Huntington, West Virginia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Huntington, West Virginia |
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| Nickname: "The Jewel City" | |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country | United States |
| State | West Virginia |
| County | Cabell, Wayne |
| Founded | 1785 |
| Incorporated | 1871 |
| Mayor | David Felinton |
| Area | |
| - City | 46.6 km² (18.0 sq mi) |
| - Land | 41.2 km² (15.9 sq mi) |
| - Water | 5.4 km² (2.1 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 252 m (827 ft) |
| Population | |
| - City (2004) | 49,891 |
| - Density | 1,248.4/km² (3,234.1/sq mi) |
| - Metro | 288,649 |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| Website: http://www.cityofhuntington.com/ | |
Huntington is a city located in the U.S. State of West Virginia along the Ohio River. Most of the city is in Cabell County, for which it is the county seat of government. A small portion of the city, mainly the neighborhood of Westmoreland, is in Wayne County. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 51,475 (47,341 in Cabell County, 4,134 in Wayne County). Huntington is a part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 288,649. Huntington is the largest city within the MSA and the second largest city in West Virginia, behind Charleston.
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[edit] History
The city was named for Collis P. Huntington, who founded Huntington in 1870 as the western terminus for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) on the land west of the mouth of the Guyandotte River at the Ohio River. It was created as a railroad town for the C&O, when it initially stretched from Richmond, Virginia to the Ohio River. It became a huge shops center for the railroad, which expanded east to Newport News (and coal piers) and westerly to eventually reach Cincinnati and Chicago in the following years.
Huntington was incorporated in 1871, but was really a massive addition to Guyandotte, an earlier city that is now a neighborhood of Huntington, was first built upon in 1799. The land that is now part of both Guyandotte and Huntington was originally part of the 28,628 acre French and Indian War veteran's Savage Grant.
Historically, the old Federal Era town of Guyandotte has homes dating back to 1820 and a graveyard containing 18th century French and Colonial-era settlers, including surnames such as LeTulle, Holderby, and Buffington. Huntington was known as Holderby's Landing prior to 1871 and the Buffington family held the tracts of land that became the Huntington Land Company. The Buffingtons were the only revolutionary-era Savage Grant claimants to continuously reside within the area, and later generations of Buffingtons were associated with Marshall College (later a university) were business partners of Collis P. Huntington. Albert Gallatin Jenkins, a Confederate Army General, had his plantation home in nearby Lesage, which has since become a historical landmark.
At the time of Huntington's founding, Holderby's Landing was already the home of Marshall College, a normal school that had been founded in 1837 as Marshall Academy. Originally, Marshall Academy was essentially a boarding school, under the control of the Southern Methodist Church, for wealthy high school students. In 1857, the school became Marshall College, which in turn became a public institution in 1867. The college later became Marshall University in 1961 and now occupies a large portion of the city to the immediate east of the downtown CBD.
Huntington grew to nearly 100,000 in population by the 1950s thanks to a successful coal and chemical industry. However, due to coal losing some of its prominence as a fuel, the city has lost much of its industrial base including several factories in industries such as glassworks, steel, and locomotive parts. Huntington is now effectively a regional medical community - the two hospitals, St. Mary's and Cabell-Huntington, are the largest employers - and a university town, thanks to the presence of Marshall University, which has an enrollment of approximately 16,000 students. [1]
Despite being located to the south of the area traditionally defined as the Rust belt, the city suffered from the trend of heavy deindustrialization experienced in cities of the Upper Midwest during the 1970s. This trend has been one of the factors that has resulted Huntington's population decline over the last several decades.
In the 1970s, federal urban renewal programs destroyed part of the downtown, but in 2005 the Pullman Square retail and entertainment center, aided by the Tri-State Transit Authority, revived the downtown "Superblock" area, leading to rising downtown usage. The Harris Riverfront Park promenade is now well-attended along the Ohio River downtown. Victorian architecture downtown is growing in popularity among new residents.
[edit] Marshall University air disaster
On November 14, 1970, an airplane transporting 75 Marshall University football players, coaches, staff, and supporters crashed just short of the Tri-State Airport in adjoining Ceredo, West Virginia. All were killed.
A movie entitled We Are Marshall, will be released December 12, 2006 locally and December 22, 2006 nationally. The movie depicts the aftermath of the disaster for the families and university.
