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|leader_title1 = [[City Manager]]
|leader_title1 = [[City Manager]]
|leader_name1 = James Snider
|leader_name1 = James Snider
|established_title = Deputy Mayor
|leader_title2 = Deputy Mayor
|established_date = Bill Burdick
|leader_name2 = Bill Burdick


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Revision as of 18:58, 24 January 2009

Fairmont, West Virginia
City
Downtown Fairmont and the Monongahela River in 2006
Downtown Fairmont and the Monongahela River in 2006
Nickname: 
"Friendly City"
Location of Fairmont, West Virginia
Location of Fairmont, West Virginia
CountryUnited States
StateWest Virginia
CountyMarion
Government
 • TypeCouncil-manager government
 • MayorMatt Delligatti
 • City ManagerJames Snider
 • Deputy MayorBill Burdick
Area
 • Total8.2 sq mi (21.2 km2)
 • Land7.8 sq mi (20.3 km2)
 • Water0.4 sq mi (0.9 km2)
Elevation
984 ft (300 m)
Population
 (2000)
 • Total19,097
 • Density2,438.5/sq mi (941.5/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP codes
26554-26555
Area code304
FIPS code54-26452Template:GR
GNIS feature ID1560581Template:GR

Fairmont is a city in Marion County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 19,097 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Marion CountyTemplate:GR. Established in 1820 as Middletown, then in Monongalia County, it was chartered by the Virginia General Assembly in 1843 as Fairmont, a contraction of "Fair Mountain". Fairmont has a Council-manager government, whereby the mayor serves as chairman of the city council and the city manager takes care of the day to day operations. The current mayor, Matt Delligatti, is Fairmont's youngest ever, at 22 years of age. [1]

Fairmont is nicknamed "The Friendly City" and is also touted as "The Home of the Original Pepperoni Roll" [2] and the first Father's Day service.[3]

Fairmont is located in the North-Central region of the state, along West Virginia's I-79 High Tech Corridor, about 18 miles southwest of Morgantown, and about 23 miles northeast of Clarksburg. Fairmont's National White Collar Crime Center provides nationwide support to law enforcement agencies involved in prevention, investigation, and prosecution of economic and high-tech crime. The NASA Independent Verification and Validation Facility, governed by the Goddard Space Flight Center, houses more than 150 full-time employees and more than 20 in-house partners and contractors.[1]

As of June 2006, Fairmont city council is in the process (depending on votes) of consolidating Fairmont with the unincorporated communities of Marion County, to have a City-County government, the first to do so in West Virginia. This would make Fairmont the 3rd largest city in the state, just behind Charleston and Huntington. [4]

Fairmont State University, established in 1865, is located in Fairmont. The former head of the art department of the school, Luella Mundel, was the subject of a documentary called American Inquisition by Helen Whitney. Mundel was the victim of blacklisting during the McCarthy era, and the documentary showed how the negative effects of that era reached even smalltown West Virginia. This documentary was the subject of a very famous case about the First Amendment.[2]

Geography

Fairmont is located at 39°28′53″N 80°8′36″W / 39.48139°N 80.14333°W / 39.48139; -80.14333Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (39.481253, -80.143453)Template:GR. The Tygart Valley River and the West Fork River join in Fairmont to form the Monongahela River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.2 square miles (21.2 km²), of which, 7.8 square miles (20.3 km²) of it is land and 0.4 square miles (0.9 km²) of it (4.40%) is water.

History

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1850683—
18607043.1%
1870621−11.8%
188090044.9%
18901,02313.7%
19005,655452.8%
19109,71171.7%
192017,85183.8%
193023,15929.7%
194023,105−0.2%
195029,34627.0%
196027,477−6.4%
197026,093−5.0%
198023,863−8.5%
199020,210−15.3%
200019,097−5.5%

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 19,097 people, 8,447 households, and 4,671 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,438.5 people per square mile (941.7/km²). There were 9,755 housing units at an average density of 1,245.6/sq mi (481.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.16% White, 7.26% African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.20% from other races, and 1.49% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.82% of the population.

There were 8,447 households out of which 21.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.2% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.7% were non-families. 36.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.83.

In the city the population was spread out with 18.4% under the age of 18, 14.9% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 87.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,628, and the median income for a family was $37,126. Males had a median income of $27,944 versus $20,401 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,062. About 12.6% of families and 20.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.0% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over.

City Council

The Marion County Courthouse in Fairmont.

1st District- Bob Gribben

2nd District- Bob Sapp

3rd District- Deborah Seifrit

4th District- Bill Burdick (Deputy Mayor)

5th District- Chuck Warner

6th District- Dan Weber

7th District- Rob Garcia

8th District- Robin Smith

9th District- Matt Delligatti (Mayor)

Tourism

Pricketts Fort State Park is located in the northern part of Fairmont. A reconstruction of the original fort which hosts costumed reenactments of eighteenth century life as well as plays and music performances.

Valley Falls State Park is also located nearby to the east.

The Johnnie Johnson (musician) Blues & Jazz Festival is held annually in Fairmont, WV.

The Volcano Island Indoor Water Park Resort is currently under construction and will feature a hotel resort as well as many water rides and attractions. [3]

Prominent natives

See also

References

  1. ^ NASA IV&V Facility
  2. ^ Floyd Abrams, Speaking Freely, published by Viking Press (2005), Page 153-58
  3. ^ Times West Virginian Local Newspaper

Template:Mapit-US-cityscale

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