Beckley is a city in

Raleigh County, West Virginia Raleigh County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 74,591. Its county seat is Beckley, West Virginia, Beckley. The county was founded in 18 ...

, United States, and its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

. The population was 17,286 at the 2020 census, making it the ninth-most populous city in the state. It is the principal city of the Beckley metropolitan area of

Southern West Virginia Southern West Virginia is a culturally and geographically distinct region in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Southern West Virginia has coal mining heritage and Southern affinity, including being part of the Bible Belt. The region is also close ...

, home to 115,079 residents in 2020. Beckley was founded on April 4, 1838, and was long known for its ties to the

coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

industry. It is the home of the

West Virginia University Institute of Technology West Virginia University Institute of Technology (WVU Tech, WVIT, WVU Beckley, or West Virginia Tech) is a public college in Beckley, West Virginia. It is a divisional campus of West Virginia University. History The college was founded in 189 ...

, as well as an annex of

Concord University Concord University is a public university in Athens, West Virginia. The institution traces back to February 28, 1872, when the West Virginia Legislature passed "an Act to locate a Branch State Normal School, in the town of Concord Church, in ...

and the

University of Charleston The University of Charleston (UC) is a private university with its main campus in Charleston, West Virginia. It also has a location in Beckley, West Virginia, known as UC-Beckley. History The school was founded in 1888 as the Barboursville Semin ...

. Beckley hosts the Beckley VA Medical Center (VAMC) offering comprehensive medical services to veterans. Additionally, the city is home to Raleigh General Hospital and Beckley Appalachian Regional Hospital (BARH), both of which provide a wide range of healthcare services to the local and surrounding communities. Apart from its significance in healthcare, Beckley is renowned for the Tamarack Marketplace. Situated off Interstate 64, Tamarack stands as a cultural cornerstone, showcasing the artistic heritage and craftsmanship of West Virginia. The venue features work from state artisans, offering visitors a glimpse into the region's culture and traditions.

History

The area surrounding Beckley was long home to many indigenous peoples. Early encounters describe the land as being an ancestral home of the Catawba-speaking

Moneton The Moneton were a historical Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe from West Virginia. In the late 17th century, they lived in the Kanawha Valley near the Kanawha River, Kanawha and New River (Kanawha River), New Rivers. ...

people, who referred to the surrounding area as Okahok Amai, and were allies of the

Monacan people The Monacan Indian Nation is one of eleven Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes recognized since the late 20th century by the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. In January 2018, the United States Congress passed an act t ...

. The Moneton's Catawba speaking neighbors to the south, the

Tutelo The Tutelo (also Totero, Totteroy, Tutera; Yesan in Tutelo) were Native American people living above the Fall Line in present-day Virginia and West Virginia. They spoke a dialect of the Siouan Tutelo language thought to be similar to that of th ...

(since absorbed into the Seneca-Cayuga Nation) may have absorbed surviving Moneton communities, and claim the area as ancestral lands.

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

and

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

and

Yuchi The Yuchi people are a Native American tribe based in Oklahoma, though their original homeland was in the southeastern United States. In the 16th century, the Yuchi lived in the eastern Tennessee River valley. By the late 17th century, they had ...

peoples also claim the area as included in their traditional lands. Conflicts with European settlers resulted in various displaced Indian tribes settling in West Virginia, where they were known at ''Mingo'', meaning "remote affiliates of the Iroquois Confederacy". Beckley was named in honor of John James Beckley, who was the first Clerk of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

and the first

Librarian of Congress The librarian of Congress is the head of the Library of Congress, appointed by the president of the United States with the advice and consent of the United States Senate, for a term of ten years. The librarian of Congress also appoints and overs ...

. It was founded by his son, Alfred Beckley (US Army lieutenant and brigadier general of

Virginia militia The Virginia militia is an armed force composed of all citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia capable of bearing arms. The Virginia militia was established in 1607 as part of the English militia system. Militia service in Virginia was compulso ...

), who was from the District of Columbia. Although founded in 1838, Beckley existed only on paper at that time. Alfred Beckley said he "was frequently jeered and laughed at for his Paper Town..." Early in its history, the town was known as Beckley, Raleigh Court House, and, occasionally, Beckleyville. The town was originally located in

Fayette County, Virginia Fayette County, Virginia has existed twice in the U.S. state of Virginia's history. Formed in 1780, and 1831, respectively, both counties were named in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, who had played a key role assisting the Continental Army durin ...