[edit] Geography and climate
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 46.6 km² (18.0 mi²). 41.2 km² (15.9 mi²) of it is land and 5.4 km² (2.1 mi²) of it (11.51%) is water. The Guyandotte River joins the Ohio River in Huntington, about 5 mi (8 km) east of its downtown.
Due to its position in the westernmost and lowest altitude areas of the state, the city experiences more of a warmer and milder Humid subtropical climate than the hilly uplands of West Virginia which are located in the Allegheny Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains. Huntington is warmed by westerly winds from the Midwest, and made humid by the Ohio River, but avoids the bitter cold and high winds of the interior of West Virginia. Huntington enjoys temperate four seasons, with hot (70-90 degrees) Summers and snowy (20-50 degrees) Winters. Fall and spring tend to be cool and wet, but Huntington fills the roughly three-mile wide flood plain of the south bank of the Ohio River for sixty city blocks and portions of the hills to the immediate south.
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°F) | 41 | 45 | 56 | 67 | 75 | 83 | 86 | 84 | 78 | 67 | 56 | 45 | 65 |
| Avg low (°F) | 24 | 26 | 35 | 44 | 53 | 61 | 65 | 64 | 57 | 45 | 37 | 29 | 45 |
| Rainfall (in) | 2.9 | 2.9 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 41.4 |
| Snowfall (in) | 8.3 | 7.3 | 4.3 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 3.9 | 25.7 |
The city's primary public recreation center is Ritter Park (named Charles L. Ritter who donated the land). The park area encompasses a walking and cycling path, tennis courts, an outdoor amphitheater, a multi-terraced rose garden, and a stone-tiered reflecting pond built by the Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps in the late 1930s. Four Pole Creek, runs the entire length of Ritter Park and the creek is crossed by numerous wooden and stone footbridges.
[edit] Government and politics
Huntington has, since 1985, operated under a strong mayor/city council form of government. [2] The mayor is elected to four-year terms in partisan elections contested at the same time as United States presidential elections. The current mayor is David Felinton, a Democrat who is currently in his second term. Mayors in Huntington are not term-limited and have the authority to veto acts of the city council.
Huntington's city councillors are also elected to four-year terms at the same time as the mayor. There are eleven members of the council, nine of whom represent single-member districts, while the other two are elected at-large by the city as a whole. Huntington's city council has the authority to draft and debate ordinances and can override a mayoral veto with a two-thirds majority. There are currently ten Democrats and one Republican on the city council. [3]
| District | City Councillor | District | City Councillor |
|---|---|---|---|
| District 1 | James Ritter (D) | District 7 | Scott Caserta (D) |
| District 2 | Teresa Loudermilk (D) | District 8 | P. D. Adkins (D) |
| District 3 | Frances Jackson (D) | District 9 | Jim Insco (D) |
| District 4 | Mary Neely (D) | At Large | Gary Black (D) |
| District 5 | Brandi Jacobs-Jones (D) | At Large | Paul Farrell (D) |
| District 6 | Calvin Kent (R) |
The city also serves as the county seat of Cabell County. The Cabell County Courthouse is located in downtown Huntington on a parcel that covers an entire city block. Within the building are the offices for all of the county's elected officials and their employees, including the sheriff, county commissioners, county clerk, magistrates, and Circuit Court judges.
[edit] Demographics
| Historical populations | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1880 | 3,174 |
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| 1890 | 10,108 | 218.5% | |
| 1900 | 11,923 | 18.0% | |
| 1910 | 31,161 | 161.4% | |
| 1920 | 50,177 | 61.0% | |
| 1930 | 75,572 | 50.6% | |
| 1940 | 78,836 | 4.3% | |
| 1950 | 86,353 | 9.5% | |
| 1960 | 83,627 | -3.2% | |
| 1970 | 74,315 | -11.1% | |
| 1980 | 63,684 | -14.3% | |
| 1990 | 54,844 | -13.9% | |
| 2000 | 51,475 | -6.1% | |
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 51,475 people, 22,955 households, and 12,235 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,248.4/km² (3,234.1/mi²). There are 25,888 housing units at an average density of 627.9/km² (1,626.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 89.61% White, 7.49% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.82% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.30% from other races, and 1.53% from two or more races. 0.85% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 22,955 households out of which 20.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.9% are married couples living together, 13.1% have a female householder with no husband present, and 46.7% are non-families. 37.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 15.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.12 and the average family size is 2.80.
