Raleigh County, West Virginia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Raleigh County
U.S. county
The Raleigh County Courthouse in Beckley
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of West Virginia
West Virginia's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	West Virginia
Founded	January 23, 1850
Named for	Sir Walter Raleigh
Seat	Beckley
Largest city	Beckley
Area
• Total	609 sq mi (1,580 km2)
• Land	605 sq mi (1,570 km2)
• Water	4.0 sq mi (10 km2)  0.7%
Population  (2020)
• Total	74,591
• Estimate  (2021)	73,771
• Density	122.48/sq mi (47.29/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	1st

Raleigh County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 74,591. Its county seat is Beckley. The county was founded in 1850 and is named for Sir Walter Raleigh. Raleigh County is included in the Beckley, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Raleigh County and the surrounding area have long been home to many indigenous peoples. Early encounters describe the land as being the ancestral home of the Catawba-speaking Moneton people, who referred to the surrounding area as "okahok amai", and were allies of the Monacan people. The Moneton's Catawba speaking neighbors to the south, the Tutelo, (a tribe since absorbed into the Cayuga Nation) may have absorbed surviving Moneton communities, and claim the area as ancestral lands. Conflicts with European settlers resulted in various displaced Indian tribes settling in West Virginia, where they were known at Mingo, meaning "remote affiliates of the Iroquois Confederacy".

Raleigh County was formed on January 23, 1850, from portions of Fayette County, then a part of Virginia. Alfred Beckley (1802–88) said that he named the county for Sir Walter Raleigh (1552–1618), the "enterprising and far-seeing patron of the earliest attempts to colonize our old Mother State of Virginia".

Raleigh was one of fifty Virginia Counties that were admitted to the Union as the state of West Virginia on June 20, 1863. Later that year, the counties were divided into civil townships, with the intention of encouraging local government. This proved impractical in the heavily rural state, and in 1872 the townships were converted into magisterial districts. Raleigh County was initially divided into six townships: Clear Fork, Marsh Fork, Richman, Shady Spring, Town, and Trap Hill. These became magisterial districts in 1872, and the same year a seventh district, Slab Fork, was created from land that had previously belonged to Wyoming County. These remained largely unchanged over the next century, but in the 1970s the seven historic magisterial districts were consolidated into three new districts: District 1, District 2, and District 3.

President Barack Obama stands for prayer on April 25, 2010, at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center, while attending a memorial service for the 29 miners who were killed in the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster.

Heavily involved in the coal mining industry, Raleigh County has been the scene of numerous deadly incidents, of which the most severe was the Eccles Mine Disaster in 1914. At least one hundred and eighty miners died in what was the second-worst coal mining disaster in state history. More recently, the 2010 Upper Big Branch Mine disaster, which killed twenty-nine miners, occurred in Raleigh County. Raleigh County miners were also killed by violent suppression of labor organizing, such as in the so-called Battle of Stanaford during the 1902-1903 New River coal strike in which an armed posse led by a US Marshall who shot up miners' houses while they and their families slept, killing at least six. The perpetrators were later acquitted. The lead-up and aftermath were witnessed and widely recounted by Mother Jones, and the massacre is considered a prelude to the West Virginia coal wars.

The town of Sophia in Raleigh County was the home of Senator Robert C. Byrd.

Geography

The New River flows northwestward along the county's east border. The county terrain consists of wooded hills, carved with drainages. The terrain slopes to the north and west; its highest point is near its southmost corner, at 3,524 ft (1,074 m) ASL. The county has a total area of 609 square miles (1,580 km²), of which 605 square miles (1,570 km²) is land and 4.0 square miles (10 km²) (0.7%) is water.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

• Little Beaver State Park
• New River Gorge National Park and Preserve (part)

Lakes

Demographics

The Flag Of Raleigh County in Beckley

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 78,859 people, 31,831 households, and 21,322 families in the county. The population density was 130 people per square mile (50 people/km²). There were 35,931 housing units at an average density of 59.4 units per square mile (22.9 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 88.5% white, 8.2% black or African American, 0.9% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.4% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.3% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 41.8% were American, 9.1% were English, 8.6% were German, and 8.5% were Irish.

Of the 31,831 households, 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.0% were non-families, and 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.87. The median age was 41.1 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,036 and the median income for a family was $49,837. Males had a median income of $42,405 versus $27,347 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,457. About 14.5% of families and 17.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.1% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

• Beckley (county seat)

Towns

• Lester
• Mabscott
• Sophia

Magisterial districts

Current

• District 1
• District 2
• District 3

Historic

• Clear Fork
• Marsh Fork
• Richmond
• Shady Spring
• Slab Fork
• Town
• Trap Hill

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Raleigh para niños