West Virginians are a determined, strong, hard-working sort of folk. From the state’s southern coal miners to the northern steelworkers of old and everywhere in between, residents have always given it their all.

The state was born of conflict, and it has faced numerous battles and difficulties throughout its history, each of which has made it stronger.

Today is a day residents of West Virginia celebrate that storied history.

On June 20, 1863, years of struggle and hardships beginning with the start of the Civil War, reached a conclusion when West Virginia officially joined the Union.

The influence of the Mountain State and its people has reached far beyond its borders. It is felt not only along the Ohio River Valley or in the mountain ranges of Appalachia, but across the country, through the music of Kathy Mattea, Bill Withers or Brad Paisley, the comedy of Don Knotts. Conchata Ferrell or Steve Harvey, the star power of Jennifer Garner, Chris Sarandon and John Corbett, the explorative nature of Chuck Yeager, Homer Hickam and Jon McBride, the scientific acumen of Maurice Brooks, Katherine Johnson, Norman I. Platnick and Emily Calandrelli, the writings of Pearl S. Buck, Henry Louis Gates Jr., or the athletic achievements of Jerry West, Mary Lou Retton, Vicky Bullett, Deron Williams and Randy Moss.

There’s also celebrity chef Katie Lee, Tom Wilson who created the Ziggy comic strip, and minister and newspaper editor Matthew Wesley Clair. The list goes on with those either born here or who came to call West Virginia home.

Residents of the state have a strong pride in who they are, whether they live here in the top of the state, the Potomac Highlands in the Eastern Panhandle, the New River/Greenbrier Valley, the Metro Valley with Huntington and Charleston, or the Monongahela Valley.

West Virginians continue to stare down adversity and show pride in their state, its natural beauty and, most important, its people — people who have stepped forward to protect our nation and the world.

Residents of the Mountain State celebrate each and every day, but especially today as they mark another anniversary.

Today, we will join with all West Virginians, wherever they may be, in wishing the state a happy 161st birthday.

Montani Semper Liberi.