Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia

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Eastern panhandle

The Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia is a narrow stretch of territory in the northeast of the state, bordering Maryland and Virginia, USA. It comprises the following eight counties:

Berkeley
Grant
Hampshire
Hardy
Jefferson
Mineral
Morgan
Pendleton

1 History
2 Population
3 County information
4 Panhandle trivia
5 Potomac Highlands
6 Panhandle communities and sites

[edit] History

[edit] Population

According to the 2000 Census, the eight counties of the Eastern Panhandle had a combined population of 212,483 giving the region 11.75% of West Virginia's population. Berkeley County is the Panhandle's most populous county with 93,394 residents (2005). Berkeley also includes the Panhandle's largest city, Martinsburg, with a population of 15,996 (2005).

[edit] Population growth

County	2005 (estimate)	2000	1990	1980	1970	1960	1950
Berkeley	93,394	75,905	59,253	46,846	36,356	33,791	30,359
Grant	11,673	11,299	10,428	10,218	8,607	8,304	8,756
Hampshire	22,025	20,203	16,498	14,867	11,710	11,705	12,577
Hardy	13,287	12,669	10,977	10,051	8,855	9,308	10,032
Jefferson	49,206	42,190	35,926	30,311	21,280	18,665	17,184
Mineral	27,028	27,078	26,697	27,159	23,109	22,354	22,333
Morgan	16,022	14,943	12,128	10,696	8,547	8,376	8,276
Pendleton	7,844	8,196	8,054	7,935	7,031	8,093	9,313
TOTAL	240,479	212,483	179,961	158,083	125,495	120,596	118,830

[edit] Housing growth

The Eastern Panhandle is West Virginia's fastest growing region in terms of population and housing growth. In July 2005, the United States Census Bureau released a list of the top 100 counties according to housing growth. Berkeley County grew 3.95 percent, from 36,365 housing units in 2003 to 37,802 units in 2004. That growth rate was 86th in the nation among the 3,141 United States counties. Jefferson County was not far behind at 88th in the nation. It grew 3.94 percent from 19,381 housing units in 2003 to 20,144 units in 2004.

[edit] Largest cities

The majority of the Eastern Panhandle's growing residential developments are located outside of city and town boundaries and therefore not included in the city or town's official population.

City	2005 (estimate)	2000	1990	County
Martinsburg	15,996	14,972	14,073	Berkeley
Keyser	5,410	5,303	5,870	Mineral
Ranson	3,793	2,951	2,890	Jefferson
Charles Town	3,704	2,907	3,122	Jefferson
Petersburg	2,634	2,423	2,360	Grant

[edit] Statistical areas

Several counties in the Eastern Panhandle are part of metropolitan, micropolitan, and consolidated metropolitan statistical areas defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget.

MSA/CMSA	Population (2000)	WV Counties
Cumberland MD-WV MSA	102,008	Mineral
Hagerstown-Martinsburg MD-WV MSA	222,771	Berkeley, Morgan
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MSA	4,796,183	Hampshire, Jefferson
Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV CMSA	7,538,385	Berkeley, Jefferson
Winchester, VA-WV MSA	102,997	Hampshire

[edit] County information

County	Named For	Founded	Seat
Berkeley	Norborne Berkeley, Baron de Botetourt	February 1772	Martinsburg
Grant	Ulysses Simpson Grant	February 14, 1866	Petersburg
Hampshire	County of Hampshire, England	December 13, 1753	Romney
Hardy	Samuel Hardy	December 10, 1785	Moorefield
Jefferson	Thomas Jefferson	January 8, 1801	Charles Town
Mineral	minerals located in the county	February 1, 1866	Keyser
Morgan	General Daniel Morgan	February 9, 1820	Berkeley Springs
Pendleton	Edmund Pendleton	December 4, 1787	Franklin

