Gilmer County, West Virginia

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Gilmer County, West Virginia
Map
Location in the state of West Virginia
West Virginia's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded	1845
Seat	Glenville
Area - Total - Land - Water	340 sq mi (881 km²) 0 sq mi (0 km²), 0.01%
Population - (2000) - Density	7,160 21/sq mi (8/km²)

The Gilmer County Courthouse in Glenville

Gilmer County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of 2000, the population is 7,160. Its county seat is Glenville^[1]. Gilmer County was formed in 1845 from parts of Lewis and Kanawha Counties, and named for Thomas Walker Gilmer, Governor of Virginia from 1840 to 1841. Gilmer was later a representative in the United States Congress and Secretary of the Navy in President John Tyler's cabinet.

Cedar Creek State Park offers camping, hunting, fishing and hiking. The West Virginia Folk Festival is held each June. Glenville State College has a full community activity center, a state-of-the-art library, and a complete collection of hand-carved, West Virginia-native birds on public display. The Gilmer County Recreation Center Complex includes a small golf course, a convention / reunion hall, and bunk houses.

Gilmer County is home to ten nationally registered historic landmarks, the Cedar Creek Backway, and the annual West Virginia Folk Festival. Media outlets for the community include The Glenville Democrat/Pathfinder, the county newspaper, and Two-Lane Livin', a regional magazine. The Federal Correction Institution - Gilmer, located on Route 5, is a medium security prison.

As of 2007, Gilmer County has only one traffic light. It is located in the city of Glenville.

1 Geography
- 1.1 Major highways
- 1.2 Adjacent counties
2 Demographics
3 Cities and towns
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 340 square miles (881 km²), of which, 340 square miles (881 km²) of it is land and 0 square miles (0 km²) of it (0.01%) is water.

[edit] Major highways

[edit] Adjacent counties

Doddridge County (north)
Lewis County (east)
Braxton County (south)
Calhoun County (west)
Ritchie County (northwest)

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 7,160 people, 2,768 households, and 1,862 families residing in the county. The population density was 21 people per square mile (8/km²). There were 3,621 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.33% White, 0.91% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.10% from other races, and 0.88% from two or more races. 0.70% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,768 households out of which 28.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.40% were married couples living together, 8.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.70% were non-families. 25.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the county, the population was spread out with 20.30% under the age of 18, 16.40% from 18 to 24, 24.50% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 15.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 101.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $22,857, and the median income for a family was $28,685. Males had a median income of $25,497 versus $15,353 for females. The per capita income for the county was $12,498. About 20.20% of families and 25.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.70% of those under age 18 and 8.90% of those age 65 or over.