By: Rachel Murphy
The highway sign entering into West Virginia. Photo by @millerrr973 (Instagram).
West Virginia is the only state I know where the residents all post tributes on their state’s birthday. Every June 20th, my friends and I’s Instagram pages are filled with posts captioned “Happy birthday WV!” coupled with their favorite photos of the state. Maybe it’s the way we’re taught to be proud of how our state seceded from Virginia to join the Union, or the way that Appalachians are just proud people in general.
As soon as I left my “Wild and Wonderful” home at 18 years old, I took it upon myself to become a sort of “state spokesperson”. During my Community Development and Spanish studies at Temple University in Philadelphia, I was known as “the girl from West Virginia”. In classes with students mainly from the suburbs, I was always speaking about the similarities between historic disinvestment and feelings of “forgottenness” experienced by many folks in Philadelphia and my home state. I then went on to study abroad in Oviedo, Spain, where I continued my language studies and learned about the similarities between the mountainous topography and coal mining history of the region, Asturias, and my home state. Everywhere I went, I fought against the age-old stereotypes of poor, barefoot hillbillies with no teeth or rednecks marrying their cousins, and instead tried to speak about the natural wonders and the friendliness of the people who live in these hills and hollers. And it’s not that these stereotypes aren’t true to an extent or that we can’t poke fun at them. It’s just that we’re MORE than the no-shoes, cousin-lover jokes. I have so many talking points and facts up my sleeve because I always have to use them when meeting new people. From my experience, it seems like most don’t know much about this state, except for maybe a bad joke or two. Reminding my classmates of the diversity and cultural richness of my experience growing up in a rural state became a way for me to stay connected with the place I left behind.
Endless Wall Trail. Photo credits: Shutterstock.
West Virginia, to me, is a natural paradise. It’s where I’ve spent almost every summer of my life and where I’d be happy to spend all of the rest. It’s not a perfect state in any way, and unless you’ve lived here before, I don’t think the nuance of its politics, customs, economy, or education is even visible at the beginning.
Middle Fork River, Audra State Park. Photo by Rachel Murphy.
Many West Virginians themselves would dispute that I’m a true native. I’m from Morgantown, the home of West Virginia University. Here we have professors and students from all over the world: China, India, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia, France, the list goes on. We also have a thriving economy and more than one grocery store in the city limits. While it may not look like many other parts of the state, I’m not alone in my experience. All of those professor’s kids I mentioned are West Virginians too. I know that because I went to school with them (at one of the top 1,000 high schools in the United States, by the way). Still, many friends and acquaintances say that I don’t seem like I’m from West Virginia when they first meet me. Maybe I don’t sound Southern-enough or have conservative-enough views to fit their pre-populated ideas of what someone from my state looks, dresses, sounds, or acts like. I’ve come across a lot of misconstrued ideas about this place I’m from and I’m always happy to invite people to widen their perspectives a bit.
Milky Way over Dolly Sods. Photo by @reflectioninapool (Instagram).
First, let me remind everyone of a few fun facts that you probably learned long ago in grade school. West Virginia became a state when the people from the western half of Virginia decided to secede from the state during the Confederate War and join the Union. Abraham Lincoln approved this and granted us statehood in 1863. So just to be clear, Virginia and West Virginia are two DIFFERENT states, and have been for 160 years. If you think it was unnecessary to write this reminder—I wish you were right.
I’d also like to include some population demographics to give you a better idea of what it looked like for me growing up in ‘West by God Virginia.’(The “by God” is used here as a means of emphasizing; another way of saying WEST Virginia, not regular Virginia.) The entire state, according to the U.S. Census Bureau information from 2021, is 91.5% ‘White alone, not Hispanic or Latino’. I know what you’re thinking… That’s very white. And the state as a whole is. But that means there’s still roughly 142,842 people of color. That’s more than twice the WVU football stadium capacity. And their experience growing up in West Virginia is just as valid as mine, even if it’s different from the norm. Also, if you look at the demographics for the capital city, Charleston, or other larger towns, the pervasive whiteness story is a little different. In these places you’ll see: 66.8% white (Bluefield, WV), 72.3% white (Beckley, WV), 75.8% white (Martinsburg, WV), 77.6% white (Charleston, WV), or 85.1% white (Huntington, WV). These percentages are comparable to our neighboring states, Pennsylvania (73.5%) and Ohio (75.7%). And many West Virginians, like myself, grew up in these “cities.”
In terms of LGBTQ representation, a study published in 2017 determined that West Virginia also has the highest number of transgender teens per capita in the country. A later study published by WVU researchers in 2022 shows that the prevalence of gender-diverse youth in rural Appalachia exceeds previous estimates. The Pew Research Center’s religious landscape study indicates that 90% of West Virginia adults say they strongly favor acceptance of same-sex marriage. There are also Jewish communities around the state, although more than 75% of people identify as Christian, which is a bit higher than the average. Only 8% of this group identify as Catholic, which is smaller than the US overall’s Catholic percentage of 23%.
