Benwood, West Virginia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Benwood is a city in Marshall County, West Virginia, along the Ohio River. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,585 at the 2000 census.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Further information
4 Life In Benwood
5 Media
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] Geography

Benwood is located at 40°0′46″N, 80°44′2″W (40.012748, -80.734008)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.8 km² (1.8 mi²). 3.2 km² (1.2 mi²) of it is land and 1.5 km² (0.6 mi²) of it (32.07%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,585 people, 706 households, and 429 families residing in the city. The population density was 489.6/km² (1,268.7/mi²). There were 811 housing units at an average density of 250.5/km² (649.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.23% White, 1.14% African American, 0.06% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, and 0.44% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.19% of the population.

There were 706 households out of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.7% were married couples living together, 17.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.1% were non-families. 34.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.0% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 21.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 81.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $20,478, and the median income for a family was $27,232. Males had a median income of $23,906 versus $16,827 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,543. About 19.5% of families and 21.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.6% of those under age 18 and 16.2% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Further information

Benwood is partitioned into 3 sections, each connected by either Marshall Street or West Virginia Route 2. North Benwood is the primary commercial area of the small city and contains a small, mostly empty shopping plaza, a grocery store, a gas station and several other small business and fast food restaurants. While all of Benwood lies in a flood zone, North Benwood tends to be hit hardest by the floods of the Ohio river. Slightly to the south lies Center Benwood, which is the primarily residential section of the city and holds; both of the city parks, the city building, the fire and police departments, and Undo's Family restaurant. Undo's is widely claimed to be the city's largest asset and has branched out to other locations throughout the Ohio Valley. Center Benwood is laid out in a rectangular grid, approximately 1 mile around divided 4 blocks long and 3 streets wide. Center Benwood is also the home of St. John's Catholic church which is noteworthy due to its age (over 150 years) and sheer size. South Benwood lies below Center Benwood and contains the majority of the city's industrial developments. While the area's of Benwood Hill and a portion of Bogg's Run are provided with some services from Benwood's public works, they fall outside the city limits and are not directly parts of the city.

[edit] Life In Benwood

Dominick "Seacow" Giovengo seen being festive

Being a small town adjacent to a small city (Wheeling), one would assume that Benwood would be devoid of most any kind of city life. This assumption can be proven to be at least somewhat false. while, it is true that there are only serveral large families that dominate the population (Smith's, Kazemka's, Giovengo's...ect), it by no means locks Benwood in the stereotype of a "Hick" town. Benwood actually encompasses both the best of both worlds, spawning some humorous Urban Legends while also taking elements of city life, such as an active music scene (with The Lytic Cycle as the frontrunners) and one of the nicest city pools in the area. Most of the Urban Legends center around the more "interesting" of the city's inhabitants, such as Karl. Karl is immortalized by his lifestyle of "sex drugs and rock and roll" and long winded lectures to anyone (or thing) that may happen to listen. One of the most commonly told pieces of Karl lore involves him stumbling out of a door, only to stop and lecture a near by dog for nearly an hour on "why good dogs don't sit by doors". Karl is also known for (poorly) playing the drums in his brother's building, which decades ago contained a small diner and bank but now is used for storage and containment of the beast that is Karl. In an odd twist of manners, it is seen as almost impolite for a citizen of Benwood to lock the doors of their house and most citizens enter without knocking regardless if the house is empty or not. If one returns home from work to find another citizen in their home (typically the kitchen) they tend to be greeted warmly and offered dessert.