Handley, West Virginia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Handley is a town in Kanawha County, West Virginia, USA. The population was 362 at the 2000 census. Handley was first established in 1877 and known as Upper Creek until July 29, 1881, when its name was changed to Handley for pioneer settlers who farmed the area. Handley has the distinction of bearing a name like no other town in the United States. The town was incorporated November 1972.

Handley is located in the Upper Kanawha Valley on the south side of the Kanawha River on West Virginia Route 61, along the Baltimore & Ohio and Chesapeake & Ohio Railways. Railroad yards moved here from nearby Montgomery in 1899. Trains and barges hauled coal for the Chesapeake Mining Company until deposits were removed from the town and surrounding hills.

[edit] Geography

Handley is located at 38°11′12″N, 81°21′50″W (38.186707, -81.363904)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.5 km² (1.0 mi²). 2.5 km² (0.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (2.06%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 362 people, 147 households, and 108 families residing in the town. The population density was 147.1/km² (380.2/mi²). There were 171 housing units at an average density of 69.5/km² (179.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 89.78% White, 8.56% African American, 0.83% Native American, and 0.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.28% of the population.

There were 147 households out of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 19.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.9% were non-families. 19.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.81.

In the town the population was spread out with 19.9% under the age of 18, 11.9% from 18 to 24, 20.7% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 22.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 96.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $21,429, and the median income for a family was $26,250. Males had a median income of $22,188 versus $16,875 for females. The per capita income for the town was $11,556. About 14.2% of families and 21.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 36.5% of those under age 18 and 19.0% of those age 65 or over.