Talk:Flag of West Virginia
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 | A fact from this article appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the "Did you know?" column on February 7, 2015. The text of the entry was: Did you know ... that the West Virginia Legislature adopted the state's first official flag (present flag pictured) in 1905, based on the flag used by West Virginia's committee at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition? | ||||||||||||
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Year of adoption
editI'm reverting the date of adoption to 7 March 1929, rather than the currently displayed date, which is the same day in 1962. 1929 is the year the article had when it received "Good" status and the edit that changed it to 1962 was from an unregistered user with no justification given other than the word for "year" in Norwegian. Given that the month and day are the same, that I haven't been able to find any sites to back up the 1962 date, and that this page in the wvlegislature.gov domain says 1929, it seems like it was some subtle vandalism. Google is pulling the date of adoption from this page and so has presumably also been showing the wrong year since that edit in 2016. If anyone has any sources to back up an adoption year of 1962 please share them.
1875 flag
editAre there any better sources than a two-sentence "Item of interest" in a Colorado newspaper? It doesn't make any sense that they would have adopted a flag then but in 1904 they didn't have one, as evidenced by the state code book saying "Whereas, the state of West Virginia to the present time as adopted no state flag or ensign". Perhaps the legislature's supposed adoption wasn't approved by the governor, perhaps it was forgotten about, but this source does not seem definitive enough to include, especially when an actually official source says a flag didn't exist. There should be an actual resolution or a longer source in West Virginia to include this. Ping Tablelegs6— Reywas92Talk 14:35, 19 September 2025 (UTC)
- It seems it was a military committee deciding the flag, maybe it was for flag the National guard like as a state regimental flag, like Utah's in 1905.
- Here's another Source a flag proposed: (https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn84038206/1875-12-11/ed-1/?sp=2&q=state+flag&r=0.158,0.067,0.536,0.226,0) Tablelegs6 (talk) 23:24, 25 November 2025 (UTC)
- Alright found Source talking about the state house adopting the state flag on November 17, 1875. Can I re-added the text about the 1875 flag? The flag was proposed by the Committee of Military affairs on November 15 and passed in the house 2 days later. It is described on page 2 of Huntington advertiser, November 25, 1875. (Link below)
- Source:(https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn84026801/1875-11-25/ed-1/?sp=2&q=state+flag&r=0.405,0.342,0.309,0.13,0) Tablelegs6 (talk) 21:32, 10 December 2025 (UTC)
- On November 17, 1875, the West Virginia Legislature may have considered a joint resolution regarding a state flag or flag-related matter, likely as a proposal or symbolic measure rather than a law. Such resolutions often served to refer ideas to committees or guide design work without immediate legal effect. Although the Senate and House of Delegates may have adopted the resolution in principle, there is no historical record of an official state flag being enacted at that time, and West Virginia did not formally adopt a state flag until 1905. Femfem5 (talk) 10:44, 11 December 2025 (UTC)
- The "joint resolution for the adoption of a State Flag" likely was a formal proposal or expression of intent, not an immediate law creating a state flag. Femfem5 (talk) 10:45, 11 December 2025 (UTC)
- Alright, so could I put in a list of unofficial state flags? Tablelegs6 (talk) 02:34, 12 December 2025 (UTC)
- The "joint resolution for the adoption of a State Flag" likely was a formal proposal or expression of intent, not an immediate law creating a state flag. Femfem5 (talk) 10:45, 11 December 2025 (UTC)
- On November 17, 1875, the West Virginia Legislature may have considered a joint resolution regarding a state flag or flag-related matter, likely as a proposal or symbolic measure rather than a law. Such resolutions often served to refer ideas to committees or guide design work without immediate legal effect. Although the Senate and House of Delegates may have adopted the resolution in principle, there is no historical record of an official state flag being enacted at that time, and West Virginia did not formally adopt a state flag until 1905. Femfem5 (talk) 10:44, 11 December 2025 (UTC)