Rivesville, West Virginia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rivesville, West Virginia
Town
Location of Rivesville in Marion County, West Virginia.
Coordinates: 39°31′49″N 80°7′9″W
Country	United States
State	West Virginia
County	Marion
Area
• Total	0.59 sq mi (1.54 km2)
• Land	0.52 sq mi (1.36 km2)
• Water	0.07 sq mi (0.18 km2)
Elevation	866 ft (264 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	934
• Estimate  (2019)	903
• Density	1,723.28/sq mi (664.98/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	26588
Area code(s)	304
FIPS code	54-68908
GNIS feature ID	1545784

Rivesville is a town and former coal town in Marion County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 934 at the 2010 census.

Geography

Rivesville is located at 39°31′49″N 80°7′9″W (39.530276, -80.119063) in the heart of the Fairmont coal field on the north-west bank of the Monongahela River around its confluence with Paw Paw Creek.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.59 square miles (1.53 km²), of which, 0.52 square miles (1.35 km²) is land and 0.07 square miles (0.18 km²) is water.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1860	54		—
1870	63		16.7%
1880	136		115.9%
1890	165		21.3%
1900	164		−0.6%
1910	190		15.9%
1920	1,061		458.4%
1930	1,700		60.2%
1940	1,552		−8.7%
1950	1,343		−13.5%
1960	1,191		−11.3%
1970	1,108		−7.0%
1980	1,327		19.8%
1990	1,064		−19.8%
2000	913		−14.2%
2010	934		2.3%
2019 (est.)	903		−3.3%
U.S. Decennial Census

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 934 people, 402 households, and 261 families living in the town. The population density was 1,796.2 inhabitants per square mile (693.5/km²). There were 430 housing units at an average density of 826.9 per square mile (319.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.7% White, 0.6% African American, 0.5% Native American, and 0.1% from other races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.3% of the population.

There were 402 households, of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.3% were married couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.1% were non-families. 29.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.83.

The median age in the town was 42.1 years. 21.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.3% were from 25 to 44; 30.1% were from 45 to 64; and 16.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 46.6% male and 53.4% female.

History

The first stories of temporary European settlement in the Rivesville area involve a Boston native, Pompey Leggett, who settled briefly in the area in 1694, but the first permanent settlements along the Monongahela were not established until after the French and Indian War in 1763. Frontier forts and frequent clashes between Europeans and Native Americans continued for several decades.

Rivesville was platted in 1837, and named after William Cabell Rives.

In 1900, it was a very small town, population 164, growing to 190 in 1910. This was immediately before the development of large-scale coal mining in the area and the subsequent population growth.

In the early 20th century, Rivesville was at the junction between the Pawpaw branch of the B&O Railroad and the Buckhannon & Northern Railroad, a branch of the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie a predecessor that was incorporated into the Monongahela Railway formed in 1915.

Rivesville was also served by the Fairmont-Clarksburg Division of the Monongahela-West Pen Railways, originally the Monongahela Power and Railway Company. This electric interurban line ran from Fairmont through Rivesville to the Rivesville Power Station, just north of town.

Notable person

• Harrison C. Summers, WWII hero

Images for kids

• 

  The Parker Run Coal & Coke Co. Mine at Rivesville, circa 1913.