St. Charles, Virginia

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St. Charles is a town in Lee County, Virginia, United States. It is one of three incorporated towns in Lee County.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Demographics
4 External links

[edit] Geography

St. Charles is located at 36°48′14″N, 83°3′26″W (36.803858, -83.057208)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.4 km² (0.2 mi²), all land.

[edit] History

St. Charles was a center of commerce for the mining camps and communities that surrounded it during the coal boom of the early twentieth century. By the 1940s, the town boasted a thriving downtown area, a movie theater, and a large, modern high school. Yet St. Charles fell into decline in the latter half of the twentieth century with the contraction of the coal industry. By the end of the century, it was a virtual ghost town, a rural health clinic one of its few surviving businesses. Today many of its remaining residents live in extreme poverty and cultural isolation.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 159 people, 61 households, and 43 families residing in the town. The population density was 361.1/km² (962.3/mi²). There were 72 housing units at an average density of 163.5/km² (435.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 99.37% White and 0.63% Asian.

There were 61 households out of which 39.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.3% were married couples living together, 21.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.9% were non-families. 24.6% 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 2.61 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the town the population was spread out with 30.2% under the age of 18, 11.9% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 89.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $14,821, and the median income for a family was $16,875. Males had a median income of $24,583 versus $11,786 for females. The per capita income for the town was $10,133. About 43.8% of families and 44.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 66.7% of those under the age of eighteen and 56.7% of those sixty five or over.