Mannington, West Virginia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mannington is a city in Marion County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,124 at the 2000 census.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Famous people from Mannington
4 Literary link
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Geography

Mannington is located at 39°31′38″N, 80°20′23″W (39.527340, -80.339742)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.0 km² (1.2 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 2,124 people, 884 households, and 625 families residing in the city. The population density was 707.0/km² (1,823.8/mi²). There were 990 housing units at an average density of 329.5/km² (850.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.54% White, 0.14% African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.19% Asian, and 0.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.33% of the population.

There were 884 households out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.7% were married couples living together, 14.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.2% were non-families. 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 85.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,806, and the median income for a family was $31,852. Males had a median income of $25,078 versus $19,464 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,036. About 12.7% of families and 18.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.1% of those under age 18 and 9.8% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Famous people from Mannington

George W Bowers [1] , WV State Senator, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, Numismatist, Collector, Manufacturer, Banker
Frank McLain, computer programmer

Jason Powell, storyteller

[edit] Literary link

Mannington is unusual in that it is the model for a fictional town, Grantville, in Eric Flint's best selling hit series of alternate history novels, 1632, 1633, Ring of Fire, The Grantville Gazette, and so on now numbering over ten book length works (all since February of 2000) mixing short and long fiction. The 1632 series has evolved into a large scale experiment in collaborative fiction and has attracted considerable interest from other best selling writers, including David Weber and Mercedes Lackey. The premise of the entire series is that behind the scenes irresponsible aliens have (accidentally) scooped Grantville (ca. April 2000) and the surrounding territory (a radius of a few miles) and exchanged it for an exactly sized chunk of Thuringia of 1631 in the midst of the Thirty Years' War. Count Tilly, General Wallenstein, and King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, plus assorted German Princes and Electors are in the midst of protracted campaigns as Grantville, WV is dropped in on them in May of 1631 during the middle of the Thirty Years' War. True It was 'interesting times'. Mannington's connection is that it is Grantville, and Flint (and fellow authors) are entitled to assume the skills and resources of present day Mannington are available in the fictional misplaced in space and time Grantville.

The fans and writers of the 1632 series hold an annual convention in Mannington. The third gathering was held in August, 2005. The fourth was held on August 4th—6th, 2006[2].

The series is discussed at the Baen's Bar forum and documented at its official web site. There is also a Wiki about the two towns for those who want to know more.