Hundred, West Virginia

Sign in Hundred, WV

Hundred is a town in Wetzel County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 299 at the 2010 census. It was named for Henry Church and his wife, the first settlers who lived to be 109 and 106. Hundred is the only place in the United States with this name.

Hundred is so named because Henry Church would sit on a rocking chair on his porch near the train station. As the train came into the station, people would say "There's old Hundred," referring to his age. Eventually the name stuck and the station- and the town- became known as Hundred.^{[citation needed]}

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.50 square miles (1.29 km²), all of it land.^[1]

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census^[2] of 2010, there were 299 people, 136 households, and 80 families residing in the town. The population density was 598.0 inhabitants per square mile (230.9 /km²). There were 186 housing units at an average density of 372.0 per square mile (143.6 /km²). The racial makeup of the town was 99.0% White and 1.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.3% of the population.

There were 136 households of which 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.2% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.2% were non-families. 37.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.86.

The median age in the town was 44.1 years. 21.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 20.4% were from 25 to 44; 30.1% were from 45 to 64; and 18.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 50.2% male and 49.8% female.

2000 census

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 344 people, 146 households, and 83 families residing in the town. The population density was 735.8 inhabitants per square mile (282.6/km²). There were 178 housing units at an average density of 380.7 per square mile (146.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.67% White, 0.87% African American, and 1.45% from two or more races.

Hundred High School, home of the Hornets

There were 146 households out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.5% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.5% were non-families. 37.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the town the population was spread out with 25.6% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 19.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 85.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $25,192, and the median income for a family was $26,731. Males had a median income of $31,250 versus $18,750 for females. The per capita income for the town was $12,395. About 26.3% of families and 33.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.0% of those under age 18 and 35.2% of those age 65 or over.

Famous People

Edward Lee King, ^[6] born in Hundred, played major league baseball for seven years, with an odd claim to fame. Another Edward Lee King played in the major leagues at the same time, the only perfect match of simultaneous players with identical names.

History

Hundred, of Wetzel County's Church District, was named for a man by the name of Henry Church. Henry Church was born in Suffolk, England in late 1750. He was a member of the bodyguard of King George III in Britain, and when the American colonists rebelled against alleged English tyranny and took up arms in defense of their rights, Church was dispatched to the colonies in 1781 as a member of the 63rd Light Infantry under Lord Cornwallis.

While on a scouting mission between Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia, Church was captured by General Lafayette’s troops and sent to Camp Chase near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He would remain a prisoner there until Cornwallis’ final defeat at Yorktown, ending the war and securing American independence.

Church elected to stay in America after the war. Shortly after this time, Church became acquainted with a Quaker maiden from Philadelphia by the name of Hannah Keine. The two were soon married, and the union would produce eight children.

The couple looked to the West for a place to settle. They crossed the Allegheny Mountains by following an old Indian trail that led them up Dunkard Creek. They finally landed at the headwaters of Fish Creek in what is now present-day Hundred. They built a cabin there and so remained until their deaths.

An Oath of Allegiance was required of all Englishmen remaining in America at the close of the Revolutionary War. Henry Church refused to comply with this edict, claiming he had already sworn to be true to King George. However, upon discovering that he must swear the oath to make a good title to his land in order to sell a portion of it, his steadfast devotion to the English ruler wavered.

During the War of 1812, Henry Church was called up by the Americans to serve in their defense. He, in fact, shouldered his rifle and headed out with the intention to aid in the fight against England. However, peace was declared before he had gone very far, so he returned home. This was the last time Church would have to prove his loyalty to his country (America or Great Britain) by taking up arms in its defense.

Henry Church was 101 years of age (his wife 98) when the section of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad running through north-central Virginia was completed in 1852. In 1858, B&O company officials sent an observation train over the line to Wheeling. When the train reached the community, several officials offered to take the old couple to Wheeling. To this, Church replied, “No, I never did make a show of myself and I never will.” From then on, the train conductors would point out the couple, sometime sitting on their porch, other times working in the fields, calling attention to “the oldest couple in the states.”

Henry Church died on September 14, 1860, at the age of 109. Hannah Church died on July 27, 1860, at the age of 106. Since the two were the first inhabitants of the area, lived to be such a ripe age, and Henry was sometimes called “Old Hundred,” the town was originally named Old Hundred. When the Hundred Post Office was established in 1886, the “Old” was dropped and the name Hundred remained.

Hundred was made a B&O flag stop in 1887, and as many as four or five passenger trains ran each way, per day.

The year 1886 was one marked by economic activity for Hundred. Hundred experienced an oil and gas boom, with the first well being drilled in that year. From this industry were born the Pittsburgh & West Virginia Gas Station, Manufacturer’s Light and Heat Company, Null & Morehead Gas Station, Round Bottom Gasoline Plant, Wetzel Natural Gas Company, Hundred Natural Gas Company, and Carnegie Gas Station.

Eventually, part of the Henry Church farm was sold to a man by the name of Phillip Shough, who later sold it to T. Benson Hamilton. Hamilton planned the town and sold numerous lots beginning in 1893. The town of Hundred was incorporated in 1894, with A.F. Gilmer serving as its first mayor and F.M. Keller as recorder.

The town of Hundred also had a stone quarry. Batson and Company of Moundsville opened the sandstone quarry one mile west of Hundred in 1904. The blue and buff colored stone was used by the B&O for bridge piers and was shipped to various cities for use as building stone.

In 1923, a high school was built in Hundred. Before this time, students had been attending classes in the Hundred Elementary School or traveling to Mannington, Fairmont (both in Marion County), or Littleton to attend high schools there. The school’s first senior class consisted of 17 students who graduated in May of 1923. Though housed in a new building, the school still functions on that site today.^[7]

References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "US Gazetteer files 2010". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2013-01-24. 
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2013-01-24. 
3. ↑ "Population Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2013-06-26. 
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
5. ↑ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
6. ↑ http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kingle02.shtml
7. ↑ http://www.hundredareapride.com/Hundred%20History.htm

External links

• Hundred webpage from Future Innovation In Traffic Technology

v t e Municipalities and communities of Wetzel County, West Virginia, United States County seat: New Martinsville Cities New Martinsville Paden City‡ Towns Hundred Pine Grove Smithfield CDPs Jacksonburg Littleton Reader Unincorporated communities Allister Anthem Archer Bane Barker Bebee Big Run Brink‡ Brooklyn Burchfield Burton Carbide Childs Coburn Earnshaw Fairview Fanlight Folsom Four Mile Hastings Galmish Green Hill Hastings Hazel Hoyt King Knob Fork Kodol Mand Marion Maud Minnie Mobley Porters Falls Proctor Rockport Round Bottom Sincerity Van Camp Veto Wheat Wileyville Ghost Town Andy Five Points Onie Shenango Suter Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties