1. The state of West Virginia was officially admitted to the Union on November 18, 1863. It was the only state to be created during the Civil War and was formed when Virginia seceded from the Union, leaving the western portion of the state to form a new government.

2. On November 18, 1922, the first radio station in West Virginia, WSAZ, began broadcasting from Huntington. It was owned by the Huntington Herald-Dispatch newspaper and initially only broadcasted for a few hours per week.

3. Coal mining played a major role in West Virginia's history, and on November 18, 1930, one of the worst mining disasters in the state occurred. At the Meadowbrook Mine in Eccles, 82 miners were killed in an explosion.

4. In 1969, a major flood struck the state and caused widespread damage. Known as the "Buffalo Creek disaster," the flood was caused by the collapse of a dam holding back a coal slurry impoundment. It resulted in the deaths of 125 people and the displacement of 4,000 residents.

5. November 18, 1985, marked a historic day for women in West Virginia when Hazel Dickens became the first woman to receive the West Virginia Governor's Award for the Arts. Dickens was a prominent bluegrass and folk singer-songwriter from Mercer County who used her music to raise awareness for social and political issues affecting the Appalachian region.