Marion County, West Virginia

Marion County
	Marion County, West Virginia
	; Seal
	; Seal
	; Location in the state of West Virginia
	; West Virginia's location in the U.S.
Founded	1842
Seat	Fairmont
Area; - Total; - Land; - Water	; 311 sq mi (805 km²); 310 sq mi (803 km²); 2 sq mi (5 km²), 0.58%
PopulationEst.; - (2005); - Density	; 56,509; 184/sq mi (71/km²)
Website	www.marioncountywv.com

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For counties with a similar name, see Marion County (disambiguation).

Marion County Courthouse in Fairmont

Marion County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 56,418. [1] Its county seat is Fairmont. Marion County was created in 1842 from parts of Monongalia and Harrison Counties, and named in honor of General Francis Marion, of American Revolutionary War fame, known in history as "The Swamp Fox."

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 311 square miles (807 km²), of which 310 square miles (802 km²) is land and 2 square miles (5 km²) (0.58%) is water.

[edit] Major highways

[edit] Adjacent counties

Monongalia County (north)
Taylor County (southeast)
Harrison County (south)
Wetzel County (west)

[edit] History

Marion County was formed on January 14, 1842 from portions of Harrison County and Monongalia County. It was named after Francis Marion, a.k.a. "Swamp Fox", a General in the Continental Army and later Brigade general of the South Carolina militia in the American Revolutionary War.

[edit] Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1850	10,552	—
1860	12,722	20.6%
1870	12,107	−4.8%
1880	17,198	42.1%
1890	20,721	20.5%
1900	32,430	56.5%
1910	42,794	32.0%
1920	54,571	27.5%
1930	66,655	22.1%
1940	68,683	3.0%
1950	71,521	4.1%
1960	63,717	−10.9%
1970	61,356	−3.7%
1980	65,789	7.2%
1990	57,249	−13.0%
2000	56,598	−1.1%

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 56,598 people, 23,652 households, and 15,515 families residing in the county. The population density was 183 people per square mile (71/km²). There were 26,660 housing units at an average density of 86 per square mile (33/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.10% White, 3.22% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.13% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. 0.70% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 23,652 households out of which 26.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.40% were married couples living together, 10.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.40% were non-families. 28.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the county, the population was spread out with 20.60% under the age of 18, 10.50% from 18 to 24, 26.40% from 25 to 44, 24.70% from 45 to 64, and 17.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 90.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $28,626, and the median income for a family was $37,182. Males had a median income of $29,005 versus $21,100 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,246. About 11.70% of families and 16.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.30% of those under age 18 and 8.70% of those age 65 or over.