Photo by Derek Redd Moundsville City Councilman David Wood, front right, takes a photo of his grandchildren with John King, portraying Abraham Lincoln. Standing with King are, from left, 9-year-old Ty Wood, 6-year-old Lily Wood and 8-year-old Emily Wood.

Crowds decked in gold and blue — along with the United States’ 16th president — gathered Tuesday at West Virginia Independence Hall in downtown Wheeling to celebrate West Virginia’s 160th birthday, also known as West Virginia Day.

The free event kicked off at noon on the hall’s front steps with a welcome from West Virginia Independence Hall site manager Debbie Jones.

“We are honored today to have you all here to help us celebrate our birthday in the very building where West Virginia became the 35th state,” she said.

Jones took a look back at the state’s history and noted the importance of Independence Hall in the birth of West Virginia.

“They met upstairs in our totally restored courtroom for two years putting the state of West Virginia together and working with Lincoln’s administration,” she said. “We are here today to celebrate that whole grand effect of 160 years when West Virginia put the 35th star on the flag.”

John King, who has portrayed Abraham Lincoln for a quarter-century, took center stage later in the ceremony, reading Proclamation 100, the declaration that admitted West Virginia to the United States on June 20, 1863.

Attendees had the opportunity to take photos with King before meeting him in the restored courtroom to learn more about the events leading up to West Virginia’s inception.

Roseann Ferro, regional representative of U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., also took to the stairs to address the crowd with a statement on Manchin’s behalf.

“West Virginia Day is a wonderful opportunity to gather together with our communities, loved ones, friends and neighbors to remember the values that make this state so proud,” she said.

The doors to the decorated museum were left open throughout the afternoon to welcome individuals for cake, cupcakes, punch, a photo booth and a birthday card signing. Many attendees stopped to talk with museum staff members, while others shared stories with each other of their favorite memories spent in the state.

Brooke Boston is a proud West Virginia native and said she came to the celebration to show love and support to her home state.

“We have such beautiful things to offer as far as our environment and natural resources, things we need to preserve,” she said. “We have a lot of beauty, we have a lot of diversity of people and a lot of close-knit communities.”

Jones said she hopes people who attended the celebration feel closer to their community and know a little bit more about its history.

“This is in Wheeling’s backyard and a lot of people come in and say they’ve lived here their whole lives and have never been here or didn’t know what this was,” she said. “We hope that this gets folks to come in and enjoy, you know, take advantage and look around and see.”

West Virginia Independence Hall is coined the most historic place in West Virginia. It is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. with free admission.