Fayette County, West Virginia

Fayette County, West Virginia
Location in the state of West Virginia
West Virginia's location in the U.S.
Founded	1831
Seat	Fayetteville
Largest city	Oak Hill
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	668 sq mi (1,730 km²) 664 sq mi (1,720 km²) 4 sq mi (10 km²), 0.66%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	46,039 73/sq mi (28/km²)
Website	www.fayettecounty.wv.gov/

Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 46,039. [1] Its county seat is Fayetteville.

History

Fayette County was created by Act of the Virginia General Assembly, passed February 28, 1831, from parts of Greenbrier, Kanawha, Nicholas, and Logan counties. It was named in honor of the Marquis de la Fayette, who had played a key role assisting the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Virginia previously had a Fayette County, which was lost to form the new state of Kentucky. Accordingly, in the State records of Virginia, there will be listings for Fayette County from 1780–1792 and Fayette County from 1831-1863. Neither location is still located in Virginia and despite naming a county after him twice, Virginia no longer has a county named for the Marquis de la Fayette.

A substantial portion was subdivided from Fayette County to form Raleigh County in 1850. Fayette was one of 50 counties that broke off from the rest of Virginia and formed the new state of West Virginia during the American Civil War. In 1871, an Act of the West Virginia Legislature severed a small portion to form part of Summers County.

Fayette County was home to a disastrous mine explosion at Red Ash in March 1900, in which 46 miners were killed.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 668 square miles (1,730.1 km²), of which 664 square miles (1,719.8 km²) is land and 4 square miles (10.4 km²) (0.66%) is water. Plum Orchard Lake, a reservoir southwest of Oak Hill, is the second largest lake in West Virginia.

Major highways

• Interstate 64/Interstate 77
• U.S. Highway 19
• U.S. Highway 60
• West Virginia Route 16
• West Virginia Route 39
• West Virginia Route 41
• West Virginia Route 61
• West Virginia Route 612

Adjacent counties

• Nicholas County (north)
• Greenbrier County (east)
• Summers County (southeast)
• Raleigh County (south)
• Kanawha County (west)

National protected areas

• Gauley River National Recreation Area (part)
• New River Gorge National River (part)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1840	3,924		—
1850	3,955		0.8%
1860	5,997		51.6%
1870	6,647		10.8%
1880	11,560		73.9%
1890	20,542		77.7%
1900	31,987		55.7%
1910	51,903		62.3%
1920	60,377		16.3%
1930	72,050		19.3%
1940	80,628		11.9%
1950	82,443		2.3%
1960	61,731		−25.1%
1970	49,332		−20.1%
1980	57,863		17.3%
1990	47,952		−17.1%
2000	47,579		−0.8%
2010	46,039		−3.2%

As of the census of 2000, there were 47,579 people, 18,945 households, and 13,128 families residing in the county. The population density was 72 people per square mile (28/km²). There were 21,616 housing units at an average density of 33 per square mile (13/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.74% White, 5.57% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.15% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. 0.68% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 18,945 households out of which 29.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.10% were married couples living together, 13.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.70% were non-families. 26.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the county, the population was spread out with 21.70% under the age of 18, 9.60% from 18 to 24, 27.10% from 25 to 44, 25.10% from 45 to 64, and 16.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 98.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $24,788, and the median income for a family was $30,243. Males had a median income of $28,554 versus $18,317 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,809. About 18.20% of families and 21.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.90% of those under age 18 and 13.70% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Incorporated cities and towns

Fayette County courthouse, Fayetteville

Town of Ansted Lochgelly, West Virginia Town of Fayetteville Town of Gauley Bridge Town of Meadow Bridge City of Montgomery (part)

City of Mount Hope City of Oak Hill Town of Pax City of Smithers (part) Town of Thurmond

Below is partial listing of known unincorporated communities within Fayette County. A complete listing is available here

Unincorporated communities

Agnew Alloy Alta Beards Fork Beckwith Boomer Boonesborough Brooklyn Brown Cannelton Carlisle Charlton Heights Chimney Corner Clifftop Columbia Corliss Cunard Danese Deep Water Dempsey

Dothan Eagle Edmond Elkridge Fayette Glen Ferris Glen Jean Greenstown Hamilton Harvey Hico Hilltop Hilton Village Hopewell Jodie Kanawha Falls Kimberly Kincaid Kingston

Landisburg Lansing Layland Lochgelly Lookout McDunn Mahan Marvel Minden Montgomery Heights Mount Carbon Mossy Nallen North Page Nuttall Nuttalburg Oak Ridge Page

Pine Grove Powellton Prince Red Star Robson Russellville Sanger Scarbro Toney Creek Victor Whipple Winona Wriston

Economy

The county has a tradition of coal mining, which still serves as a primary source of employment in the area. A Georgia Pacific lumber mill has its home to the west of Mt. Hope, adjacent to U.S. Route 19. There exists a large metal alloy plant in Alloy. The Mount Olive Correctional Complex, West Virginia's only maximum security state prison, is also located in Fayette County.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Babcock State Park
• Beury Mountain Wildlife Management Area
• Bridge Day
• Hawks Nest State Park
• Plum Orchard Lake Wildlife Management Area
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Fayette County, West Virginia

External links

• Fayette County Chamber of Commerce
• Fayette County Schools
• Fayette County Public Libraries
• WVGenWeb Fayette County