Preston County, West Virginia

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Preston County, West Virginia
Preston County Courthouse.JPG
Preston County Courthouse
Map of West Virginia highlighting Preston County
Location in the U.S. state of West Virginia
Map of the United States highlighting West Virginia
West Virginia's location in the U.S.
Founded January 19, 1818
Named for James Patton Preston
Seat Kingwood
Largest city Kingwood
Area
 • Total 651 sq mi (1,686 km2)
 • Land 649 sq mi (1,681 km2)
 • Water 2.6 sq mi (7 km2), 0.4%
Population (est.)
 • (2014) 33,788
 • Density 52/sq mi (20/km²)
Congressional district 1st
Time zone Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website www.prestoncountywv.org

Preston County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 33,520.[1] Its county seat is Kingwood.[2] The county was formed from Monongalia County in 1818 and named for Virginia Governor James Patton Preston.[3]

Preston County is part of the Morgantown, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Pittsburgh DMA. It is the home of The Buckwheat Festival, a county fair known for making buckwheat cakes.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 651 square miles (1,690 km2), of which 649 square miles (1,680 km2) is land and 2.6 square miles (6.7 km2) (0.4%) is water.[4]

Major highways

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Adjacent counties

National protected area

State parks

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1820 3,422
1830 5,144 50.3%
1840 6,866 33.5%
1850 11,708 70.5%
1860 13,312 13.7%
1870 14,555 9.3%
1880 19,091 31.2%
1890 20,355 6.6%
1900 22,727 11.7%
1910 26,341 15.9%
1920 27,996 6.3%
1930 29,043 3.7%
1940 30,416 4.7%
1950 31,399 3.2%
1960 27,233 −13.3%
1970 25,455 −6.5%
1980 30,460 19.7%
1990 29,037 −4.7%
2000 29,334 1.0%
2010 33,520 14.3%
Est. 2014 33,788 [5] 0.8%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]
1790–1960[7] 1900–1990[8]
1990–2000[9] 2010–2014[1]

As of the 2010 census,[10] there were 33,520 people, 12,895 households, and 9,038 families residing in the county. The population density was 52 people per square mile (20/km²). There were 15,097 housing units at an average density of 23 per square mile (9/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.63% White (97.13% non-Hispanic), 1.08% Black or African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.16% from other races, and 0.84% from two or more races. 0.68% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.

There were 12,895 households out of which 29.03% included children under the age of 18, 56.10% were married couples living together, 9.07% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.92% had a male householder with no wife present, and 29.91% were non-families. 24.63% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.84.

The age distribution was 19.55% under the age of 18, 7.36% from 18 to 24, 27.58% from 25 to 44, 29.83% from 45 to 64, and 15.68% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.63 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.48 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,866, and the median income for a family was $48,942. Full-time male workers had a median income of $41,073 versus $25,911 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,796. About 8.3% of families and 11.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.2% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

Towns

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Census-designated place

Unincorporated communities

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See also

References

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  3. West Virginia Counties. Wvculture.org. Retrieved on 2013-07-24.
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Further reading

  • Cox, Connie Loraine, Our Place In History: Southwestern Preston County, West Virginia, Headline Books, Terra Alta, WV, 2005. (Written and oral histories, photographs)

External links

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