On March 6, the Legislature adopted House Concurrent Resolution 29, designating an adaptation of the “West Virginia Shawl” as the official state tartan.
Many Americans can claim Celtic roots, and, as a result, more than 20 other states have adopted official state tartans. According to the resolution, a majority of West Virginia’s earliest settlers were of Celtic descent.
The pattern for the tartan is based on a previously undiscovered “West Virginia Shawl” found at the Daughters of the American Revolution Museum in Barboursville. The official state tartan is based on this design and contains the following colors, each one representing a different aspect of the state:
– Scarlet for the state bird, the cardinal
– Yellow for the fall colors
– Blue for the rivers and lakes
– Black for the official state animal, the black bear, and the state’s oil and coal resources
– Green for the state flower, the rhododendron, and the state’s meadows
– Azure for the sky
– White in order to include all the colors of the United States
