Handley is a town in Kanawha County,

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 B ...

, United States. The population was 224 at the 2020 census. Handley was first established in 1877 and known as Upper Creek until July 29, 1881, when its name was changed to Handley for pioneer settlers who farmed the area. Handley has the distinction of bearing a name like no other town in the United States. The town was incorporated November 1972. Handley is located in the Upper Kanawha Valley on the south side of the

Kanawha River The Kanawha River ( ) is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 97 mi (156 km) long, in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The largest inland waterway in West Virginia, its valley has been a significant industrial region of the st ...

West Virginia Route 61 West Virginia Route 61 is a north–south state highway in central and southern West Virginia. The southern terminus of the route is at West Virginia Route 41 West Virginia Route 41 (WV 41) is a north–south state highway in ...

, along the Chesapeake & Ohio Railways (Now CSX Transportation).

Railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

yards moved here from nearby Montgomery in 1899. Trains and barges hauled

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 ...

for the Chesapeake Mining Company until deposits were removed from the town and surrounding hills.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Demographics

The median income for a household in the town was $21,429, and the median income for a family was $26,250. Males had a median income of $22,188 versus $16,875 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $11,556. About 14.2% of families and 21.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 36.5% of those under age 18 and 19.0% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2010, there were 349 people, 131 households, and 92 families living in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was . There were 156 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 89.7%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 6.3%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, and 4.0% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 0.6% of the population. There were 131 households, of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.8% were married couples living together, 17.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 29.8% were non-families. 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.15. The median age in the town was 36.3 years. 25.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.3% were from 25 to 44; 21% were from 45 to 64; and 17.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 51.6% male and 48.4% female.

Notable person

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

first baseman

John Kruk John Martin Kruk (born February 9, 1961) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder. Kruk played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, and Chicago White Sox from through . Du ...

References

{{authority control Towns in Kanawha County, West Virginia Towns in West Virginia Populated places on the Kanawha River Charleston, West Virginia metropolitan area Coal towns in West Virginia