The age distribution, which is strongly influenced by Marshall's presence, is 17.7% under the age of 18, 17.5% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 18.0% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100 females there are 88.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 85.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $23,234, and the median income for a family is $34,756. Males have a median income of $30,040 versus $21,198 for females. The per capita income for the city is $16,717. 24.7% of the population and 17.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 29.8% of those under the age of 18 and 12.5% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
[edit] Institutions
Huntington is home to medical centers. St. Mary's Hospital (Huntington) and Cabell-Huntington Hospital provide healthcare for Huntington and the surrounding metropolitan area. Cabell-Huntington is also the only trauma center in the region. The Marshall University Medical Center is located at Cabell-Huntington. In addition, the Marshall University Medical School, now known as the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine in honor of Joan C. Edwards, a major benefactor, has a comprehensive cancer care center. It is also a distinguished leader nationwide for rural health care delivery.
The Huntington VA Medical Center, located on Spring Valley Drive, is an 80-bed medical and surgical care facility that offers primary inpatient and outpatient care, along with mental healthy services and subspeciality outpatient options. It is also the primary teaching facility for the Marshall University School of Medicine and is also affiliated with the Pikeville School of Osteopathic Medicine. In 1993, the Robert C. Byrd Clinical Addition expanded the hospital's surgery, radiology, laboratory, cardiology, nuclear medicine, and rehabilitation services and renovated inpatient care facilities. In 1998, a $10 million research facility was completed [4]
The city is also home to the state's largest psychiatric hospital, Mildred Mitchell-Bateman Hospital.
A banking and commerce center for the area between 1880 and the present, Huntington developed along the river's shore with its 19th century urban industry. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad had its western terminus in Huntington and railroad tracks bifurcate the city today. The railroad was historically the leading Huntington industry, along with coal, railcars, nickel, steel and glass.
[edit] Economy
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[edit] Cityscape
Huntington has a central business district, located directly south of the Ohio River, east of the Robert C. Byrd Bridge, and west of 11th Avenue. It has another smaller business district, known as Central City, that is well known for its antique shops and for Heiners Bakery. There are several heavy industrial plants that line the Ohio River and the Guyandotte River, but the dominance of Marshall University's research prominence and the growing service sector, especially in the medical field, is reversing the effects of the rust belt that has plagued Huntington for almost over two decades.
The city also has a wealth of architecture, most of it constructed at a time when Huntington was dominated by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The city can also lay claim to a new urban renewal stance, brought on by Heritage Village, Pullman Square, and the continued investment in numerous downtown properties. Offshoots of the Pullman Square project is the renovations of many historical structures along 3rd Avenue, a new 9th Street Plaza, and the Old Main Corridor project.
[edit] Culture
[edit] Annual events and fairs
Huntington is home to numerous unique events and fairs held throughout the year.