. In 1850 the act of the Virginia legislature creating Raleigh County named Beckley the county seat. The city is sometimes called the "Smokeless Coal Capital", "The City of Champions" and the "Gateway To Southern West Virginia." During the presidential primaries of 1960, the vehicles of rivals

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

and

Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American politician who served from 1965 to 1969 as the 38th vice president of the United States. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Minnesota from 19 ...

stopped at the same streetcorner in Beckley. Recognizing each other, the two men got out and chatted briefly.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

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

Geology and topography

The city sits atop the

Allegheny Plateau The Allegheny Plateau ( ) is a large dissected plateau area of the Appalachian Mountains in western and central New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Ohio. It is divided into the unglacia ...

, with the more steeply eroded Logan Plateau bordering to the west and the highland

Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range ( ) — also spelled Alleghany or Allegany, less formally the Alleghenies — is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada. Historically it represented a significant barr ...

lying to the east. Neighboring ridgelines include Flat Top Mountain to the south, Scott Ridge of Shady Spring Mountain to the southeast, Batoff Mountain to the northeast, and Lilly Mountain to the west.

Water

Beckley is mostly contained in the Piney Creek watershed, which flows into the New River National Park and Reserve. The city is roughly bordered by Piney Creek to the east, and to the south by its tributary Whitestick Creek. Cranberry Creek and its southern tributary Little Whitestick Creek flow through the northern part of the city. The northwestern corner of the city, around Tamarack, includes the headwaters of Paint Creek, another New River tributary. Neighboring watersheds include Glade Creek to the east, headwaters of the Coal River to the west, and headwaters of the Guyandotte River to the southwest.

Climate

Due to its elevation, the climate of Beckley is

humid subtropical A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between la ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Cfa'') bordering on both an

oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places * Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...

(Köppen ''Cfb'') and

humid continental Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depe ...

(Köppen ''Dfa/Dfb''), and the city straddles the border between USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 6B and 7A. Summers are warm and humid, usually a few degrees cooler than lower-elevation places within the state, with an average of only 1.3 days of a maximum at or above annually. Winters are generally cold and snowy with occasional intervening milder periods and an average of 1.4 nights annually with a minimum of or lower. Normal monthly daily mean temperatures range from in January to in July. Snowfall varies with an average of per season and mostly occurs from December to March with an occasional snowfall in November of (usually) . Record temperatures range from on January 21, 1985, up to on July 21 and August 11, 1926; the extreme coldest daily maximum was on February 13, 1899, while, conversely, the extreme warmest daily minimum was on July 7, 1924, and August 22, 1926. On average, the first and last occurrences of freezing temperatures in the cooler season are October 13 and April 30, respectively, allowing for a growing season of 165 days.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 17,614 people, 7,800 households, and 4,414 families living in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was . There were 8,839 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 72.3%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 21.2%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.3% Native American, 2.4% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 3.2% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.5% of the population. There were 7,800 households, of which 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.8% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 15.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 43.4% were non-families. 37.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.85. The median age in the city was 41.6 years. 20.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.9% were from 25 to 44; 28.5% were from 45 to 64; and 17.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.6% male and 53.4% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 17,254 people, 7,651 households, and 4,590 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 8,731 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 73.64% White, 22.89% African American, 0.14% Native American, 1.89% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.21% from other races, and 1.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.74% of the population. There were 7,651 households, out of which 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% were married couples living together, 16.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 35.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.83. In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.8% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 20.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $28,122, and the median income for a family was $38,110. Males had a median income of $35,780 versus $23,239 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $18,912. About 16.4% of families and 20.9% 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 ...

, including 33.9% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

The

Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine Phillips-Sprague Mine, also known as the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine, is a historic coal mine located at New River Park in Beckley, Raleigh County, West Virginia. The mine opened about 1889 on what had been operated as a drift mine. Commercial ...

is a preserved coal mine that offers daily tours and a history lesson on coal mining in

Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...

. Tamarack Marketplace, a showcase of Appalachian arts and crafts, was built in 1996 at a cost of $10 million and dedicated to former Governor

Gaston Caperton William Gaston Caperton III (born February 21, 1940) is an American politician who served as the 31st governor of West Virginia from 1989 to 1997. He was president of the College Board, which administers the nationally recognized SAT and Advanced ...

. The city also hosts the Youth Museum of Southern West Virginia, which includes a

planetarium A planetarium (: planetariums or planetaria) is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetariums is ...

, boxcars and a homestead with a weaver's shed.

