Boone County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,809. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

. Boone County is part of the Charleston, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. Leading industries and chief agricultural products in Boone County include

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

, and

strawberries The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

History

The county was formed in 1847 with territories annexed from Kanawha,

Cabell Cabell is both a surname and a given name. The Cabell family has "been prominent in Virginia since the American Revolution." Notable people with the name include: Surname: * Charles P. Cabell (1903–1971), United States Air Force, CIA * Earle Cab ...

, and

Logan Logan may refer to: Places * Mount Logan (disambiguation) Australia * Logan (Queensland electoral district), an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Logan, Victoria, small locality near St. Arnaud * Logan City, local gover ...

counties. It was named for frontiersman

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the we ...

, who lived in the Great Kanawha Valley from 1789 until 1795. In 1863, West Virginia's counties were divided into

civil township A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States that is subordinate to a county, most often in the northern and midwestern parts of the country. The term town is used in New England, New York, and Wisconsin to ref ...

s, with the intention of encouraging local government. This proved impractical in the heavily rural state, and in 1872 the townships were converted into magisterial districts. Boone County was divided into five districts: Crook, Peytona, Scott, Sherman, and Washington. Between 1980 and 1990, the county was redivided into three magisterial districts: District 1, District 2, and District 3. On February 1, 2006, two fatal

mining accident A mining accident is an accident that occurs during the process of mining minerals or metals. Thousands of miners die from mining accidents each year, especially from underground coal mining, although accidents also occur in hard rock mining. C ...

s occurred in the communities of Uneeda and

Wharton Wharton may refer to: Academic institutions * Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania * Wharton County Junior College * Paul R. Wharton High School * Wharton Center for Performing Arts, at Michigan State University Places * Wharton, Ch ...

in Boone County. These two deaths with the addition of January's

Sago Mine disaster The Sago Mine disaster was a coal mine explosion on January 2, 2006, at the Sago Mine in Sago, West Virginia, United States, near the Upshur County seat of Buckhannon. The blast and collapse trapped 13 miners for nearly two days; only one su ...

and the Aracoma Alma Mine disaster caused

West Virginia Governor The governor of West Virginia is the head of government of West VirginiaWV Constitution article VII, § 5. and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's West Virginia National Guard, military forces.WV Constitution article VII, § 12. Th ...

Joe Manchin Joseph Manchin III (born August 24, 1947) is an American politician and businessman serving as the senior United States senator from West Virginia, a seat he has held since 2010. A member of the Democratic Party, Manchin was the 34th governor of ...

to close all of West Virginia's mines in a "mine safety stand-down."

Geography

Boone County lies in the central southwestern part of West Virginia. Its terrain consists of low wooded mountains, carved with drainages.''Boone County WV'' Google Maps (accessed April 15, 2019)
/ref> The terrain slopes to the north and west, with its highest point at its south corner, at 3,212' (979m) ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.3%) is water.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 119 U.S. Route 119 (US 119) is a spur of US 19. It is a north–south route (on a northeast-southwest alignment) that was an original United States highway of 1926. It is Corridor G of the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) east of U ...

West Virginia Route 3 West Virginia Route 3 is a state highway in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It runs from West Virginia Route 10 in West Hamlin in a general easterly direction via Beckley to West Virginia Route 311 at Sweet Springs, most of the way across t ...

West Virginia Route 17 West Virginia Route 17 is a north-south state highway located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of West Virginia. The southern terminus of the route is at West Virginia Route 10 in Stollings a short distance east of Logan. The northern t ...

* West Virginia Route 85 * West Virginia Route 94 * West Virginia Route 99

Adjacent counties

* Kanawha County, West Virginia, Kanawha County - northeast * Raleigh County, West Virginia, Raleigh County - east * Wyoming County, West Virginia, Wyoming County - south * Logan County, West Virginia, Logan County - west * Lincoln County, West Virginia, Lincoln County - northwest

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 24,629 people, 9,928 households, and 7,014 families in the county. The population density was 49.1/sqmi (18.9/km²). There were 11,070 housing units at an average density of 22.1/sqmi (8.51/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.5% white, 0.5% black or African American, 0.1% Asian, 0.1% American Indian, 0.2% from other races, and 0.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 15.4% were Germans, German, 13.3% were Americans, American, 12.9% were Irish people, Irish, and 8.3% were English people, English. Of the 9,928 households, 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.0% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 29.4% were non-families, and 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.94. The median age was 40.7 years. The median income for a household in the county was $39,783 and the median income for a family was $47,981. Males had a median income of $51,740 versus $32,110 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,457. About 15.6% of families and 19.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.9% of those under age 18 and 13.4% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 25,535 people, 10,291 households, and 7,460 families in the county. The population density was 50.9/sqmi (19.6/km²). There were 11,575 housing units at an average density of 23.1/sqmi (8.9/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.53% Race (United States Census), White, 0.65% Race (United States Census), Black or Race (United States Census), African American, 0.12% Race (United States Census), Native American, 0.07% Race (United States Census), Asian, 0.02% Race (United States Census), Pacific Islander, 0.07% from Race (United States Census), other races, and 0.54% from two or more races. 0.46% of the population were Race (United States Census), Hispanic or Race (United States Census), Latino of any race. The largest ancestry groups in Boone County are English American, English (13%), Irish American, Irish (12%) and German American, German (11%). There were 10,291 households, out of which 31.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.50% were Marriage, married couples living together, 10.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.50% were non-families. 24.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.92. The county contained 23.20% under the age of 18, 9.00% from 18 to 24, 28.00% from 25 to 44, 26.30% from 45 to 64, and 13.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.50 males. The median income for a household in the county was $25,669, and the median income for a family was $31,999. Males had a median income of $34,931 versus $19,607 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,453. About 18.30% of families and 22.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.90% of those under age 18 and 13.90% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

