved in a referendum and a state constitution drawn up. In April, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the admission of West Virginia into the Union effective June 20, 1863
When Virginia decided to secede from the Union, West Virginia became the only state to declare its independence from the Confederacy and the only state to gain statehood by Presidential proclamation.
Happy 158th Birthday to the state where “Mountaineers are always free.”
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