Education

Woodrow Wilson High School is Beckley's public high school. Four universities are located in Beckley:

-Beckley, and a branch campus of

. Additionally, a branch campus of Valley College is located in Beckley; New River Community and Technical College is in the nearby community of

Beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

; and the nonprofit, nondenominational Appalachian Bible College is located just outside the city limits, in nearby Bradley.

Media

Newspaper

The Register Herald ''The Register-Herald'' is a six-day morning daily newspaper, Monday through Friday, with a weekend edition delivered on Saturday mornings. It is based in Beckley, West Virginia, United States. It also covers surrounding communities in Fayette, ...

'', a six-day morning

daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

, serves Beckley and the surrounding area. It had a circulation of 19,237 in 2016 and is owned by Community Newspaper Newspaper Holdings. The newspaper traces its history to ''The Raleigh Register'', the ''Raleigh Herald'', and the ''Beckley Evening Post'' which were among a dozen weekly and monthly publications published in and around Beckley as early as the 1880s.

Radio

Radio stations based in Beckley include

West Virginia Public Broadcasting West Virginia Public Broadcasting (WVPB) is the public television and radio state network serving the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is owned by the West Virginia Public Broadcasting Authority, an agency of the state government that holds the l ...

WVBY West Virginia Public Broadcasting (WVPB) is the public television and radio state network serving the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is owned by the West Virginia Public Broadcasting Authority, an agency of the state government that holds the l ...

public radio Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...

WJLS (AM) WJLS (560 Hertz, kHz) is a commercial AM radio, AM Radio broadcasting, radio station licensed to Beckley, West Virginia, serving Southeastern West Virginia with talk radio programming during the daytime and country music in evenings and overnights ...

, a

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...

and

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

station that was a

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

affiliate from 1943 to 1990,

WJLS-FM WJLS-FM (99.5 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Beckley, West Virginia, serving Southeastern West Virginia and Southwestern Virginia with a country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genr ...

, which syndicates country music, and WCIR-FM, a contemporary radio station based in Downtown Beckley. Internet based WIWS radio broadcasts 24 hours a day from Beckley to a worldwide audience playing a vintage AM radio style format.

Television

Beckley shares a media market with Bluefield and Oak Hill. Stations in this market include

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

affiliate

WOAY-TV WOAY-TV (channel 4) is a television station licensed to Oak Hill, West Virginia, United States, serving the Bluefield– Beckley–Oak Hill market as an affiliate of ABC. It has been locally owned by the Thomas family since its inception, and ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

affiliate

WVVA WVVA (channel 6) is a television station licensed to Bluefield, West Virginia, United States, serving the Bluefield– Beckley– Oak Hill market as an affiliate of NBC and The CW Plus. Owned by Gray Media, the station maintains studios on U.S. ...

, and

FOX Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

affiliate WVNS-TV. Beckley is also served by

's station WSWP, which carries

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

programming.

Transportation

The city is the regional hub for over 100,000

residents. It is the ninth-largest city in West Virginia, exceeded in population by Martinsburg and followed by Clarksburg.

Highways

Rail

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

serves the Beckley area at Prince Station in

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

, a stop on the

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

service between

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Air

Greater Beckley's only airport is Raleigh County Memorial Airport. Raleigh County Memorial Airport is served by Contour Airlines with service to Charlotte and Parkersburg.

Notable people

Politics

Jennifer Belcher Jennifer Emerson Belcher (née Marion; January 4, 1944 – March 31, 2022) was an American politician who was the first woman to serve as Washington commissioner of public lands from 1993 to 2001. Belcher previously represented the Washington's ...

, former member of the Washington State House of Representatives and first female

Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) manages over of forest, range, agricultural, and commercial lands in the U.S. state of Washington. The DNR also manages of aquatic areas which include shorelines, tidelands, lands u ...

Tom Carper Thomas Richard Carper (born January 23, 1947) is an American politician and former military officer who served from 2001 to 2025 as a United States Senate, United States senator from Delaware. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), D ...

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

from

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

* Barbara M. Clark, New York state legislator *

Nick Rahall Nicholas Joseph Rahall II ( ; born May 20, 1949) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 2015. He is the longest-serving member ever of the United States ...

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

* Hulett C. Smith,

Governor of West Virginia A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

Arts

Rob Ashford Rob Ashford (born November 19, 1959) is an American stage director and choreographer. He is a Tony Award, Olivier Award, Emmy Award, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award winner. Early life and education Born in Orlando, Florida and ...

