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Virginia state symbols

Virginia has 44 official state symbols, most of them listed in a single section of the Code of Virginia. The oldest are the seal and motto of 1776; after the flag of 1861, the dogwood became the first state emblem in 1918. The newest include the Chincoteague pony in 2023 and the honey bee as state pollinator in 2024. The flowering dogwood does double duty as both state flower and state tree.

44 official designations · every law checked October 23, 2026

Dogwood, cardinal and foxhound

After the seal of 1776 and the flag of 1861, Virginia’s first state emblem was the flowering dogwood, chosen as the floral emblem in 1918. In January 1950 the General Assembly picked the northern cardinal as state bird, and in 1956 it named the dogwood the state tree as well. The American foxhound became the state dog in 1966.

From the Chesapeake

Several symbols come from the Chesapeake Bay. The oyster shell became the state shell in 1974, and the Chesapeake Bay deadrise the state boat in 1988. The state fossil, Chesapecten jeffersonius, was named in 1993, the same year the brook trout became the state fish; in 2011 the striped bass was added as the state saltwater fish. The state fleet is made up of the replicas of the Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery at Jamestown Settlement, honoring the ships that brought the first permanent English settlers in 1607.

Wildlife

The tiger swallowtail became the state insect in 1991, fifteen years after the idea was first floated. The Virginia big-eared bat became the state bat in 2005. In 2016 a Williamsburg schoolboy, Aiden Coleman, pitched the eastern garter snake to Delegate Brenda Pogge at a summer science camp, and it became the state snake. A Fairfax 4-H club called the Salamander Savers proposed the red salamander, adopted in 2018, and in 2023 the Chincoteague pony, made famous by Marguerite Henry’s Misty of Chincoteague, became the state pony. The honey bee was named the state pollinator in 2024.

Rocks, drink and dance

Nelsonite, championed by students at Piedmont Virginia Community College, became the state rock in 2016. Milk is the state beverage, and George Washington’s rye whiskey, produced at Mount Vernon, became the state spirit in 2017. The square dance, defined broadly to include the Virginia reel, is the state folk dance.

Culture and places

Virginia’s list also honors its culture: the public television series Song of the Mountains, which showcases Appalachian music; the Norfolk and Western Class J No. 611 steam locomotive; two outdoor dramas, The Trail of the Lonesome Pine in Big Stone Gap and The Long Way Home in Radford; the Virginia Shakespeare Festival in Williamsburg; and the Virginia Opry. Patrick County is the Covered Bridge Capital of the Commonwealth, and Page County the Cabin Capital of Virginia.

2 1770s 1800s 1830s 1 1860s 1890s 1 1920s 2 1950s 1 1 2 1980s 10 2 11 2010s 3 2020s
Official symbols adopted per decade. The busiest decade was the 2010s, with eleven.

Flag, seal, song, motto and nickname

Animals

Plants and fungi

Earth and sky

Food and drink

Songs, words and language

Culture and history

Government emblems

Places and institutions

Questions about Virginia's symbols

What is the Virginia state bird?
The northern cardinal, chosen in January 1950.
What is the Virginia state flower?
The American dogwood, or flowering dogwood, adopted in 1918. The same tree became the state tree in 1956.
What is the Virginia state dog?
The American foxhound, adopted in 1966.
Does Virginia have a state spirit?
Yes. George Washington's rye whiskey, produced at Mount Vernon, was named the state spirit in 2017.
What is the Virginia state snake?
The eastern garter snake, named in 2016 after a Williamsburg schoolboy pitched the idea to his delegate.
Photo credits (7)

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