Belington, West Virginia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Belington is a town in Barbour County, West Virginia, along the Tygart Valley River. The population was 1,788 at the 2000 census.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 History
4 External links

[edit] Geography

Belington is located at 39°1′33″N, 79°56′17″W (39.025706, -79.938166)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 5.6 km² (2.2 mi²). 5.3 km² (2.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (4.65%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,788 people, 713 households, and 518 families residing in the town. The population density was 336.8/km² (870.2/mi²). There were 790 housing units at an average density of 148.8/km² (384.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.66% White, 0.06% African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, and 1.01% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.67% of the population.

There were 713 households out of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.1% were married couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.3% were non-families. 23.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the town the population was spread out with 26.3% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $22,154, and the median income for a family was $28,500. Males had a median income of $25,809 versus $15,050 for females. The per capita income for the town was $12,905. About 18.3% of families and 20.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.9% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] History

Belington was founded in 1769. Originally it was known as the Barker Settlement, after Elias Barker who had settled there with his brother William Barker. In 1785 or so, it was called Yeagers, taking its name from a settler, George Yeager, and his sons. In 1855, it took its current name, Belington, from John Bealin who had opened up a store there, and who would later move to Kansas.

After the June 3, 1861 Battle of Philippi, considered by some to be the first land battle of the Civil War, the Confederate forces, having been routed by the Union Army in Philippi, retreated south. The Confederates made camp near the Laurel Mountain Road, today, a winding single lane dirt road that crosses the mountain and connects Belington, WV to Elkins, WV.