50 West Virginia Quotes About the Mountain State

By Stephanie Kirby | Published August 16, 2023

Check out these West Virginia quotes, and they will inspire you to start planning your vacation to the Mountain State!

West Virginia was the 35th state admitted to the United States when President Lincoln admitted it in 1863.

The state is located in the Southern United States and is bordered by Kentucky to the West, Pennsylvania and Ohio to the North, Maryland to the East, and Virginia to the South.

When West Virginia split from Virginia to join the Union during the Civil War, it became a key border state in the war.

The state is known for its beauty, with many mountains and rivers, and in fact, tourism is one of the biggest economic factors for the state.

The natural beauty and the friendly people in the state draw over 4 million visitors annually.

Take a look at these West Virginia quotes to learn more about this great state!

The Best West Virginia Quotes

Here are some of the best West Virginia quotes.

1. “I miss West Virginia very much.” — Jennifer Garner

2. “West Virginia is truly on the move.” — Joe Manchin

3. “In West Virginia, we’re all family.” — Ginger Baker

4. “A lot of West Virginia is untouched.” — Sam Trammel

5. “Deep down, I’m just a West Virginia hillbilly.” — Brad Paisley

6. “People in West Virginia do have cars. We have indoor plumbing.” — John Kruk

7. “The sun doesn’t always shine in West Virginia, but the people do.” — John F. Kennedy

8. “I didn’t run for Governor for me; I ran to help the people of West Virginia.” — Jim Justice

9. “Come to West Virginia, and we’ll show you how to live… how to treat people.” — Joe Manchin

10. “As those who have spent time in West Virginia know, this is truly a special place.” — Oliver Luck

West Virginia Quotes From Jim Justice

Check out these West Virginia quotes from Jim Justice, the governor of West Virginia.

11. “West Virginia has miles and miles of pristine waters.” — Jim Justice

12. “The last thing we need to do is drive more people out of West Virginia.” — Jim Justice

13. “My goal is to make tourism an economic driver and bring jobs to West Virginia.” — Jim Justice

14. “If President Trump and his administration succeed, West Virginia will succeed.” — Jim Justice

15. “Having the President of the United States in West Virginia is a tremendous honor.” — Jim Justice

16. “I’ve farmed all my life, and I have big ideas on how to grow agriculture jobs in West Virginia.” — Jim Justice

17. “In tough times, the people of West Virginia have always stepped up to help a community in need.” — Jim Justice

18. “I have always said that West Virginia is one of the world’s best-kept secrets, and I truly mean it.” — Jim Justice

19. “One of the main goals of the Roads to Prosperity program is to bring jobs to West Virginia and spark economic growth.” —- Jim Justice

20. “I’m working as hard as I can for West Virginia and its people to continue to provide the coal that keeps the lights on in our country.” — Jim Justice

West Virginia Quotes From People Who Lived There

Take a look at West Virginia quotes from people who lived there.

21. “I’m still very much a West Virginia boy.” — Jerry West

22. “I’ve been surrounded by good people at West Virginia that have really helped me.” — Will Grier

23. “Yeah, I spent my teen years in West Virginia, and when I was a kid, in Louisiana.” — Sam Tremmel

24. “I’m from West Virginia. If you didn’t know what was happening in NASCAR, you were on the outside.” — Randy Moss

25. “In West Virginia, the most vulnerable people we have are people who get up every morning and go to work.” — Joe Manchin

26. “I grew up in Palestine, West Virginia, which is mostly a farming community; there aren’t a lot of jobs.” — Jessica Lynch

27. “We were growing up in West Virginia. Everybody was poor there in the southern part of the state.” — James Green Sommerville

28. “I grew up in a small town in West Virginia called Kenova. It’s the city where the plane crashed from Marshall University.” — Brad D. Smith

29. “I think family is very important in West Virginia and has long been so because the mountains made travel difficult in the past, and family members had to depend on each other.” — David Shelby

30. “I’m from northern Virginia, but I grew up next to the West Virginia border, so it was hills and farmland. We had that sense of adventure you get from growing up around old farmhouses and lazy, rolling hills, you know?” — Hilarie Burton

West Virginia Quotes About West Virginia

Enjoy these West Virginia quotes about West Virginia.

31. “I’ve been a conservative in West Virginia before that was popular. I’ve seen a change in West Virginia.” — John Raese

32. “In West Virginia, the most vulnerable people we have are people who get up every morning and go to work.” — Joe Manchin

33. “West Virginia is a relatively small state. There are only a handful of football players that come out of West Virginia.” — Oliver Luck

34. “I was born in Mullens, West Virginia, and lived in a community called Iroquois in Appalachia. We faced heavy pollution.” — Paula Jean Swearengin

35. “The coal industry in West Virginia, when it is down, people can’t buy cars; people can’t eat in restaurants. Everything suffers.” — Richard Ojeda

36. “But my family is connected to coal. There’s hardly anybody in West Virginia that doesn’t have a connection to the coal industry.” — Paula Jean Swearengin

37. “The first time I went to West Virginia, I was surprised by how poor it was. It was like north India, there’s kids running around in bare feet.” — Irvine Welsh

38. “In Southern West Virginia, we live in a war zone. Three and one-half million pounds of explosives are being used every day to blow up the mountains.” — Judy Bonds

39. “We have to stop letting people come in here and make millionaires and billionaires of themselves off of West Virginia while West Virginia remains poor.” — Richard Ojeda

40. “It doesn’t have as many strip malls; it has these old towns that feel like it used to be how it looked. Charleston has this river that runs through it, and it’s really beautiful.” — Sam Trammel

More West Virginia Quotes and Sayings

Hear more about West Virginia in more West Virginia quotes.

41. “My father was in the coal business in West Virginia.” — John Knowles

42. “The coal miners are working. But there’s more than just coal miners in West Virginia.” — Richard Ojeda

43. “My dad was a principal and coach. My sister was a superintendent of schools in West Virginia.” — Mike D’Antoni

44. “When I was incarcerated at Alderson in West Virginia for a five-month term, they had a ceramics class.” — Martha Stewart

45. “All I want is greatness for West Virginia, and I’ll work with anyone who is ready to help me turn this state around.” — Jim Justice

46. “We face many health care challenges, and having a healthy West Virginia is critical to building a world-class workforce.” — Jim Justice

47. “My mother was actually born in Ohio but raised in West Virginia, where her family had a laundry. She has a West Virginian accent.” — Laurence Yep

48. “We simply must stand with the Boy Scouts and give them the support they need to make a difference in communities across West Virginia.” — Jim Justice

49. “It was like growing up in the Great Depression from the stories I hear people tell. Everybody was poor, and so we didn’t know that we were any different from anybody else.” — James Green Sommerville

50. “Coalwood, West Virginia, is the little coal-mining town where I grew up, and it was there that five other teenage boys and I famously built and launched rockets. I recounted this story in my memoir, ‘Rocket Boys.’” — Homer Hickman