| Name | Location | Date | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chilifest | Downtown district - 4th Avenue and Plaza | September 15-17 | State championship is held every year, with chili cooks coming from West Virginia and other states to compete for a berth in the national competition. |
| Guyandotte Civil War Days | Guyandotte | Early-November | This festival features arts and crafts, food, and entertainment. [2] |
| Guyandotte Heritage Days | Guyandotte | November | This historic-themed festival features reenactment of the Confederate raid and the Union reprisal. It features period music, museums, 'living histories', and craft displays. |
| Hilltop Festival | Huntington Museum of Art | 2nd weekend in September | This event offers entertainment, children's activities, a petting zoo, book fair, arts and crafts, and concessions. |
| Huntington Dogwood Arts and Crafts Festival | Big Sandy Superstore Arena | April | This features the demonstration and sale of traditional arts and crafts plus specialty ethnic foods. [3] |
| Jazz-MU-Tazz | June | Marshall University | A summer jazz festival, it is a weekend of music that features jazz cabarets, outdoor concerts, and numerous activities. |
| Lions Tri-State Arts & Crafts Festival | Big Sandy Superstore Arena | 1st weekend in December | An old-fashioned arts and crafts fair that includes over 200 exhibitors featuring a variety of arts and crafts and homemade foods and sweets. |
| Old Central City Days | 3rd weekend in June | Central City district in West Huntington | This event offers numerous enterainment and shopping options in addition to the existing stock of storefronts, historic tours, and various food vendors at the new farmers market "depot." |
| Pilot Club of Huntington's Antique Show and Sale | Big Sandy Superstore Arena | Last complete weekend in September. | An antique show and sale that features more than 40 dealers representing more than 10 states and West Virginia. |
| Ritter Park Days | Ritter Park | Weekends in July and August. | Features children-based activities and programs. |
| West Virginia Day Celebration | Downtown district - 9th Street Plaza | This features live entertainment, jugglers, food, crafts, and more. Held mid-June. | |
| St. Patrick's Day Celebration | Downtown Huntington | March 14 | This features live entertainment by musical and dance groups appropriate for St. Patrick's Day. [4] |
| West Virginia Hot Dog Festival | Pullman Square district - 3rd Avenue | Celebrates the unique variations of regional hot dogs. |
[edit] Historical structures and museums
The Huntington Museum of Art is located in the hills above Ritter Park, featuring numerous collections and exhibitions; it is also home to the C. Fred Edwards Conservatory. The Museum of Radio and Technology is located near the west end of the park in a renovated elementary school. The Cabell County Courthouse and the Carnegie Library in the downtown also hold historical interests, along with Old Main at Marshall University, a structure dating to the 1840s and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Keith Albee, a former Vaudeville palace from the 1920s, is one of the architectural masterpieces of downtown Huntington, located along 4th Avenue. It is currently being renovated to become the state's largest performing arts centers. One block north, 5th Avenue is noted for its many historical church buildings. The city is also the site of an Adena Native American burial mound.
Traditional "drive-in" restaurants and hotdog stands are popular in the city, with locally-based favorites including Stewart's Original Hot Dogs, Frostop, Sam's Hot Dog Stand, and Hillbilly Hot Dogs making appearances throughout the region.
[edit] Parks and outdoor attractions
- See also: Pink Bridge Incident
Huntington is home to eleven parks located in the neighborhoods of Huntington, the most visible being Harris Riverfront Park in the downtown and Ritter Park. Camden Park, an amusement park, is also adjacent to the city.
[edit] Sports
Huntington is the current home to one professional sports franchise. The indoor football team, the Huntington Heroes, is a 2006 expansion franchise member of the American Indoor Football League. The game is hosted in the Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse, although home games will be moved to the Big Sandy Superstore Arena for the 2007 season.
Huntington was also home to the Huntington Blizzard, an indoor ice-hockey team that was in existence from 1993 to 2000.
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[edit] Notable People from Huntington
- William C. Campbell
- Dagmar
- Brad Dourif
- Joan C. Edwards
- Delos Carleton Emmons
- Hal Greer
- Jim Grobe
- Chase Harrison
- Henry D. Hatfield
- Jule Huffman
- Albert G. Jenkins
- Carwood Lipton
- Peter Marshall
- OJ Mayo
- Jeff Morrison
- Dwight Morrow
- Simon Perry
- Rick Reed
- Billy Scott
- Soupy Sales
- Michael W. Smith
- Carter G. Woodson
- Steve Yeager
[edit] Media
[edit] Print
Huntington has one of West Virginia's largest daily circulating newspapers, The Herald-Dispatch, with an average weekday circulation of just over 29,000.
[edit] Television
| Call sign | Channel | Description |
|---|---|---|
| WOWK | 13 | |
| WPBY | 33-34 | West Virginia Public Broadcasting |
| WSAZ | 3 | |
| WCHS | 8 | Broadcast from Charleston. |
| WQCW | 30 | CW affiliated station from Portsmouth, Ohio. |
| WVAH | 11 | FOX affiliate broadcasted from Teays Valley. |
[edit] Radio
- Note: These are the only stations that licensed to the city of Huntington.
