Dunbar is a city in Kanawha County,

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

, United States, situated along 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 watershed has been a significant industrial region of th ...

. The population was 7,479 at the 2020 census.

History

Dunbar was incorporated on April 19, 1921, by an Act of the

West Virginia Legislature The West Virginia Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of West Virginia. A bicameral legislative body, the legislature is split between the upper Senate and the lower House of Delegates. It was established under Article VI ...

. Dunbar is on land that was originally occupied by Native Americans with 11 mounds identified in the residential areas. The land was granted to George Washington for his military service and was named for Mary Dunbar after she inherited the land from Washington, although other sources say it was named for Dunbar Baines, a prominent area banker. Dunbar was a farming community until industries began to evolve in the city with the opening of glass and bottling plants in 1912. The Gravely Plow was invented in Dunbar in 1916. Located at Dunbar is the Dutch Hollow Wine Cellars, listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1970. The park is listed on the Register due to the walk-in wine cellars located within the Park. In the past the area was known for its vineyards and the cellars were used to store wine made from the grapes grown in the vineyards. The cellars were thought to be built around 1860 due to the popularity of wine-making. The wine was then hauled to Charleston and Cincinnati. After the Civil War, wine making was no longer profitable and the vineyards were abandoned. The popularity of wine in neighboring Virginia and Ohio also had an impact on grape growing in West Virginia. The wine cellars are preserved and protected for future generations due to the foresight of Dunbar to develop the area into a City park.

Geography

Dunbar is located at (38.364319, -81.739539). Dunbar is served by

Interstate 64 Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at Interstate 70, I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and U.S. Route 61, US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern ter ...

and WV 25. 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.

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 ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, there were 7,907 people, 3,795 households, and 2,000 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 4,175 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 82.7%

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 ...

, 12.2%

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 ...

, 0.2% Native American, 1.7% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 2.7% 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 1.0% of the population. There were 3,795 households, of which 23.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.8% 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, 14.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 47.3% were non-families. 40.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.05 and the average family size was 2.75. The median age in the city was 43.2 years. 18.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.9% were from 25 to 44; 27.8% were from 45 to 64; and 20.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 45.7% male and 54.3% female.

2000 census

As of the

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, there were 8,154 people, 3,744 households, and 2,167 families living in the city. The

was 2,874.5 people per square mile (1,108.5/km²). There were 4,128 housing units at an average density of 1,455.2 per square mile (561.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 85.65%

, 10.72%

, 0.09% Native American, 1.80% Asian, 0.01%

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 ...

, 0.18% from other races, and 1.55% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.55% of the population. There were 3,744 households, out of which 21.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.5% were

living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.1% were non-families. 37.8% 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 2.07 and the average family size was 2.72. In the city, the population was spread out, with 18.1% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 21.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $35,117, and the median income for a family was $42,665. Males had a median income of $34,816 versus $24,184 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 $19,030. About 13.2% of families and 15.3% 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 26.5% of those under age 18 and 10.1% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

City of Dunbar, WV
{{authority control Charleston, West Virginia metropolitan area Cities in Kanawha County, West Virginia Cities in West Virginia Populated places on the Kanawha River 1921 establishments in West Virginia Populated places established in 1921