Shinnston, West Virginia

Shinnston, West Virginia
City
Pike Street (U.S. Route 19) in downtown Shinnston in 2006
Location of Shinnston, West Virginia
Country	United States
State	West Virginia
County	Harrison
Area
• Total	1.7 sq mi (4.5 km2)
• Land	1.7 sq mi (4.5 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	928 ft (283 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	2,295
• Density	1,330.8/sq mi (513.8/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	26431
Area code	304
FIPS code	54-73636Template:GR
GNIS feature ID	1555613Template:GR

Shinnston is a city in Harrison County, West Virginia, United States, along the West Fork River. The population was 2,295 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Shinnston is located at 39°23′39″N 80°18′1″W (39.394030, -80.300273)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.7 square miles (4.5 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 2,295 people, 982 households, and 657 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,330.8 people per square mile (515.2/km²). There were 1,103 housing units at an average density of 639.6/sq mi (247.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.39% White, 0.26% African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.04% from other races, and 0.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.22% of the population.

There were 982 households out of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.4% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.6% 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 2.90.

In the city the population was spread out with 20.9% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 19.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 88.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,786, and the median income for a family was $38,207. Males had a median income of $29,609 versus $20,156 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,352. About 14.2% of families and 18.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.8% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.

History

June 1944 Tornado

Shinnston was almost completely destroyed by a violent tornado before 9:00 PM EDT on June 23, 1944, during the 1944 Appalachians tornado outbreak, which hit the Midwest and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States on June 22-23, 1944. It was and still remains the worst tornado outbreak ever to hit the state of West Virginia.

Notable natives and residents

• Football coach John McKay, (USC Trojans football, 1960-75 and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1976-84) grew up in Shinnston and graduated from Shinnston High School.

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