Tornado, West Virginia

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The Coal River at Tornado

Tornado is an unincorporated census-designated place (CDP) comprising the populated places of Tornado and Upper Falls. Located in Kanawha County, the CDP had a population of 1,111 in the 2000 Census. The ZIP Code is 25202.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 History of the name
4 External links

[edit] Geography

Tornado is located at 38°20′30″N, 81°50′58″W (38.341801, -81.849474)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the Tornado CDP has a total area of 9.5 km² (3.7 mi²). 9.3 km² (3.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (2.17%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the Census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,111 people, 419 households, and 330 families residing in the community. The population density was 119.2/km² (309.0/mi²). There were 437 housing units at an average density of 46.9/km² (121.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the community was 97.21% White, 0.36% African American, 0.27% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 0.09% from other races, and 1.98% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.54% of the population.

There were 419 households out of which 37.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.7% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.2% were non-families. 17.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.01.

The community's age distribution is 26.8% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 32.2% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 98.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.7 males.

The median income for a household in the community was $50,000, and the median income for a family was $50,350. Males had a median income of $31,932 versus $25,670 for females. The per capita income for the community was $18,999. About 2.3% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.3% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

[edit] History of the name

Since the earliest European settlers moved into the area in the 1700s, the community, named for the cascading waters of the adjacent Coal River, was known as Upper Falls, Upper Falls of Coal, Upper Falls of Coals, Upper Falls Coal River, Upper Falls of Coal River, Upper Falls of the Coal River, Upper Falls on Coal River and Upper Falls Coal River Bridge.

The Upper Falls of Coal Post Office, the first to serve the area, was established before 1860. When it was closed in 1880, residents objected vociferously. This "whirlwind of protest" produced a new post office in 1881 named "Tornado."

A community effort is currently underway to restore the name of the Upper Falls Post Office.