Piedmont, West Virginia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Piedmont, West Virginia
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| Town of Piedmont | |
Downtown Piedmont in January 2014
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Location of Piedmont in Mineral County, West Virginia.
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| Country | United States |
| State | West Virginia |
| County | Mineral |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor/Council |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0.38 sq mi (0.99 km2) |
| • Land | 0.38 sq mi (0.99 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,201 ft (366 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 716 |
| • Estimate
(2021)
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707 |
| • Density | 2,104.99/sq mi (812.16/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code |
26750
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| Area code(s) | 304 |
| FIPS code | 54-63604 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2391360 |
Piedmont is a town located in Mineral County, West Virginia, in the United States. It's part of a larger area that includes Cumberland, Maryland. In 2020, about 716 people lived there. Piedmont became an official town in 1856. A famous book, Colored People: A Memoir, was written by Henry Louis Gates Jr., who grew up in Piedmont.
Contents
Piedmont's Location and Landscape
As its name suggests, Piedmont is at the bottom of a mountain. This mountain is the Allegheny Front, which is the eastern edge of the Allegheny Mountains. The town is on the south side of the North Branch of the Potomac River, in West Virginia.
Piedmont is located at 39°28′49″N 79°2′53″W / 39.48028°N 79.04806°W. The town covers about 0.99 square kilometers (0.38 square miles) of land. There is no water area within the town limits.
Getting Around Piedmont
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The main road that goes through Piedmont is West Virginia Route 46. This road crosses the North Branch Potomac River and goes into Westernport, Maryland. If you head east on Route 46, you will reach Keyser. There, it connects with U.S. Route 220.
Piedmont's Past and Growth
Early Settlement and Diversity
Piedmont is located in the Allegheny Front mountains, right by the North Branch of the Potomac River. Long ago, in 1754, the area was opened for European settlers. This was when Hampshire County was created by the government of Virginia. During the French and Indian War, there were conflicts between European settlers and Native Americans.
Because of its location and natural resources, Piedmont attracted many different groups of people. Immigrants from Germany, Scotland, Ireland, Switzerland, England, and Italy came to live here. This made the region more diverse than other parts of Hampshire County. These differences and a growing population led to the creation of a new county later on.
The Railroad Arrives
People settled in Piedmont to mine coal from the Allegheny Front mountains. The town's location was perfect for a depot on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. This railroad was building its way west towards Wheeling and the Ohio River. The main line of the B&O railroad reached Piedmont on July 21, 1851.
Just two years later, in 1853, the railroad reached the Ohio River at Wheeling. This connected Baltimore, Maryland directly to the growing states in the Northwest Territory. The railroad line through Piedmont is still used today as part of CSX Transportation.
Town Charter and Civil War
With the railroad's arrival and the building of a roundhouse and rail yard, Piedmont officially became a town in 1856. During the American Civil War (1861–1865), the town faced many raids. McNeill's Rangers from the Confederate side tried to stop the B&O train service.
Even with the war, the area continued to grow. New industries and businesses developed. This led to the creation of Mineral County in 1866. This new county was separated from Hampshire County. Mineral County and Grant County were the first new counties formed in West Virginia. West Virginia itself had separated from Virginia in 1863.
In 1888, William Luke started the West Virginia Paper Company. This company is now called Verso Luke Mill. It was built on land in Maryland known as West Piedmont. This helped the region grow even more.
Famous People from Piedmont
Many notable people have connections to Piedmont:
- Henry Gassaway Davis was a U.S. Senator. He worked in Piedmont as a storekeeper and railroad agent. Later, he opened some of the biggest coal mines in the area.
- Leslie Thrasher was a famous illustrator. His artwork appeared on the covers of magazines like Liberty and the Saturday Evening Post. He was born in Piedmont in 1889.
- Don Redman, a jazz musician and composer, was born in Piedmont in 1900.
- Henry Louis Gates, a professor of African-American history at Harvard University, grew up in Piedmont. He wrote about his experiences in his 1994 book Colored People.
- Steve Whiteman, the lead singer for the band Kix, also grew up in Piedmont. He graduated from Piedmont High School.
Piedmont's Population Changes
| Historical population | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1870 | 1,366 | — | |
| 1900 | 2,115 | — | |
| 1910 | 2,054 | −2.9% | |
| 1920 | 2,835 | 38.0% | |
| 1930 | 2,241 | −21.0% | |
| 1940 | 2,677 | 19.5% | |
| 1950 | 2,565 | −4.2% | |
| 1960 | 2,307 | −10.1% | |
| 1970 | 1,763 | −23.6% | |
| 1980 | 1,491 | −15.4% | |
| 1990 | 1,094 | −26.6% | |
| 2000 | 1,014 | −7.3% | |
| 2010 | 876 | −13.6% | |
| 2020 | 716 | −18.3% | |
| 2021 (est.) | 707 | −19.3% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
Population in 2010
In 2010, there were 876 people living in Piedmont. These people lived in 385 households. About 77.3% of the people were White, and 17.9% were African American. A small number of people were from other racial backgrounds. About 2.1% of the population was Hispanic or Latino.
The average household had 2.28 people. About 25.9% of the residents were under 18 years old. The median age in the town was 37.1 years.
Piedmont's High Schools
Piedmont has not had a high school in town since 1976. Piedmont High School joined with Keyser High School in 1977. In the past, Piedmont had three high schools:
- Davis Free School (1890–1938)
- Howard High School (1877–1955)
- Piedmont High School (1939–1976)
A monument was put up in front of the Piedmont city building on September 2, 2017. This monument remembers these schools. It was the idea of the Piedmont Back Street Community Festival Committee.
Piedmont's Climate
The weather in Piedmont has mild changes between high and low temperatures. There is also enough rainfall throughout the year. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Piedmont has a marine west coast climate. This type of climate is often shown as "Cfb" on climate maps.
