Roane County, West Virginia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Roane County
U.S. county
Robey Theatre in Spencer
Flag 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	March 11, 1856
Named for	Spencer Roane
Seat	Spencer
Largest city	Spencer
Area
• Total	484 sq mi (1,250 km2)
• Land	484 sq mi (1,250 km2)
• Water	0.2 sq mi (0.5 km2)  0.03%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	14,028
• Estimate  (2021)	13,898
• Density	28.983/sq mi (11.191/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	1st

Roane County is a county located in the state of West Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 count, about 14,028 people lived there. Its main town, or county seat, is Spencer. The county was started in 1856 and is named after a person named Spencer Roane.

History of Roane County

Roane County was officially created on March 11, 1856. This happened because of a decision by the Virginia General Assembly, which was like the state's law-making group. The county was named after Spencer Roane, who was an important judge from Virginia. He was born on April 4, 1762. The county's main town, Spencer, was also named after Judge Roane.

During the American Civil War, on June 20, 1863, Roane County became part of the new state of West Virginia. West Virginia was formed from fifty counties that left Virginia to join the Union. After this, counties were divided into smaller areas called civil townships. This was done to help local governments work better. But it was hard to make this work in West Virginia because it had many rural areas. So, in 1872, these townships were changed into magisterial districts.

Roane County was first split into seven districts: Curtis, Geary, Harper, Reedy, Smithfield, Spencer, and Walton. These districts stayed mostly the same for over 100 years. In the 1980s, they were combined into three new districts: Northern, Eastern, and Western. A fourth district, Southern, was added in the 1990s.

Geography of Roane County

Roane County covers a total area of about 484 square miles. Almost all of this area is land, with only a tiny bit (0.2 square miles) being water.

Main Roads in Roane County

• Interstate 79
• U.S. Highway 33
• U.S. Highway 119
• West Virginia Route 14
• West Virginia Route 36

Neighboring Counties

Roane County shares borders with these other counties:

• Wirt County (to the north)
• Calhoun County (to the east)
• Clay County (to the southeast)
• Kanawha County (to the south)
• Jackson County (to the west)

People of Roane County

What the 2010 Census Showed

In 2010, there were 14,926 people living in Roane County. There were 6,195 households and 4,193 families. On average, there were about 31 people per square mile.

Most people in the county were white (98.4%). A small number were Asian (0.3%), American Indian (0.2%), or Black (0.1%). About 0.7% of the population was of Hispanic or Latino background. Many people had ancestors from America (20.7%), Ireland (17.9%), Germany (15.3%), or England (9.1%).

About 28.9% of households had children under 18 living with them. More than half (53.2%) were married couples. The average age of people in the county was 43.5 years old.

The average yearly income for a household was $27,428, and for a family, it was $35,289. About 27.6% of all people, and 41.5% of those under 18, lived below the poverty line.

Communities in Roane County

City

• Spencer (This is the main town, or county seat)

Town

• Reedy

Magisterial Districts

Current Districts

• Northern
• Southern
• Eastern
• Western

Historic Districts

• Curtis
• Geary
• Harper
• Reedy
• Smithfield
• Spencer
• Walton

Smaller Communities (Unincorporated)

These are smaller places that are not officially cities or towns:

Famous People from Roane County

• William Franklin "Frank" George (1928-2017), a well-known old-time fiddler and expert in local traditions.

See also

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