Webster 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 8,378. 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 Webster Springs. The county was founded in 1860 and named for

Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the 14th and 19th United States Secretary of State, U.S. secretary o ...

History

Webster County was formed from parts of

Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...

, Braxton, and Randolph counties in

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 ...

through the approval of an act of the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, and the first elected legislative assembly in the New World. It was established on July 30, ...

during its 1859-1860 session. Movement toward the formation of this county began in 1851. Webster became part of West Virginia on June 20, 1863. When the state was formed, each county was divided into multiple

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, so in 1872 the townships were converted into magisterial districts. Webster County's three original townships, subsequently magisterial districts, were Fork Lick, Glade, and Holly. A fourth district, Hacker Valley, was formed from part of Holly District in 1876. The four historic magisterial districts remained largely unchanged until the 1990s, when they were consolidated into three new districts: Central, Northern, and Southern.

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 county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is water.

Major highways

West Virginia Route 15 * WV-20

West Virginia Route 20 West Virginia Route 20 is a major north–south state highway in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 52 (West Virginia), U.S. Route 52 in Bluewell, West Virginia, Bluewell, a small Incorpor ...

West Virginia Route 82

Adjacent counties

* Lewis County (north) * Upshur County (north) * Randolph County (east) * Pocahontas County (southeast) * Greenbrier County (south) * Nicholas County (southwest) * Braxton County (west)

National protected area

Monongahela National Forest The Monongahela National Forest is a U.S. National Forest, national forest located in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, US. It protects over of federally managed land within a proclamation boundary that includes much of the Po ...

(part)

Streams

* Cougar Fork

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 8,378 people and 2,838 households residing in the county. There were 4,399 housing units in Webster County. The racial makeup of the county was 97.8%

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 ...

, 0.4%

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% Asian, 0.1% Native American, 0.2% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 0.8% of the population. There were 2,838 households, of which 51.7% 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, 22.5% had a female householder with no spouse present, 20% had a male householder with no spouse present. The average household and family size was 3.72. The median age in the county was 47.1 years with 20.8% of the population under 18. The median income for a household in the county was $42,106 and the poverty rate was 19.6%.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 9,154 people, 3,792 households, and 2,595 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 5,428 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.6% white, 0.2% black or African American, 0.1% Asian, 0.1% American Indian, 0.1% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 19.8% were American, 15.7% were Irish, 12.6% were German, and 8.9% were English. Of the 3,792 households, 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.8% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.6% were non-families, and 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age was 44.1 years. The median income for a household in the county was $28,025 and the median income for a family was $35,448. Males had a median income of $44,277 versus $19,292 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,268. About 19.9% of families and 22.9% 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 26.4% of those under age 18 and 12.1% of those age 65 or over.

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 9,719 people, 4,010 households, and 2,815 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 5,273 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 99.18%

, 0.01%

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 ...

, 0.07% Native American, 0.06% 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 ...

, 0.01% from other races, and 0.66% from two or more races. 0.37% 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 4,010 households, out of which 29.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.40% were

living together, 10.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.80% were non-families. 26.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.89. In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.00% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 27.10% from 45 to 64, and 15.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 96.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.30 males. The median income for a household in the county was $21,055, and the median income for a family was $25,049. Males had a median income of $25,362 versus $15,381 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 $12,284. About 26.60% of families and 31.80% of the population were below the

, including 45.40% of those under age 18 and 21.00% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

From 1864 through 2008, Webster County voted Democratic in every presidential election except 1972, when

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

carried the county by just 45 votes against

George McGovern George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American politician, diplomat, and historian who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator from South Dakota, and the Democratic Party (United States), Democ ...

. However, in 2012

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

carried the county handily, by a 27.52% margin. In 2016,

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

won the county by a much larger landslide of 57.90%, and in 2020 by a 63.2% margin, the largest

landslide victory A landslide victory is an election result in which the winning Candidate#Candidates in elections, candidate or political party, party achieves a decisive victory by an overwhelming margin, securing a very large majority of votes or seats far beyo ...

of any candidate in the county's history.CNN 2012 Election site
/ref>

Communities

Towns

* Camden-on-Gauley * Cowen * Webster Springs (county seat; legally Town of Addison)

Magisterial districts

Current

* Central * Northern * Southern

Historic

* Fork Lick * Glade * Hacker Valley * Holly

Census-designated places

* Bergoo * Parcoal

Unincorporated communities

* Big Run * Boggs * Bolair * Cherry Falls *

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

* Curtin * Diana * Donaldson * Dyer * Erbacon * Excelsior * Gauley Mills * Guardian * Hacker Valley * Halo * Hodam *

Jumbo Jumbo (December 25, 1860 – September 15, 1885), also known as Jumbo the Elephant and Jumbo the Circus Elephant, was a 19th-century male African bush elephant born in Sudan. Jumbo was exported to Jardin des Plantes, a zoo in Paris, and then tr ...

* Replete * Upperglade * Wheeler

Notable person

* Josh Stewart, actor

Footnotes

References

External links

Official website

Official website of the Webster County Woodchopping Festival

Two-Lane Livin' Magazine
{{authority control 1860 establishments in Virginia Populated places established in 1860