Mountain State turns a ripe old 155 today: It’s West Virginia Day

The hall, located at the corner of 16th and Market streets, was the site of an 1861 convention that led to the formation of the Restored Government of Virginia. Subsequent meetings held in the building, then functioning as the U.S. Custom House, gave birth to the new state of West Virginia. At the midpoint of the Civil War, West Virginia officially became the 35th state in the Union on June 20, 1863.

To mark Statehood Day, West Virginia Independence Hall is scheduled to have a “visit”from Abraham Lincoln at noon today. John W. King, who portrays Lincoln, will read the proclamation that admitted West Virginia into the Union.