Logan County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the U.S. state of

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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 32,567. 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 ...

is Logan. Logan County comprises the Logan, WV Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Charleston– Huntington– Ashland, WV– OH– KY Combined Statistical Area.

History

Logan County was formed in 1824 from parts of Giles, Tazewell, Cabell, and Kanawha counties, then part of the state of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. It is named for Chief Logan, famous Native American chief of the Mingo tribe. Logan was one of fifty Virginia counties that became part of the new state of West Virginia in 1863, by an executive order of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, even though Logan County had voted for secession in the April 4, 1861, convention. Within months of its admission to the Union, 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 (United States), county, most often in the northern and midwestern parts of the country. The term town is used in New England town, Ne ...

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. Logan County was divided into five districts: Chapmanville, Hardee, Logan, Magnolia, and Triadelphia. A sixth district, Lee, was formed in 1878 from portions of Hardy and Magnolia Districts. In 1895, Mingo County was formed from Hardee, Lee, and Magnolia Districts, along with portions of Chapmanville and Triadelphia Districts.

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 ...

, U.S. Decennial Census, Tables of Minor Civil Divisions in West Virginia, 1870–2010. In the 1960s, Chapmanville District was discontinued, and two new districts, Guyan and Island Creek, formed from its territory, along with portions of Logan and Triadelphia Districts. The county was redistricted again in the 1980s, resulting in nine magisterial districts: Buffalo, Chapmanville, East, Guyan, Island Creek, Logan, Northwest, Triadelphia, and West. However, in the following decade these were consolidated into three districts: Central, Eastern, and Western. In 1921 it was the location of the Battle of Blair Mountain, one of the largest armed uprisings in U.S. history. More recently, the Buffalo Creek Flood of February 26, 1972, killed 125 people when a coal slurry dam burst under the pressure of heavy rains, releasing over of waste and water in a wave onto the valley below. The communities of Lorado and Lundale were destroyed and 14 other communities heavily damaged, including Saunders, Amherstdale, Crites, and Latrobe.

Geography

According to the

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.4%) is water.

Major highways

* (future) * (future) * U.S. Highway 52 * U.S. Highway 119 * West Virginia Route 10 * West Virginia Route 17 * West Virginia Route 44 * West Virginia Route 73 * West Virginia Route 80

Adjacent counties

* Lincoln County (north) * Boone County (northeast) * Wyoming County (southeast) * Mingo County (southwest)

Demographics

2000 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 2000, there were 37,710 people, 14,880 households, and 10,936 families living in the county. 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 16,807 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.33%

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 ...

, 2.59%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 ...

, 0.12% Native American, 0.30% 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 ...

, 0.06% from other races, and 0.59% from two or more races. 0.54% of the population were

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. There were 14,880 households, out of which 30.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.00% were married couples living together, 12.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.50% were non-families. 24.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.95. In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.10% under the age of 18, 9.30% from 18 to 24, 28.00% from 25 to 44, 26.10% from 45 to 64, and 14.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.00 males. The median income for a household in the county was $24,603, and the median income for a family was $29,072. Males had a median income of $31,515 versus $20,212 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 county was $14,102. About 20.80% of families and 24.10% 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 34.60% of those under age 18 and 14.40% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 36,743 people, 14,907 households, and 10,512 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 16,743 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.5% white, 2.1% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% American Indian, 0.1% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 16.6% were Irish, 13.3% were German, 7.8% were English, and 6.9% were American. Of the 14,907 households, 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.7% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 29.5% were non-families, and 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.90. The median age was 42.4 years. The median income for a household in the county was $35,465 and the median income for a family was $43,475. Males had a median income of $39,462 versus $26,571 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,614. About 17.6% of families and 21.8% of the population were below the

, including 32.8% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Logan County, being historically secessionistHinkle, Harlan H.; ''Grayback Mountaineers: The Confederate Face of Western Virginia'', pp. 189–190 and between the New Deal and the 1990s heavily unionized, was once powerfully Democratic. Before the 2008 presidential election, the only Republican to carry the county had been

