All Activities are Free and Open to the Public
WHEELING, W.Va. – West Virginia Independence Hall (WVIH) in Wheeling will celebrate West Virginia’s 162nd birthday on Friday, June 20, 2025. Guests are invited to enjoy birthday cake and refreshments, a photo booth, and sign the birthday card to commemorate the day. All West Virginia Day activities are free and open to the public.
“In the wake of the recent devastating flooding in the area, it is even more important for West Virginians to gather on the state’s birthday and commemorate our long history of resilience. We hope this gathering at Independence Hall on Friday will be the perfect opportunity to do just that,” said Ennis Smith, Acting Cabinet Secretary for the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture, and History.
The celebration will begin in the post office area of Independence Hall at 11:30 a.m., and continue until 2 p.m. At noon, John W. King, a first-person portrayer of Abraham Lincoln, will appear on the front steps of WVIH to read Proclamation 100 – admitting West Virginia into the Union, followed by photos with “Lincoln.” In 2013, King won the “Lincoln Look-Alike Contest” at the Shriver House Museum in Gettysburg, Penn. For the past 25 years, he has been telling the story of the 16th president through his portrayals..
Pete Chacalos will also present “The Road to Statehood” at 1:30 p.m. in the courtroom. The program will trace the events that culminated in the admission of the thirty-fifth state to the Union, beginning with the Virginia Constitutional Conventions of 1829 and 1850.
About West Virginia Day
On the eve of the Civil War, the Virginia Secession Convention and its results prompted the western counties to call for secession from Virginia. The statehood movement gathered steam from the Clarksburg Convention to the two Wheeling Conventions. The events during this time resulted in the “Restored Government of Virginia.” The many issues that developed from the formation of the Restored Government until the admission of West Virginia had the potential to derail the statehood process. Finally, on Dec. 31, 1862, President Lincoln signed the statehood bill. These events and the major players responsible, such as Waitman Willey, John Carlile, and Abraham Lincoln, are a fascinating study in the birth of West Virginia.
For more information about West Virginia Day activities at WVIH, contact Debbie Jones, site manager, at (304) 238-1300 or Deborah.J.Jones@wv.gov.