With the exception of the 1972 United States presidential election, 1972 Nixon landslide, Boone County voted Democratic in every presidential election from 1924 until 2012. In 2012, Republican Mitt Romney won over sixty percent of the vote in the process of becoming the first presidential candidate to sweep every county in the state. Also in 2012, in the state's Democratic primaries, Boone County was one of the West Virginia counties that voted for eccentric perennial candidate Keith Russell Judd, who at the time was still in prison on felony charges, over incumbent president Barack Obama.

Education

Madison

* Brookview Elementary School * Madison Elementary School * Ramage Elementary School * Madison Middle School * Scott High School

Van

* Van Elementary School * Van Jr./Sr. High School

Seth

* Ashford-Rumble Elementary School * Sherman Elementary School * Whitesville Elementary School * Sherman Junior High School * Sherman Senior High School

Communities

City

(county seat)

Towns

* Danville, West Virginia, Danville * Sylvester, West Virginia, Sylvester * Whitesville, West Virginia, Whitesville

Magisterial districts

* District 1 * District 2 * District 3

Census-designated places

* Comfort, West Virginia, Comfort * Greenview, West Virginia, Greenview * Racine, West Virginia, Racine * Twilight, West Virginia, Twilight * Van, West Virginia, Van

Unincorporated communities

* Andrew, West Virginia, Andrew * Ashford, West Virginia, Ashford * Bald Knob, West Virginia, Bald Knob * Bandytown, West Virginia, Bandytown * Barrett, West Virginia, Barrett * Bigson, West Virginia, Bigson * Bim, West Virginia, Bim * Bloomingrose, West Virginia, Bloomingrose * Blue Pennant, West Virginia, Blue Pennant * Bob White, West Virginia, Bob White * Bradley, Boone County, West Virginia, Bradley * Brushton, West Virginia, Brushton * Cameo, West Virginia, Cameo * Cazy, West Virginia, Cazy * Clinton, Boone County, West Virginia, Clinton * Clothier, West Virginia, Clothier * Coopertown, West Virginia, Coopertown * Dartmont, West Virginia, Dartmont * Drawdy * Easly, West Virginia, Easly * Eden, Boone County, West Virginia, Eden * Elk Run Junction, West Virginia, Elk Run Junction * Emmons, West Virginia, Emmons (part) * Foch, West Virginia, Foch * Foster, West Virginia, Foster * Fosterville, West Virginia, Fosterville * Garrison, West Virginia, Garrison * Gordon, West Virginia, Gordon * Grippe, West Virginia, Grippe * Havana, West Virginia, Havana * Hewett, West Virginia, Hewett * Hopkins Fork, West Virginia, Hopkins Fork * Janie, West Virginia, Janie * Jeffrey, West Virginia, Jeffrey * Julian, West Virginia, Julian * Keith, West Virginia, Keith * Kirbyton, West Virginia, Kirbyton * Kohlsaat, West Virginia, Kohlsaat * Lanta, West Virginia, Lanta * Lick Creek, West Virginia, Lick Creek * Lindytown, West Virginia, Lindytown * Low Gap, West Virginia, Low Gap * Manila, West Virginia, Manila * Marnie, West Virginia, Marnie * Marthatown, West Virginia, Marthatown * Maxine, West Virginia, Maxine * Milltown, West Virginia, Milltown * Morrisvale, West Virginia, Morrisvale * Nellis, West Virginia, Nellis * Nelson, West Virginia, Nelson * Onego, West Virginia, Onego * Orgas, West Virginia, Orgas * Ottawa, West Virginia, Ottawa * Peytona, West Virginia, Peytona * Pondco, West Virginia, Pondco * Powell Creek, West Virginia, Powell Creek * Prenter, West Virginia, Prenter * Price Hill, Boone County, West Virginia, Price Hill * Quinland, West Virginia, Quinland * Ramage, West Virginia, Ramage * Ridgeview, Boone County, West Virginia, Ridgeview * Rumble, West Virginia, Rumble * Secoal, West Virginia, Secoal * Seth, West Virginia, Seth * Sharlow, West Virginia, Sharlow * South Madison, West Virginia, South Madison * Turtle Creek, West Virginia, Turtle Creek * Uneeda * Washington Heights, West Virginia, Washington Heights * West Junction, West Virginia, West Junction *

* Williams Mountain, West Virginia, Williams Mountain

Notable people

* Hasil Adkins, musician * Billy Edd Wheeler, songwriter * D. Ray White, clogging, mountain dancer, father of Jesco White * Jesco White, "the Dancing Outlaw," mountain dancer, son of D. Ray White

References

External links

Boone County Community and Economic Development Office

WVGenWeb Boone County
{{authority control Boone County, West Virginia, 1847 establishments in Virginia Populated places established in 1847 Charleston, West Virginia metropolitan area Counties of Appalachia