Whitesville is a town and former

coal town A coal town, also known as a coal camp or patch, is a type of company town or mining community established by the employer, a mining company, which imports workers to the site to work the mineral find. The company develops it and provides reside ...

in Boone 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, along the Big Coal River. The population was 361 at the 2020 census. Whitesville was incorporated on August 15, 1935, by the Boone County

Circuit Court Circuit courts are court systems in several common law jurisdictions. It may refer to: * Courts that literally sit 'on circuit', i.e., judges move around a region or country to different towns or cities where they will hear cases; * Courts that s ...

. The town derives its name from B. W. White, a pioneer settler. Whitesville was formerly known as Jarrold's Valley and Pritchard City.

Geography

Whitesville is located at (37.981297, -81.534055). The town occupies a narrow section of land along both sides of the Big Coal River that stretches from the river's confluence with Toms Branch on the south to just north of the river's confluence with Seng Creek.

West Virginia Route 3 West Virginia Route 3 is a state highway in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It runs from West Virginia Route 10 in West Hamlin in a general easterly direction via Beckley to West Virginia Route 311 at Sweet Springs, most of the way acro ...

(Coal River Road) traverses Whitesville, connecting the town with

Sylvester Sylvester or Silvester is a name derived from the Latin adjective ''silvestris'' meaning "wooded" or "wild", which derives from the noun ''silva'' meaning "woodland". Classical Latin spells this with ''i''. In Classical Latin, ''y'' represented a ...

to the northwest and the Beckley area to the southeast. 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 town 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 ...

of 2010, there were 514 people, 247 households, and 125 families living in the town. 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 304 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.1%

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 ...

, 0.2%

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 ...

, and 1.8% from two or more races. There were 247 households, of which 23.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.4% 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, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 49.4% were non-families. 44.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.08 and the average family size was 2.92. The median age in the town was 42.5 years. 20.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.7% were from 25 to 44; 28% were from 45 to 64; and 18.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 47.7% male and 52.3% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 520 people, 255 households, and 139 families living in the town. The

was 1,244.7 inhabitants per square mile (478.0/km²). There were 346 housing units at an average density of 828.2 per square mile (318.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 99.23%

, 0.19%

, 0.19% Native American, 0.19% Asian, and 0.19% 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 0.38% of the population. There were 255 households, out of which 18.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.0% were

living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.1% were non-families. 42.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.04 and the average family size was 2.75. In the town, the population was spread out, with 17.3% under the age of 18, 11.3% from 18 to 24, 21.3% from 25 to 44, 27.7% from 45 to 64, and 22.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $19,250, and the median income for a family was $31,500. Males had a median income of $26,250 versus $15,417 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 town was $13,217. About 23.1% of families and 29.9% 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 40.2% of those under age 18 and 15.0% of those age 65 or over.

Upper Big Branch Miners Memorial

Whitesville is home to the Upper Big Branch Miners Memorial, a monument dedicated to the miners who were killed in the

Upper Big Branch Mine disaster The Upper Big Branch Mine disaster occurred on April 5, 2010, roughly underground in Raleigh County, West Virginia at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch coal mine located in Montcoal. 29 out of 31 at the site were killed. The coal dust explosion ...

in nearby Montcoal in April 2010.

References

External links

* {{authority control Towns in Boone County, West Virginia Towns in West Virginia Charleston, West Virginia metropolitan area Coal towns in West Virginia