| Call sign | Frequency | Format | Description / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| WMUL | 88.1 FM | College Radio | This is operated by Marshall University. |
| WVWV | 89.9 FM | NPR | West Virginia Public Radio |
| WKEE | 100.5 FM | Top 40 | |
| WTCR | 103.3 FM | Country | WTCR-AM is licensed to Kenova, West Virginia |
| WEMM | 107.9 FM / 1470 AM | Southern Gospel | Southen Gospel simulcasts on WEMM-FM and WEMM-AM |
| WVHU | 800 AM | News/Talk | |
| WRVC | 930 AM | News/Talk | WRVC-FM is licensed to Catlettsburg, Kentucky. |
[edit] Education
- Marshall University
- Robert C. Byrd Institute
- Huntington Junior College
[edit] Infrastructure
[edit] Roads
Huntington is located along Interstate 64, which skirts the city to the south. It has four interchanges that serve the city: US 52 (West Huntington Expressway), WV 152/WV 527, WV 10, and US 60.
US 60, part of the historic Midland Trail, runs through the entire length of Huntington from west to east, cutting through West Huntington, downtown, East Huntington, and along the Guyandotte River. US 52 cuts through West Huntington along the West Huntington Expressway, but its presence is brief. It has an interchange at Madison Avenue and one for US 60.
The city is the northern terminus for WV 10, a scenic highway that follows the Guyandotte River for much of its length and connects Huntington to Princeton. It is also the southern terminus of WV 2, which parallels the entirety of West Virginia's section of the Ohio River, and facilitates much traffic towards Point Pleasant and Parkersburg.
Huntington utilizes a grid-like street pattern featuring several wide boulevard-style avenues that run east and west. Most notable of these are 3rd and 5th Avenues. The city has a numbered street naming system, with avenues running east and west (parallel to the Ohio River) and streets running north and south.
The city has connections over the Ohio River to Proctorville, Ohio via the East End Bridge, and to Chesapeake, Ohio via the Robert C. Byrd Bridge and the West Huntington Bridge.
[edit] Rail
Since its founding as the western terminus of the C&O Railroad, Huntington has served as a major break of bulk point between rail traffic and the Ohio River/Mississippi River watershed. Much of the coal mined in southern West Virginia is brought to Huntington by train to be transshipped and then transported by river barges to industrial centers in other parts of the United States. CSX, the successor company to C&O, continues to maintain an office and rail yard in the city.
The city was once a hub for passenger rail service in the region, but accounts for a significantly smaller portion of rail traffic than in the early decades of the 20th Century. Huntington, however, has an Amtrak station that lies on the Cardinal line running between New York City and Chicago via Washington, DC and Cincinnati. [5]
Amtrak Train 51, the westbound Cardinal, is scheduled to depart Huntington at 9:35pm on Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday with service to Ashland, South Portsmouth, Maysville, Cincinnati, Connersville, Indianapolis, Crawfordsville, Lafayette, Rensselaer, Dyer, and Chicago. Amtrak Train 50, the eastbound Cardinal, is scheduled to depart Huntington at 7:09am on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday with service to Charleston, Montgomery, Thurmond, Prince, Hinton, Alderson, White Sulphur Springs, Clifton Forge, Staunton, Charlottesville, Culpeper, Manassas, Alexandria, and Washington, DC, before continuing on to New York City.
[edit] River
Huntington is the largest inland port in the United States in both in terms of total tonnage and ton-miles. [6] This is due in large part to the coal traffic from the railroads and the petroleum products produced by the Marathon Petroleum Company oil refinery in nearby Catlettsburg, Kentucky that use the Port of Huntington to load their products onto barges.
[edit] Air
Tri-State Airport, located southwest of the city, is a public airport with two runways.
[edit] References
- ^ Marshall University Admissions. Admissions frequently asked questions. Retrieved on 2006-06-15.
- ^ The Associated Press (2006-03-27). Huntington Charter. Retrieved on 2006-06-15.
- ^ Clerk of Cabell County (2004-11-22). Results after canvass. Retrieved on 2006-06-15.
- ^ "Huntington VA Medical Center." Department of Veteran Affairs. 2 Oct. 2006 [1].
- ^ Amtrak. Cardinal/Hoosier State. Retrieved on 2006-06-17.
- ^ Waterborne Commerce Statistics Center. Top twenty inland ports for 2003. Retrieved on 2006-06-17.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- 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
- City of Huntington
- Cabell-Huntington Convention and Visitors Bureau
- Marshall University
- Camden Park
- Pullman Square
- The Greater Huntington Park and Recreation District
- Huntington during the 1937 flood