Image by @appodlachia (Instagram).
Here are a few more fast facts:
State slogan: “Wild and Wonderful”
State motto: “Montani semper liberi” (Mountaineers are always free.)
State nickname: The Mountain State (It’s the only state to be fully located within the Appalachian mountain range.)
State capital: Charleston
Population: 1.783 million (2021)
State insect: Monarch butterfly
State tree: Sugar Maple
State bird: Cardinal
State animal: Black bear
State fish: Brook trout
State song: The West Virginia Hills
Unofficial state songs: Take Me Home, Country Roads, My Home Among the Hills
In the rest of this photo essay, I will be sharing my favorite images, videos, media recommendations, and quotes about “Almost Heaven, West Virginia”. (Our favorite nickname was penned by the 1970s acoustic guitarist and singer, John Denver, and we have clung to it strongly ever since). I hope this serves not only as a starting point for your understanding of this mystifying state, but also works to undo the decades of sad stereotypes about people who are more similar to the “outside world” than you may think.
Late summer foliage at Blackwater Falls State Park. Photo by Rachel Murphy.
For starters—some Instagram accounts to check out:
If you’d like to stay inspired for your next summer camping, rafting, fishing, climbing, or hiking trip with more spectacular views of these mountains, rivers, and sunsets, follow @wvtourism. If you’re interested in digging deeper into the region’s populist, anti-capitalist side of history and current affairs, follow @appodlachia. If you prefer to learn more from others’ first hand experiences, follow @readappalachia to find out about popular and up-and-coming Appalchian authors. If you’re a foodie and want to experience a unique farm-to-table dinner in the area, follow @lostcreekfarm for updates.Their dishes are creative, comforting, beautiful, and delicious. (Note: They were featured on Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown episode about West Virginia!)
Speaking of, I’m including his touching introduction from that episode as one of my favorite quotes about the state:
Here in the heart of every belief system I’ve ever mocked or fought against, I was welcomed with open arms by everybody. I found a place both heartbreaking and beautiful. A place that symbolizes and contains everything wrong and everything wonderful and hopeful about America. - Anthony Bourdain, Parts Unknown (West Virginia)
The author sitting on an “Almost Heaven” WV Tourism swing at Blackwater Falls State Park. Photo by Seth Wisman.
If you’re trying to do a social media detox or you prefer getting your information from more reputable sources, check out these publications for interesting stories, up-to-date news, and recommendations from around these parts.
Black by God is “an emerging news and storytelling organization centering Black voices from the Mountain State” whose name is “is a riff on the colloquial phrase West 'by God' Virginia that claims a unique place in central Appalachia.” Similarly, 100 Days in Appalachia is “an independent nonprofit newsroom” that was started at the West Virginia University Media Innovation Center. This digital publication aims to “amplify the region’s diverse voices, celebrate our successes, investigate our failures and empower our communities.” By serving as an in-area institution that doesn’t exploit the struggles of our state and region, 100 Days in Appalachia brings positive news stories to light about a region that is typically framed in a negative way. For a lighter tone, WV Living Magazine is the state’s go-to publication for the “Best of West Virginia” awards, going to “the current best in travel, restaurants, retail, recreation, and more.”
Dolly Sods. Photo by @em.explores.outdoors (Instagram)
Now for the deep divers, here are some book recommendations:
What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia by Elizabeth Catte is a quick read that brings more nuance to some of the most common stereotypes about folks from this region, like how everyone who lives here is “voting against their own interests.”
Catte makes a number of great points in this novel, notably, “You might think our biggest export is coal but it’s actually people,” and “There’s not a single social problem in Appalachia, however, that can’t be found elsewhere in our country.” I’ll let you borrow or buy it, but here’s just one more: “There are many more people in Appalachia who identify as African-American than Scots-Irish, so where were the essays that dove into the complex negotiations of Appalachian-ness and blackness through the lens of the election?”
While the latter is about the Appalachian region as a whole, these three other reads are by authors from West Virginia, with stories taking place at least partially in the state. The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls tells the story of the author’s upbringing by her wild family who are described as, “at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant.” Although she lived in West Virginia, Arizona, and ramshackle places along the way, Walls claims the state as the place where she’s from (the memoir was also turned into a movie in 2017, starring Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson, and Naomi Watts). The Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam was also turned into a movie called October Sky and stars a young Jake Gyllenhaal alongside Laura Dern. Hickam’s memoir, and the movie’s plot, is about his childhood growing up in a mining town and pursuing rocketry as an aspiring rocket engineer. Hickam actually went to Big Creek High School with my grandma! And he did in fact go on to become a NASA engineer where he trained the first Japanese astronauts.
