Traditional Southern fare is very popular in this "meat and potatoes" state, almost as popular as its slaw hot dogs.
Hot dogs in Wes Virginia come with the same wiener or Frankfurter, soft roll and mustard as they come in other States, but the locals also love to pile coleslaw on top. Restaurants serving hot dogs are known as "joints."
At Harpers Ferry there is a tradition of using pumpkins to make pies and other dishes. Local residents started cooking in earnest with these members of the squash family when flooding along the Potomac River covered the banks nearby with water and pumpkins in 1753.
West Virginia Foods
West Virginia farms produce beef and dairy cattle, chickens, and turkeys. Their crops include apples, especially Golden Delicious, peaches, and corn.
Golden Delicious apples come from West Virginia. The first ones were raised from a seedling that grew up by chance on a local farm in 1890. By World War I, West Virginia farmers were growing lots of gorgeous Golden Delicious apples.
…and food events
Black Walnut Festival, Spencer, October.
Recipes from West Virginia
Try a Golden Delicious apple pie. Pepperoni rolls are a favorite snack for WV shopping moms, but they can also be made at home.
State animal: Black bear
State bird: Cardinal
State insect: Honeybee
State tree: Sugar maple
State flower: Rhododendron
The whole West Virginia is mountainous due to the Appalachian Mountains and about 3/4 are forests.
Many rivers and creeks have a rusty color because of coal mining.
The popular song "Take Me Home, Country Roads" - by John Denver- wrongly placed the Blue Mountains and the Shenandoah Valley in West Virginia when they are actually in Virginia.
Visit
New River Gorge Bridge on Bridge Day, when it is closed to traffic and people parachute and bungee jump from it.
Charleston at night, and its Gilt dome, one of the most beautiful capitol buildings in America.
Berkeley Springs, named the "Town of Bath" by George Washington because of its medicinal natural springs.
Morgantown during the Florence Merow Maxon-Dixon Festival.
West Virginia sites
WV culture - West Virginia culture and history.