Keystone, West Virginia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Keystone is a city in McDowell County, West Virginia, USA. The population was 453 at the 2000 census. Keystone was founded in 1892 by the Keystone Coal & Coke Company. Keystone was then incorporated in 1909 by the Circuit Court of McDowell County. Its name is derived from the name of a coal and coke company operating at that point. The town was formerly known as Cassville.

[edit] Geography

Keystone is located at 37°24′54″N, 81°26′46″W (37.415119, -81.446082)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.8 km² (0.3 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 453 people, 203 households, and 120 families residing in the city. The population density was 546.6/km² (1,397.1/mi²). There were 236 housing units at an average density of 284.8/km² (727.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 24.50% White, 72.85% African American, 0.44% Native American, 0.22% from other races, and 1.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.22% of the population. Keystone is the only city in West Virginia with a black majority.

There were 203 households out of which 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 25.6% were married couples living together, 29.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.4% were non-families. 38.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.2% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 21.4% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 22.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 70.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 68.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $10,417, and the median income for a family was $12,639. Males had a median income of $14,167 versus $18,750 for females. The per capita income for the city was $7,033, the second lowest in the state. About 48.8% of families and 46.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 63.8% of those under age 18 and 25.5% of those age 65 or over.