June 20: Arthur Boreman and West Virginia Statehood

On June 20, 1863, West Virginia officially became the 35th state in the United States. Its statehood was unusual because it happened during the Civil War. When Virginia voted to secede from the Union in 1861, many people in the western counties did not agree with secession. These western counties had different economic, political, and geographic interests than eastern Virginia, and many residents wanted to remain loyal to the United States.