Finally, Storming Heaven, by Denise Giardina, is a bit more dated than these other two (taking place in 1920 and 1921), but serves some thick accents and a rich history of the mining industry. It’s a fictional account narrated by the townspeople of Annedel, WV, recounting their experiences with the labor strikes leading up to the Battle at Blair Mountain, (a true event) the largest labor uprising in U.S. history.
Notice I did not include Hillbilly Elegy in this list. (If you’re unfamiliar with the backlash against the 2016 national bestselling novel, this free article by UC Davis professor Karen Nikos-Rose provides more nuance: “What Did Hillbilly Elegy Get Wrong?”)
Harpers Ferry. Photo by @ginarosecpt (Instagram)
Above you can admire the site of another famous uprising. (See: John Brown’s abolitionist raid on the armory.)
I’ll also throw in a few movie recommendations:
We are Marshall: An important moment in WV history, We Are Marshall explores the healing and rebuilding years following the 1975 tragedy where the lives of 75 Marshall University football team members, staff, and boosters were lost in a plane crash. Starring Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Fox, Kate Mara, and Anthony Mackie, this 2006 movie is a tearjerker, and was filmed mostly on location in Huntington, West Virginia.
Heroine: A documentary on Netflix, Heroin(e) follows the careers of three women in Huntington, WV whose work is closely entangled with the recovery efforts of people addicted to drugs in a city that was once nicknamed “the overdose capital of America”
Hidden Figures: An uplifting story, Hidden Figures does not take place in West Virginia but features two (of the three) main characters who grew up in the state. Katherine Johnson was born in White Sulphur Springs and lived in the area, attending Institute High School and West Virginia State College before moving to Marion, Virginia after graduating. Dorothy Vaughan was born in Kansas City, Missouri, but moved to Morgantown, WV at age seven and attended school there until she received a full-tuition scholarship to attend university in Ohio. The movie focuses on their advances in NASA as African-American women in the 1960s, working their way up from “computers” to calculating the trajectories for the Apollo 11 and Space Shuttle missions, and serving as NASA’s first African-American supervisor, respectively.
And finally, I present: “Things people have (perhaps mistakenly) said about The Mountain State, but they just get progressively worse.”
A derelict shed in Taylor County, WV. Photo by Rachel Murphy.
We’ll start with the nice/neutral ones:
The sun doesn’t always shine in West Virginia, but the people do.
- President John F. Kennedy
Sunset over Morgantown. Photo by Rachel Murphy.
(At Cranberry Glades)
If you abducted me and told me you were dropping me somewhere on the East Coast, I would not be able to guess that we are in West Virginia right now.
- a friend from Pennsylvania
Cranberry Glades. Photo by Jody Arneson.
(Driving past cornfields in another state)
Oh! Does this remind you of West Virginia?
- a California girl asked me this once
Bear Rocks Preserve Overlook. Photo by Dave Kiel.
Oh you’re from West Virginia? I’ve been to Richmond before. - DEFINITELY the most common response
Now for the annoying ones…
Are there gas stations in West Virginia?
- another friend from PA
Looking for gas stations. Spruce Knob, WV. Photo by Connor Kennedy.
You’re from West Virginia? But you’re wearing shoes…
- from the 1970s, said to my parents by a New Yorker.
Scaling rocks (with shoes). Coopers Rock State Forest. Photo by Connor Kennedy.
After two years, not a single one of my students has remembered that West Virginia is its own state.
- a reflection from a teacher friend of mine
Hiking hard or hardly hiking? Spruce Knob, WV. Photo by Connor Kennedy.
Do people celebrate Halloween in West Virginia?
- someone asked a friend of mine
Coopers Rock Overlook. Photo by Victoria Schrag.
And finally…
I didn’t know there were Black people in West Virginia
- said to a friend of mine
So here are your key takeaways:
West Virginia IS a state. It’s not “Western Virginia.”
Normal conventions (holidays, gas stations, etc.) DO apply here.
People of all kinds live here! It’s not the White/Christian monolith that you may think (at least not everywhere).
Long Point Trail, New River Gorge National Park. Photo by Chris Gilgenast.
I’ll end this essay on a good note, with my own quote:
“Did you know West Virginia is home to our nation’s newest national park?” - me, telling everyone I know about WV (Go check out the New River Gorge!!)
I hope this has widened your perspective a bit on a state that I, and many others, are very proud of. West Virginia has more than meets the eye, and we’d love for you to come see it all for yourself!
Or at least just stop with the jokes, please.
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