Symbol | Official Item

In 2008 Virginia designated Patrick County as the covered bridge capital of the Commonwealth and the "Virginia Covered Bridge Festival" held in Patrick County as the official state covered bridge festival. All State Festivals & Events

Covered Bridge Festival

If you visit Patrick County in June the bridges come to life with horse-drawn wagons and hay rides during the county-sponsored "Virginia Covered Bridge Festival."

Virginia designated flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) as the official state flower in 1918, and as the official state tree in 1956. The native dogwood is also the state tree of Missouri and New Jersey, and the state flower of North Carolina. All State Trees - All State Flowers

Virginia designated the American foxhound as the official state dog in 1966. All State Dogs & Cats

American Foxhound Facts

American foxhounds were developed in colonial times by landed gentry purely for the sport of hunting foxes. Today there are several different strains of American foxhound (including Walker, Goodman, Trigg, July and Penn-Marydel) that differ in appearance but are all recognized as members of the same breed. American foxhounds come in four colors: red, tri, black and tan, and blue.

Virginia designated Chesapecten jeffersonius as the official state fossil in 1993. All State Fossils

Chesapecten jeffersonius lived in the shallow seas along the Mid-Atlantic during the Miocene to Pliocene epochs (approximately 8 to 3 million years ago). The fossils of this long-extinct scallop are commonly found in exposed strata along Coastal Plain cliffs of major rivers in southeastern Virginia.

The endangered Virginia big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii virginianus) was designated the official state bat of Virginia in 2005; this symbol helps to educate Virginians about caves and the creatures that inhabit them. Texas and Oklahoma also recognize bats as official state symbols. All State Mammals

Arizona designated "Arizona March Song" by Margaret Rowe Clifford & Maurice Blumenthal as the official state anthem of Arizona in 1919 (An alternate anthem was designated in 1982; "Arizona").

"Alabama," words by Julia S. Tutwiler and music by Edna Gockel Gussen, was designated the official state song of the state of Alabama in 1931. All State Songs

Alabama designated the square dance as the official state American folk dance in 1981. All State Dances

Twenty-two states have passed legislation to declare the square dance as an official state symbol, and more than thirty bills have been introduced at the federal level proposing the square dance as the national (folk) dance of the United States.

The Alabama Executive Department purchased this bible in 1853. All Cultural Heritage Symbols

This historic bible was used to swear in Jefferson Davis as the President of the Confederate States of America on February 18, 1861. Each of Alabama's governors has used this same bible to be sworn in since 1853.

When not in use for an inauguration, the historic bible is kept on display at the Alabama Department of Archives and History in Montgomery (Nineteenth Century Gallery).

The highest distinction in Indiana is the designation of "Sagamore of the Wabash" by the state governor. All State Awards