Cairo, West Virginia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cairo (pronunciation: "Care'-o") is a town in Ritchie County, West Virginia, along West Virginia Route 31, the North Fork of the Hughes River, and the North Bend Rail Trail.^[1] The population was 263 at the 2000 census.

Contents 1 Geography 2 Demographics 3 External links 4 References

[edit] Geography

Cairo is located at 39°12′30″N, 81°9′24″W (39.208264, -81.156600)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.3 km² (0.5 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 263 people, 112 households, and 73 families residing in the town. The population density was 207.2/km² (536.2/mi²). There were 140 housing units at an average density of 110.3/km² (285.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 100.00% White.

There were 112 households out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.7% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.8% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the town the population was spread out with 25.1% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 27.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 85.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $24,688, and the median income for a family was $29,792. Males had a median income of $20,833 versus $21,750 for females. The per capita income for the town was $14,958. About 9.5% of families and 14.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.7% of those under the age of eighteen and 4.3% of those sixty five or over.

Cairo is the center of the universe as regards machine-made toy glass marbles. Three separate marble companies have operated in Cairo, although no marbles are made there today. A commemorative marble-playing park in the wonderful downtown area is proof of the pride the local community takes in its rich history of manufacturing beautiful glass toys.

[edit] External links

• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 39.208264° -81.1566°
  • Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA

Cairo West Virginia was founded in the mid 1800's and was a farm based community. The land was found to be very fertile hence the name Egypt, and later Cairo. The town remined pretty much insignificant until the 1870's. A large oil and gas boom hit the area and Cairo was primed to be in the center of development in the area. With a railhead established the town grew to over 3000 and sported 4 hotels, and all the amenities associted with a boom town. As distribution changed and roads were tamed the town slowly dwindled until it became as it is today. An out of the way blip on a map with a rich history. The town still had a virtual plethora of natural gas as did the whole area. This led to a large glass industry and the marble industry became king in Cairo.

[edit] References

1. ^ DeLorme (1997). West Virginia Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. ISBN 0-89933-246-3.