Wayne County, West Virginia

Wayne County, West Virginia
Location in the state of West Virginia
West Virginia's location in the U.S.
Founded	1842
Seat	Wayne
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	512 sq mi (1,326 km²) 506 sq mi (1,311 km²) 6 sq mi (16 km²), 1.25%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	42,481

Wayne County, founded in 1842, is the westernmost county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 42,481. [1] Its county seat is Wayne.

Wayne County is part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). As of the 2010 census, the MSA had a population of 287,702. New definitions from February 28, 2013 placed the population at 363,000.

History

Wayne County, West Virginia was originally Wayne County, Virginia, which was created from part of Cabell County in 1842. The county was named for General "Mad" Anthony Wayne.

Settlement

There was no white settlement in the area that became Wayne County until after 1794 due to the constant threat of Indian attack, who were already present. The area was made safe for white settlement in 1794 through the defeat of the Shawnee at the Battle of Fallen Timbers by General "Mad" Anthony Wayne.

When the first permanent European settlers came to Wayne County around the year 1800, the area was part of Kanawha County. Most of the original pioneer settlers were self-sufficient farmers. They raised their own food, sheep for wool clothing, and made their buildings, furnishings and tools out of the surrounding forest. A few trading posts provided the manufactured goods the pioneers could not make for themselves. Later, grist mills at Wayne, Dickson, south of East Lynn and at Lavalette ground their corn into meal and their wheat into flour.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 512 square miles (1,327 km²), of which 506 square miles (1,310 km²) is land and 6 square miles (17 km²) (1.25%) is water.

Rivers and Lakes

• Ohio River
• Big Sandy River
• Twelvepole Creek
• Beech Fork Lake
• East Lynn Lake
• Tug Fork

Major highways

• Interstate 64
• U.S. Highway 52
• U.S. Highway 60
• West Virginia Route 37
• West Virginia Route 152
• West Virginia Route 75

Adjacent counties

• Lawrence County, Ohio (north)
• Cabell County (northeast)
• Lincoln County (east)
• Mingo County (southeast)
• Martin County, Kentucky (south)
• Lawrence County, Kentucky (west)
• Boyd County, Kentucky (northwest)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1850	4,760		—
1860	6,747		41.7%
1870	7,852		16.4%
1880	14,739		87.7%
1890	18,652		26.5%
1900	23,619		26.6%
1910	24,081		2.0%
1920	26,012		8.0%
1930	31,206		20.0%
1940	35,566		14.0%
1950	38,696		8.8%
1960	38,977		0.7%
1970	37,581		−3.6%
1980	46,021		22.5%
1990	41,636		−9.5%
2000	42,903		3.0%
2010	42,481		−1.0%

As of the census of 2000, there were 42,903 people, 17,239 households, and 12,653 families residing in the county. The population density was 85 people per square mile (33/km²). There were 19,107 housing units at an average density of 38 per square mile (15/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.79% White, 0.13% Black or African American, 0.23% Native Americans, 0.20% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.08% from other races, and 0.56% from two or more races. 0.47% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 17,239 households out of which 31.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.20% were married couples living together, 10.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.60% were non-families. 24.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the county, the population was spread out with 23.40% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 27.70% from 25 to 44, 25.30% from 45 to 64, and 14.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 95.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $27,352, and the median income for a family was $32,458. Males had a median income of $31,554 versus $20,720 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,906. About 16.20% of families and 19.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.50% of those under age 18 and 15.20% of those age 65 or over.

Wayne County Railroads

• Norfolk Southern Railway's former N&W Kenova District
• CSX Transportation's former C&O Kanawha Sub
• Kanawha River Terminal Railroad

Books about Wayne County

• Last Train to Dunlow by Kay and Jack Dickinson. OCLC 66901525.
• On the Trail of the Powhatan Arrow by Kay and Jack Dickinson. ISBN 978-0-9774116-1-0.
• Discovering Lavalette by Gina Simmons. ISBN 978-1-4389-8707-1.
• Pioneers, Rebels and Wolves by Robert Thompson.
• Climbing Trout's Hill by Robert Thompson.
• East Lynn Booming by Robert Thompson. OCLC 363205071.
• Images Of East Lynn by Robert Thompson.
• Fear No Man by Robert Thompson.
• Aging Wonders by Robert Thompson.
• Few Among The Mountains by Robert Thompson.

Cities and towns

Incorporated communities

• City of Ceredo
• Town of Fort Gay
• City of Huntington (partly, most of city in Cabell County)
• City of Kenova
• Town of Wayne
• Town of East Lynn (no longer incorporated)
• Town of Dunlow (no longer incorporated)

Unincorporated communities

Ardel Armilda Bethesda Booton Bowen Brabant Buffalo Creek

Centerville Coleman Cove Gap Crockett Crum Cyrus Dickson

Doane Dunlow (incorporated at one time) East Lynn (incorporated at one time) Echo Effie Elmwood Ferguson

Fleming Genoa Gilkerson Girard Glenhayes Grandview Gardens Hidden Valley

Hubbardstown Lavalette Mineral Springs Missouri Branch Neal Nestlow Oakview Heights

Prichard Quaker Radnor Saltpetre Shoals Sidney Stepptown

Stiltner (defunct) Stonecoal Sweet Run Tripp Webb Westmoreland Wilsondale Winslow

See also

• Beech Fork State Park
• East Lynn Lake
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Wayne County, West Virginia