Montcalm, West Virginia
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Montcalm is a
census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
(CDP) in Mercer 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. The population was 726 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Bluefield, WV- VA micropolitan area which has a population of 107,342. Residents of Montcalm are called Montcalmers.


History

The first record of continuous European settlement of the Montcalm area is the 1840 census of Mercer County in what was then 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 ...
. A 700-acre farm, located where Crane Creek joins the Bluestone, was the property of George Bailey. He, his wife, and six children lived on the farm that included a farmhouse, likely located on the lower slopes of Tabernacle Mountain, an orchard and in what would be today's Main Street, and a field of timothy grass. About one hundred acres of corn field could be found at the top of a mountain on "the opposite side of the river" (either Methodist Church Hill or Browning Lambert Mountain). The farm also featured a small dam on the Crane Creek that powered a corn grist mill, the only one in the area and the farm's most valuable property. The Bailey family occupied this farm until 1852 when, in preparation for a move to the West, they sold their considerable estate and all of what would one day be the village of Montcalm for $1,500 to Robert Williams, a recently arrived retired sailor from the
British Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
. Williams wrote and published his experiences in Mercer County and in the events that led up to the Civil War in
Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
in a memoir published in 1908 titled ''With the Border Ruffians'', which is the earliest narrative of life in Montcalm's Bluestone Valley. Williams wrote about meeting the leaders of the early Mercer County communities, a court day in Princeton, a church camp meeting in what would one day be Glenwood Park, hunting in the hills around the Bluestone, community dances and several threats to his life while homesteading on the former Bailey Farm. After several legal disputes in which he was largely not at fault, Williams sold the farm for $2,000 to the Herndon family, a slave-holding clan who owned a neighboring farm. According to West Virginia historian Kyle McCormick, descendants of the family lived in Montcalm a century later. According to local tradition, the name of the town that grew up around the former Bailey Farm was first identified as "Riverside". As it grew with the coming of first local coal mines and then railway lines, it was decided to place a local post office in the town ''circa'' 1910. It was then discovered that there was already a town in the state having a post office with the Riverside name and it was necessary to choose a new name. Undocumented tradition states that a group of local schoolchildren, when asked to help select a new town name, selected "Montcalm" as they had just completed their study of the
French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...
, wherein Louis-Joseph de Montcalm had been the commander of the French forces in North America, and they liked the name. In 1924 an enormous rainstorm resulted in the collapse of the mountainside along Crane Creek, causing a flash flood to inundate Montcalm and its neighboring town of McComas. An explosion of a mining ash and debris dump was touched off by the storm and began a mudslide that covered the train track in fifteen feet of mud and debris. Eight people were killed in what became known as the Catastrophe of Crane Creek. At some point in the 19th century the first formal school in the Montcalm area, known as the Mullins School, was established on Browning Lambert Mountain. Montcalm High School was founded as a junior high in 1931 and converted to a senior high in the 1950s. A new Montcalm High School was completed in 1983.


Notable people

* Hazel Dickens, American bluegrass singer, songwriter, double bassist and guitarist, member of the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame * Howard Wellman, West Virginia politician and graduate of Montcalm High School


Geography

Montcalm is located along the Bluestone River. The Bluestone River has been identified as having significant PCB contamination and high levels of fecal coliform bacteria. 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 CDP has a total area of 2.7 square miles (7.1 km2), all land.


Climate

The climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. According to the
Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, Montcalm has a
marine west coast climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring co ...
, abbreviated "Cfb" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Montcalm, West Virginia
/ref>


Demographics

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 885 people, 344 households, and 256 families residing in the CDP. 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 321.4 people per square mile (124.3/km2). There were 384 housing units at an average density of 139.4/sq mi (53.9/km2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 97.74%
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 ...
, 0.56%
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 ...
, 0.79% Native American, 0.11% from other races, and 0.79% 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 1.81% of the population. There were 344 households, out of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.1% 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, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.3% were non-families. 22.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 2.99. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 23.8% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 25.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.3 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $20,435, and the median income for a family was $21,630. Males had a median income of $28,750 versus $13,750 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 CDP was $9,671. About 19.3% of families and 24.3% 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 35.1% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.


References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Mercer County, West Virginia Census-designated places in West Virginia Bluefield micropolitan area Coal towns in West Virginia West Virginia populated places on the Bluestone River