, choreographer *

Mark Carman Mark Lewyn Carman (born September 3, 1960) is an American music producer, singer, songwriter, and social activist. Career Music Carman is known primarily for his role as the musical arranger and co-producer of the Grammy nominated album by coun ...

, producer, songwriter, musician *

Cora Sue Collins Cora Susan Collins (April 19, 1927 – April 27, 2025) was an American child actress who appeared in films during the Golden Years of Hollywood. Although she did not make the transition to a film career in adulthood, she appeared in 47 films in ...

, actress *

Little Jimmy Dickens James Cecil Dickens (December 19, 1920 – January 2, 2015), better known by his stage name Little Jimmy Dickens, was an American country music singer and songwriter famous for his humorous novelty songs, his small size (4'10" 50 cm, and hi ...

, singer *

Tom Maddox Tom Maddox (October 1945 – October 18, 2022) was an American science fiction writer, known for his part in the early cyberpunk movement. Maddox's only novel was ''Halo'' (), published in 1991 by Tor Books. His story "Snake Eyes" appeared in ...

, author * Scott McClanahan, writer *

Chris Sarandon Christopher Sarandon (; born July 24, 1942) is an American actor. He is well known for playing Jerry Dandrige in '' Fright Night'' (1985), Prince Humperdinck in '' The Princess Bride'' (1987), Detective Mike Norris in '' Child's Play'' (1988), a ...

, actor *

Art Simmons Arthur Eugene Simmons (February 5, 1926 – April 23, 2018) was an American jazz pianist. Simmons was born in Glen White, West Virginia, in February 1926. He played in a band while serving in the U.S. military in 1946, then remained in Germany af ...

, musician *

Calvin Simon Calvin Eugene Simon (May 22, 1942 – January 6, 2022) was an American singer who was a member of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 along with fifteen other members of Parliame ...

, musician *

Morgan Spurlock Morgan Valentine Spurlock (November 7, 1970 – May 23, 2024) was an American documentary filmmaker, writer, and television producer. He directed 23 films and was the producer of nearly 70 films throughout his career. Spurlock received acclaim f ...

, filmmaker *

Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He is known for having several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), "Use Me ( ...

, musician

Sports

* Joe Goddard, professional baseball player * Doug Legursky, professional football player *

Bob Pruett Robert Lewis Pruett (born June 20, 1943) is a former American college football coach. He served as the head football coach Marshall University for nine seasons, from 1996 to 2004. During his tenure at Marshall, the Marshall Thundering Herd foot ...

, American football coach *

Tamar Slay Tamar Ulysses Slay (born April 2, 1980) is an American basketball former college and professional player. A 6 ft 9 in (2.03 m) guard-forward, he was formerly with the National Basketball Association's New Jersey Nets and Charlotte Bobcats. ...

, basketball player for

Sutor Basket Montegranaro Sutor Basket Montegranaro, is an amateur Italian basketball club based in Montegranaro, Marche. It plays in the Promozione (7th division) as of June 2015. It was formerly in the top division, with the 2013-14 season its last in Lega Basket Serie ...

, formerly with the

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

Other notable individuals

B. Kwaku Duren B. Kwaku Duren (born April 14, 1943; a.k.a., Robert Donaldson Duren and Bob D. Duren) is a controversial African American former lawyer, educator, writer, editor, Black Panther, long-time social, political and community activist; and a former c ...

, American lawyer, educator, writer, editor * George Joseph, founder of

Mercury General Mercury General Corporation is a multiple-line insurance organization that offers personal automobiles, homeowners, renters, and business insurance. Mercury's primary focus is automobiles and homeowners' insurance. Founded in 1961 and located ...

Jon McBride Jon Andrew McBride (August 14, 1943 – August 7, 2024) was an American United States Navy, naval officer, test pilot, astronaut and administrator for NASA. Throughout his career with the United States Navy, McBride served as an aviator, a fig ...

, astronaut * Stephen M. Pachuta, retired United States Navy admiral. * Christa Pike, convicted murderer

In popular culture

* Beckley is a location in ''

Fallout 76 ''Fallout 76'' is a 2018 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is an installment in the ''Fallout'' series and a prequel to previous entries. Initially set in the year 2102, players ...

''.

References

External links

City of Beckley Website
{{Authority control Cities in West Virginia Cities in Raleigh County, West Virginia County seats in West Virginia Mining communities in West Virginia Micropolitan areas of West Virginia Populated places established in 1838 Coal towns in West Virginia 1838 establishments in Virginia