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

in 1928, due to strong anti-Catholicism against Al Smith in this "Bible Belt" region. Logan was the only county in West Virginia to be carried by George McGovern in his lackluster 1972 campaign, and between 1976 and 2000 no Republican reached 40 percent of the county's vote. From 2000 to 2016, the county swung more Republican in each consecutive election, particularly due to the Democratic Party's support for

environmentalist Environmentalism is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of Green politics, g ...

policies. Democratic vote shares since 2016 have plummeted to levels historically more typical of unionist, traditionally Republican counties like Grant.

Communities

Incorporated communities

* Logan (county seat) * Chapmanville *

Man A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the f ...

* Mitchell Heights * West Logan

Magisterial districts

* Central * Eastern * Western

Census-designated places

* Accoville * Amherstdale * Big Creek * Bruno * Chauncey * Crooked Creek * Earling * Greenville * Henlawson * Holden * Justice Addition * Kistler * Mallory * McConnell * Monaville * Mount Gay-Shamrock * Neibert * Omar * Peach Creek * Robinette * Rossmore * Sarah Ann * Stollings * Switzer * Verdunville

Unincorporated communities

* Argyle * Baber * Baisden * Banco * Barnabus * Becco * Beebe * Black Bottom * Blair * Bradshaw * Braeholm * Chambers * Christian * Claypool * Coal Valley * Cora * Craneco * Crites * Crown * Crystal Block * Dabney * Daisy * Davin * Davis * Dehue *

Diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

* Dobra * Dog Patch * Don *

Emmett Emmett may refer to: Places ;In the United States * Emmett, Idaho * Emmett, Kansas * Emmett, Michigan, a village in St. Clair County * Emmett Charter Township, Michigan in Calhoun County * Emmett Township, St. Clair County, Michigan * Emmett, Misso ...

* Ethel * Fanco * Five Block * Fort Branch * Freeze Fork * Frogtown * Gillman Bottom * Godby Heights * Guyan Terrace * Halcyon * Hedgeview * Hensley Heights * Hetzel * Huff Junction * Hutchinson * Isom * Kelly * Kitchen *

Lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

* Landville * Latrobe * Lintz Addition * Logan Heights * Lorado * Lundale * Lyburn * Melville * Micco * Mifflin * Mineral City * Monclo * Monitor * Mountain View * Oilville * Orville * Pardee * Pecks Mill * Phico * Pine Creek * Ralumco * Red Campbell * Ridgeview * Rita * Rum Junction * Saunders * Sharples * Shegon * Shively * Slagle * Sodom * Sovereign * Spruce Valley * Stirrat * Stone Branch * Stowe * Sulphur Springs * Sunbeam * Sunset Court * Superior Bottom * Sycamore * Taplin * Thompson Town * Trace Junction * Troy Town * Upper Whitman * Verner * Walnut Hill * Wanda * Whirlwind * Whites Addition * Whitman * Whitman Junction * Wilkinson * Wylo * Yolyn

School districts

* Logan County Schools (consolidated, county-wide)

Notable People

Elaine McMillion Sheldon Elaine McMillion Sheldon is an American documentary filmmaker, best known for her documentary, '' Heroin(e)'' for which she received Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject nomination with husband Kerrin Sheldon at the 90th Academy A ...

, film director, producer and writer

Footnotes

References

External links

* Earl Dotter,
Coalfield Generations: Health, Mining, and the Environment
" ''Southern Spaces'' July 16, 2008. http://southernspaces.org/2008/coalfield-generations-health-mining-and-environment
Logan County Chamber of Commerce

Logan County Schools

The Logan Banner
- daily newspaper.
Blair Community Center and Museum
to visit a museum focused on the largest labor battle in the United States as well as the heritage of local coal-mining communities. {{authority control 1824 establishments in Virginia Populated places established in 1824 West Virginia placenames of Native American origin