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West Virginia Day
West Virginia Day 2021
The West Virginia & Regional History Center and WVU Libraries will celebrate West Virginia Day 2021 with a program and exhibit focusing on the West Virginia mine wars, a series of strikes and battles between 1912 and 1921 that pitted pro-union miners against coal companies. Most notable was the Battle of Blair Mountain which observes its 100th anniversary this year.
The program will feature presentations by William Hal Gorby, Assistant Teaching Professor of History at WVU, and Charles B. Keeney, Assistant Professor of History at Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College, founding member of the West Virginia Mine Wars Museum and author of The Road to Blair Mountain. While the program will be presented online and is open to everyone, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the gallery exhibit will be open only to WVU affiliates. It will open to the public as soon as restrictions are lifted.
The program, The Road to Blair Mountain: Commemorating the West Virginia Mine Wars, will begin on Friday, June 18, 2021 at 10 AM Eastern. Please register in advance; you will receive an email with a link to join the Zoom session.
Check out the Battle of Blair Mountain exhibits created by ENGL 303 students in Spring 2021.
Find more Blair Centennial programming happening around West Virginia and follow along with #Blair100
2021 West Virginia Day Poster
As part of our annual West Virginia Day celebration, we create and share a commemorative poster. If you would like a copy of this year's poster, fill out our poster request form, and we will mail one directly to you.
Previous WV Day celebrations at the WVRHC & WVU Libraries
Information, posters, and exhibits from selected West Virginia Day celebrations can be found on the Past West Virginia Day Exhibits page.