WV American plate atlas

West Virginia

The Mountain State

Meet the plate, people, places, and stories behind one of the road-trip game’s fifty-one essential finds.

West Virginia license plate
The West Virginia plate in the game

Capital

Charleston

State bird

Northern cardinal

Joined the Union

June 20, 1863

01

A quick trip through time

The West Virginia story

West Virginia separated from Virginia during the Civil War. Mountains, railroads, coal, labor history, rivers, music, and close-knit communities shaped the state.

02

Bumper-sized history

About the plate

West Virginia plates often foreground Wild, Wonderful scenery or the state’s mountain identity.