Calhoun County, West Virginia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Calhoun County
U.S. county
The Calhoun County Courthouse in Grantsville
Location within the U.S. state of West Virginia
West Virginia's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	West Virginia
Founded	March 5, 1856
Named for	John C. Calhoun
Seat	Grantsville
Largest town	Grantsville
Area
• Total	281 sq mi (730 km2)
• Land	279 sq mi (720 km2)
• Water	1.4 sq mi (4 km2)  0.5%%
Population  (2010)
• Total	7,627
• Estimate  (2019)	7,109
• Density	27.14/sq mi (10.480/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	2nd

Calhoun County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 7,627. Its county seat is Grantsville. The county was founded in 1856 and named for South Carolina politician John C. Calhoun.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 281 square miles (730 km²), of which 279 square miles (720 km²) is land and 1.4 square miles (3.6 km²) (0.5%) is water.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 33/U.S. Highway 119
• West Virginia Route 5
• West Virginia Route 16

Adjacent counties

• Ritchie County (north)
• Gilmer County (east)
• Braxton County (southeast)
• Clay County (south)
• Roane County (west)
• Wirt County (northwest)

Demographics

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 7,627 people, 3,268 households, and 2,178 families living in the county. The population density was 27.3 inhabitants per square mile (10.5/km²). There were 3,963 housing units at an average density of 14.2 per square mile (5.5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.4% white, 0.3% American Indian, 0.2% black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 0.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 22.4% were German, 21.3% were Irish, 7.7% were American, 7.3% were English, and 5.7% were Dutch.

Of the 3,268 households, 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.7% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.4% were non-families, and 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.80. The median age was 45.1 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $26,922 and the median income for a family was $34,897. Males had a median income of $32,229 versus $20,707 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,121. About 13.2% of families and 20.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.0% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.

Attractions

Calhoun County is home to four public parks: The Upper West Fork Park in Chloe on West Virginia Route 16, the West Fork Park in Arnoldsburg on U.S. Route 33, Mt. Zion Park on West Virginia Route 16, and Calhoun County Park on West Virginia Route 16.

Calhoun is home to the annual Ramp Festival in April, the West Virginia Wood Festival in June, the Bluegrass Festival in May, another Bluegrass Festival in August, the West Virginia Molasses Festival in September, and Octoberfest Celebration. Also, the Hometown Country Christmas Craft show is sponsored by and held in the county court house the first week of December.

Calhoun County is home to one of the last 500 drive-in theaters in the nation, Mt. Zion Drive In. Calhoun also has one of the largest genealogy collections in the state, housed at Calhoun County Library. The library is also home to the "West Virginia Room" which includes books on West Virginia and by West Virginians.

Communities

Town

• Grantsville (county seat)

Unincorporated communities

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Calhoun (Virginia Occidental) para niños