Meadow Bridge is a town in Fayette 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 379 at the 2010 census. The first settler of the area was John Gwin, closely followed by Dan Griffin. The community took its name from a nearby bridge over Meadow Creek.

History

Sometime in 1890, the first Meadow Bridge post office was established, and gave the area the name of Montrode. This was later changed to Clute, after the Virginia lumberman Theodore Clute, who came with the railroad to establish a sawmill in the area. With the help of the Meadow River Lumber company, and Theodore Clute, millions of feet of lumber were cut, and soon a town sprang up with shops and houses. With industry in Meadow Bridge, on July 26, 1920, it was incorporated into an official town. Although industry came to the small town of Meadow Bridge, progress was slow and arduous. After several years of hard fighting, in 1924, they finally were able to bring a high school to the town,

Meadow Bridge High School A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artifi ...

. Part of their troubles was the fact that they were isolated from the rest of Fayette County. That changed in 1937, when a seven-mile stretch of road was hard-surfaced, linking Meadow Bridge and the nearby town of Danese. In 1938, a road linking the town of Hinton and Rainelle ran through Meadow Bridge, linking all the towns together and, by extension, to Route 41. This finally gave Meadow Bridge a path to the western part of Fayette County.

Industry

In 1908, the

Meadow River Lumber Company The Meadow River Lumber Company, which operated in Rainelle, West Virginia from 1906 to 1975, was the largest hardwood sawmill in the world. It had three bandsaws under one roof. In 1928, during peak production, its 500 employees produced 31 m ...

made a 20-mile stretch of track down to Meadow Bridge. Most say that this was the true beginning of Meadow Bridge becoming a town. After their purchase, the Hutchinson Lumber Company purchased a large tract of timberland in 1913.

Geography

Meadow Bridge is located at (37.862399, -80.855169). 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 t ...

, the town has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

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 379 people, 165 households, and 97 families living in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...

was . There were 186 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 99.2%

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 ...

, 0.3%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.3% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.3% 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 0.3% of the population. There were 165 households, of which 24.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.8% were married couples living together, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.2% were non-families. 37.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 24.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 3.01. The median age in the town was 42.5 years. 22.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.8% were from 25 to 44; 23.5% were from 45 to 64; and 22.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 47.5% male and 52.5% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 321 people, 136 households, and 93 families living in the town. The

was 791.3 inhabitants per square mile (302.3/km²). There were 175 housing units at an average density of 431.4 per square mile (164.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 100.00%

. There were 136 households, out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.1% were married couples living together, 18.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.9% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.7% 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 2.83. In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.1% under the age of 18, 11.2% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 76.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $23,194, and the median income for a family was $27,000. Males had a median income of $24,444 versus $14,625 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 $12,526. About 15.7% of families and 24.1% 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 34.5% of those under age 18 and 22.0% of those age 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Towns in Fayette County, West Virginia Towns in West Virginia Coal towns in West Virginia