Beckley, West Virginia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Beckley is a city in Raleigh County, West Virginia, USA and founded on April 4, 1838. The population was estimated to be 17,254 by the US Census Bureau in 2005 according to the censtats.census.gov website. Early in its history, the town was known as Beckleyville and Raleigh Court House. The city is sometimes called the "Smokeless Coal Capital" and the "Gateway To Southern West Virginia." The population of the Beckley area is roughly 77,000 including Raleigh County and parts of Fayette County. It is the county seat of Raleigh CountyGR6.
Beckley was named in honor of John James Beckley, who was the first Clerk of the House of Representatives and the first Librarian of Congress. It was founded by his son Alfred Beckley (US Army general and confederate militia commander, born in Washington, D.C.). The current mayor (2007) is Emmett S. Pugh, III.
Beckley is home to one of the busiest Wal-Mart locations in the United States as has been brought to the attention of the associates of the original supercenter in the area. Wal-Mart has recently opened a new superstore roughly 4 miles from their existing location. Additionally, in 2004, Wal-Mart Stores opened a Sam's Club.
Beckley is well known for two major tourist attractions: The Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine (closed for renovations through the 2007 season) and Tamarack. The Exhibition Coal Mine is a preserved coal mine that offers daily tours and a history lesson on coal mining in Appalachia. Tamarack, originally built at a cost of $10 Million and dedicated to former Governor Gaston Caperton, is the home to many artisan crafts from around West Virginia.
Beckley has been the subject of intense growth along Eisenhower Drive/US 19. This growth has led to increasing traffic problems which the city is attempting to alleviate by building the "Z" way, which would bypass major congestion. The amount of growth the city has experienced has also led to Beckley/Raleigh County considering the formation of a Metro Government which could potentially reduce government operation overhead. The city is the regional hub for over 200,000 Southern West Virginia residents.
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[edit] Geography and Climate
Beckley is located at (37.779764, -81.183193)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.8 km² (9.2 mi²), all land.
| Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures | ||||||||||||
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rec High °F | 73 | 74 | 81 | 86 | 89 | 90 | 94 | 96 | 92 | 81 | 79 | 73 |
| Norm High °F | 38.8 | 42.8 | 51.9 | 62.5 | 70.6 | 77 | 80.2 | 78.9 | 72.6 | 63.1 | 52.4 | 43.1 |
| Norm Low °F | 22.1 | 24.9 | 32.4 | 40.6 | 49.2 | 57 | 61.1 | 59.8 | 53.5 | 42.4 | 34.4 | 26.5 |
| Rec Low °F | -22 | -16 | -5 | 11 | 23 | 32 | 41 | 36 | 30 | 18 | 4 | -18 |
| Precip (in) | 3.23 | 2.96 | 3.63 | 3.43 | 4.39 | 3.92 | 4.78 | 3.45 | 3.23 | 2.64 | 2.88 | 3.09 |
| Source: USTravelWeather.com [1] | ||||||||||||
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 17,254 people, 7,651 households, and 4,590 families residing in the city. The population density was 724.1/km² (1,874.9/mi²). There were 8,731 housing units at an average density of 366.4/km² (948.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 73.64% White, 22.89% African American, 0.14% Native American, 1.89% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 1.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.74% of the population.
There were 7,651 households out of which 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% were married couples living together, 16.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 35.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.83.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.8% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 20.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 82.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,122, and the median income for a family was $38,110. Males had a median income of $35,780 versus $23,239 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,912. About 16.4% of families and 20.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.9% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Notable people of Beckley
- Jon McBride - Former astronaut who was born in Charleston, West Virginia, but considers Beckley his hometown.
- Nick Rahall - Ranking Democrat on the U.S. House Committee on Resources born in Beckley.
- Calvin Simon - member of Funkadelic who was born in Beckley.
- Brad Cooper - Author of "Guilty by Association" (2006), born in Beckley.
- Tamar Slay - Bakersfield Jam basketball player
- Hulett C. Smith - Former governor of West Virginia who was born in Beckley.
- Chris Sarandon - Film and television actor who was raised in Beckley. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Leon in "Dog Day Afternoon."
- Morgan Spurlock - Documentary filmmaker who was raised in Beckley. His documentary "Supersize Me" was nominated for an Academy Award. He recently produced the FX TV series "30 Days."
- Little Jimmy Dickens - Country music singer born in nearby Bolt, WV had his start at singing, at radio station WJLS in Beckley. Best known for his 1965 single May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose
- Rob Ashford - Choreographer of Thoroughly Modern Millie and 2002 TONY Award Winner.
[edit] Educational Institutions
Beckley is home to two universities, Mountain State University and a branch campus of Concord University.
[edit] External links
- City of Beckley Website
- Beckley Local News
- Beckley-Raleigh County Chamber of Commerce
- Beckley Register-Herald Newspaper
- 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