[edit] Panhandle trivia

The Eastern Panhandle includes West Virginia's oldest chartered towns (1762) of Romney and Shepherdstown. The Panhandle also includes West Virginia's two oldest counties: Hampshire (1753) and Berkeley (1772).
The Eastern Panhandle also includes both West Virginia's highest and lowest elevations above sea level: Spruce Knob, 4,863 feet (1,482 m), in Pendleton and Harpers Ferry, 240 feet (73 m), in Jefferson on the Potomac River.
West Virginia's only natural lake, Trout Pond, is located in the Panhandle's Hardy County near Wardensville.
Berkeley, Hampshire, Hardy, Jefferson, and Morgan Counties were forced to reluctantly join the new Unionist state of West Virginia in 1863 so that the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad along the Potomac River would remain safely in Union hands. Shortly after West Virginia gained statehood, Mineral and Grant counties were created from Hampshire and Hardy in 1866.
As of August 2006, the Eastern Panhandle has 249 (27.09%) of West Virginia's 919 properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Berkeley County has the most at 106 properties listed.

[edit] Potomac Highlands

Grant, Hampshire, Hardy, Mineral, and Pendleton Counties also belong to another geographical region of West Virginia known as the Potomac Highlands of West Virginia.

[edit] Panhandle communities and sites

	The Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia
Counties	Berkeley \| Grant \| Hampshire \| Hardy \| Jefferson \| Mineral \| Morgan \| Pendleton
Communities	Bayard \| Berkeley Springs \| Bolivar \| Capon Bridge \| Carpendale \| Charles Town \| Elk Garden \| Franklin \| Harpers Ferry \| Hedgesville \| Keyser \| Martinsburg \| Moorefield \| Paw Paw \| Petersburg \| Piedmont \| Ridgeley \| Romney \| Shepherdstown \| Wardensville
Attractions	Appalachian National Scenic Trail \| Berkeley Springs State Park \| Cacapon Resort State Park \| Cacapon River \| Capon Springs \| Charles Town Races & Slots \| Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park \| Fort Ashby \| Fort Mill Ridge Civil War Trenches \| George Washington National Forest \| Harpers Ferry National Historical Park \| Indian Mound Cemetery \| Jennings Randolph Lake \| Lost River \| Lost River State Park \| Monongahela National Forest \| Mount Storm Lake \| Northwestern Turnpike \| Potomac River \| Potomac State College \| Seneca Rocks \| Shenandoah River \| Shepherdstown National Historic District \| Shepherd University \| Sleepy Creek Lake \| Smoke Hole Caverns \| South Branch Potomac River \| Spruce Knob \| Summit Point Motorsports Park \| The Trough \| Trout Pond \| Tuscarora Trail \| Washington Heritage Trail

	State of West Virginia
Topics	Cities \| Towns \| Villages \| Census-designated places \| Governors \| Colleges and universities
Capital	Charleston
Regions	Allegheny Mountains \| Allegheny Plateau \| Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area \| Charleston Metropolitan Area \| Cumberland Plateau \| Eastern Panhandle \| North-Central West Virginia \| Northern Panhandle \| Potomac Highlands \| Ridge-and-valley Appalachians \| Southern West Virginia
Major cities	Charleston \| Huntington \| Parkersburg \| Wheeling \| Morgantown
Smaller cities	Beckley \| Bluefield \| Clarksburg \| Cross Lanes \| Fairmont \| Martinsburg \| Saint Albans \| South Charleston \| Teays Valley \| Vienna \| Weirton
Counties	Barbour \| Berkeley \| Boone \| Braxton \| Brooke \| Cabell \| Calhoun \| Clay \| Doddridge \| Fayette \| Gilmer \| Grant \| Greenbrier \| Hampshire \| Hancock \| Hardy \| Harrison \| Jackson \| Jefferson \| Kanawha \| Lewis \| Lincoln \| Logan \| Marion \| Marshall \| Mason \| McDowell \| Mercer \| Mineral \| Mingo \| Monongalia \| Monroe \| Morgan \| Nicholas \| Ohio \| Pendleton \| Pleasants \| Pocahontas \| Preston \| Putnam \| Raleigh \| Randolph \| Ritchie \| Roane \| Summers \| Taylor \| Tucker \| Tyler \| Upshur \| Wayne \| Webster \| Wetzel \| Wirt \| Wood \| Wyoming

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