Webster County, West Virginia

Webster County, West Virginia
Location in the state of West Virginia
West Virginia's location in the U.S.
Founded	1860
Seat	Webster Springs
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	556 sq mi (1,440 km²) 554 sq mi (1,435 km²) 2 sq mi (5 km²), 0.03%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	9,154 16/sq mi (6/km²)
Website	www.webstercounty.wv.gov/

The Webster County Courthouse in Webster Springs in 2007.

Webster County founded in 1860, is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It was named in honor of Daniel Webster. As of the 2010 census, the population was 9,154. [1] Its county seat is Webster Springs.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 556 square miles (1,440 km²), of which 556 square miles (1,440 km²) is land and 2 square miles (5 km²) (0.03%) is water.

Major highways

• West Virginia Route 15
• West Virginia Route 20
• West Virginia Route 82

Adjacent counties

• Lewis County and Upshur County (north)
• Randolph County (east)
• Pocahontas County (southeast)
• Greenbrier County (south)
• Nicholas County (southwest)
• Braxton County (west)

National protected area

• Monongahela National Forest (part)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1860	1,555		—
1870	1,730		11.3%
1880	3,207		85.4%
1890	4,783		49.1%
1900	8,862		85.3%
1910	9,680		9.2%
1920	11,562		19.4%
1930	14,216		23.0%
1940	18,080		27.2%
1950	17,888		−1.1%
1960	13,719		−23.3%
1970	9,809		−28.5%
1980	12,245		24.8%
1990	10,729		−12.4%
2000	9,719		−9.4%
2010	9,154		−5.8%

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,719 people, 4,010 households, and 2,815 families residing in the county. The population density was 18 people per square mile (7/km²). There were 5,273 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 99.18% White, 0.01% Black or African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.01% from other races, and 0.66% from two or more races. 0.37% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 4,010 households out of which 29.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.40% were married couples living together, 10.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.80% were non-families. 26.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.40% 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 23.00% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 27.10% from 45 to 64, and 15.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 96.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $21,055, and the median income for a family was $25,049. Males had a median income of $25,362 versus $15,381 for females. The per capita income for the county was $12,284. About 26.60% of families and 31.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 45.40% of those under age 18 and 21.00% of those age 65 or over.

Towns

• Camden-on-Gauley
• Cowen
• Webster Springs (legally Town of Addison)

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

Unincorporated communities

Bergoo Big Run Boggs Bolair Cleveland Curtin Diana Donaldson Dyer Erbacon

Excelsior Gauley Mills Guardian Hacker Valley Halo Parcoal Replete Upperglade Wheeler

Politics

Since 1863, Webster County has voted Democratic in every presidential election with the exceptions of 1972 and 2012. In 1972, Nixon carried the county by a mere 1.0% against George McGovern. However in 2012 Mitt Romney carried the county handily with a substantial 28% margin.

Notable residents

Name	Born–died	Profession	Notable for
Arden Cogar Sr.	1942–	Lumberjack	Winner of multiple world championships. Holder of multiple world records.[citation needed]
Jamie Cogar aka Arden Cogar Jr.	1972–	Civil defense trial attorney, and champion lumberjack	Multiple-time champion, multiple medal winner in the Men's Endurance event at ESPN's Great Outdoor Games, and multiple Stihl Timbersports Series Finalist; 2006 Standing Block World Champion; Winner of 40 Individual World Titles including the All Around World Title at the 2007 Webster County Woodchopping Festival; Captain of STIHL's United States National Lumberjack Team.
Josh Stewart	February 6, 1977 (Diana, West Virginia)-	Actor	Played Holt McLaren on the FX series D!rt, as well as Brendan Finney on the final season of NBC's Third Watch.
Joe Talbot	January 23, 1933-	Politician	Retired United States Marine. Democratic member of the House of Delegates (36th District).
C. Randy White	May 10, 1955 (Charleston, West Virginia)–	Politician	Democratic House of Delegates member (1996–2000), West Virginia State Senate member (llth District, 2002–2006).

Note: All residents born in Webster Springs, unless otherwise noted.

See also

• Big Ditch Wildlife Management Area
• Holly River State Park
• National Register of Historic Places listings in West Virginia#Webster County

External links

• Official website
• Official website of the Webster County Woodchopping Festival
• Two-Lane Livin' Magazine