Hedgesville, West Virginia

Hedgesville, West Virginia
Town
Location in Berkeley County and the state of West Virginia.
Country	United States
State	West Virginia
County	Berkeley
Government
• Mayor	Mary Sue Catlett
Area
• Total	0.13 sq mi (0.34 km2)
• Land	0.13 sq mi (0.34 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation	640 ft (195 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	318
• Estimate  (2012)	320
• Density	2,446.2/sq mi (944.5/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	25427
Area code	304
FIPS code	54-36220
GNIS feature ID	1554676

Hedgesville is a town in Berkeley County in the U.S. state of West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle. The population was 318 at the 2010 census. The Town of Hedgesville was laid out in 1832 along the old Warm Springs Road (now West Virginia Route 9) and named for the prominent local Hedges family. Hedgesville is a National Register Historic District.

Hedgesville is located in what is known as Skinners Gap in North Mountain, seven miles north of Martinsburg. As a political entity, Hedgesville is older than the State of West Virginia.

In 1836, the Virginia General Assembly passed an act establishing the town of Hedgesville. It was originally platted in 1830 from land owned by Josiah Hedges and Mary Claycomb. These plots came from the Lord Fairfax and Westenhaver grants. The town grew out of a trading village in a gap of the North Mountain used by settlers moving west. The town was located at the site of a natural limestone spring which had been an Indian meeting place before the white man came into the region.

George Washington, while a young man and a surveyor came into the area and worshipped at the site of what is now Mt. Zion Episcopal Church. John Marshall, a founding member of the U.S. Supreme Court, had a sister who likewise attended the church.

According to William Still, "Father of the Underground Railroad," three freedom-seeking slaves made a famous escape from Hedgesville on the Underground Railroad in 1854. Reuben Bowles, alias Reuben Cunnigan, fled from the John Sabbard farm; he was joined by Daniel Davis, alias David Smith, who was a slave of Congressman Charles J. Fortner, hired out on the Hedgesville farm of Adam Quigley; and accompanied by Adam Nicholson, alias John Wynkoop, who fled forced labor under Alexander Hill. The three African Americans made their escape from Hedgesville on foot, crossing the Potomac River, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, the National Pike, and several mountain passes, all the way to Greenville, Pennsylvania. They then went by train to Philadelphia, and the offices of William Still at the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society. Still documented their accounts, and further assisted them by sending them on to freedom in Canada.

The little village was much crossed by invading armies of both the North and South in the Civil War. A mile east of the village the Battle of North Mountain was fought that resulted in the capture of 1,500 Union soldiers who were marched into the south to prisoner of war camps.

From the 1880s through the 1920s, it was a summer resort town with a large Victorian hotel, Mt. Clifton, and a smaller Summit House, providing summer lodging for guests from Washington, D. C. and Baltimore, MD. The town is listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the U. S. Department of the Interior as the Hedgesville Historic District.

On August 17, 2004, President George W. Bush made a re-election campaign stop and photo-op at Hedgesville High School.

Geography

Hedgesville is located at 39°33′15″N 77°59′42″W (39.554188, -77.994967).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.13 square miles (0.34 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	383		—
1890	448		17.0%
1900	342		−23.7%
1910	328		−4.1%
1920	379		15.5%
1930	361		−4.7%
1940	403		11.6%
1950	419		4.0%
1960	342		−18.4%
1970	274		−19.9%
1980	217		−20.8%
1990	227		4.6%
2000	240		5.7%
2010	318		32.5%
2014 (est.)	320		0.6%
U.S. Decennial Census

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 318 people, 119 households, and 82 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,446.2 inhabitants per square mile (944.5/km²). There were 135 housing units at an average density of 1,038.5 per square mile (401.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 90.3% White, 5.3% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 1.6% from other races, and 2.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.1% of the population.

There were 119 households, of which 46.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.9% were married couples living together, 21.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 31.1% were non-families. 16.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.07.

The median age in the town was 31.2 years. 29.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 32.4% were from 25 to 44; 20.1% were from 45 to 64; and 8.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 47.2% male and 52.8% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 240 people, 88 households, and 65 families residing in the town. The population density was 772.2/km² (1,980.4/mi²). There were 99 housing units at an average density of 816.9 per square mile (318.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 92.08% White, 3.75% African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.42% Pacific Islander, and 3.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.83% of the population.

There were 88 households, of which 43.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.6% were married couples living together, 20.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.1% were non-families. 20.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.18.

In the town the population was spread out with 34.6% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 7.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 75.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $49,375, and the median income for a family was $46,563. Males had a median income of $31,042 versus $21,985 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,772. About 2.8% of families and 5.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.3% of those under the age of eighteen and 9.7% of those sixty five or over.

Notable people

• Gale Catlett, American basketball player and coach
• David O'Brien Martin, former US Congressman

References

4. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/15263/15263-h/15263-h.htm The Underground Railroad, by William Still, digitized online.

External links

• Corporation of Hedgesville Website