Williamson is a city in and the

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 ...

Mingo County, West Virginia Mingo County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,568. Its county seat and largest city is Williamson. Created in 1895, Mingo is West Virginia's newest county, named for the historic I ...

, United States, situated along the

Tug Fork River The Tug Fork is a tributary of the Big Sandy River, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed June 13, 2011 in southwestern West Virginia, southwestern Virginia, and easter ...

. The population was 3,042 at the 2020 census. and is the county's largest and most populous city. Williamson is home to Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College. The

separates Williamson from

South Williamson, Kentucky South Williamson is a unincorporated community in the Appalachian Mountains of northeastern Pike County, Kentucky, United States, on the border with West Virginia. It is separated from Williamson, West Virginia by the Tug Fork River. The communi ...

. Williamson is the site of a large

rail yard A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of Track (rail transport), tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for k ...

built by the former

Norfolk and Western Railroad The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...

(now

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

), which was built to service the many

coal mines Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

of the region. The city is protected by a

floodwall A floodwall is a freestanding, permanent, engineered structure designed to prevent encroachment of floodwaters. Floodwalls are mainly used on locations where space is scarce, such as cities or where building levees or dikes (dykes) would in ...

, completed by the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

in 1991 in response to devastating

floods A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

along the Tug Fork River in 1977 and again in 1984. The wall incorporates

floodgate Floodgates, also called stop gates, are adjustable gates used to control water flow in flood barriers, reservoir, river, stream, or levee systems. They may be designed to set spillway crest heights in dams, to adjust flow rates in sluices and ...

s along major access points which, when locked, form a solid barrier against floodwaters. There have only been three uses of the gates thus far: the first occurring in 2002 during a major flood in the region, the second occurring in 2003, when only two lower lying gates were closed in anticipation of rising water levels, and in 2025 when another major flood struck the region, causing all the gates to be closed for the first time ever in the floodwall's almost 35 year history due to the Tug Fork rising to levels not seen since 1984. The local economy is largely fueled by coal mining, transportation, health care and retail businesses.

History

Williamson was incorporated in 1892. Most historians believe that Williamson was named in honor of Wallace J. Williamson. He owned the land where Williamson now stands, earned a fortune in real estate investments in the area, and founded the city's first bank and its first hotel. Others claim that the city was named for Wallace's father, Benjamin F. Williamson. He owned most of the land in the region before dividing it among his sons. Williamson grew rapidly once the railroad connected into the town. Its population, just 688 in 1900, jumped to 6,819 in 1920 and 9,410 in 1930.

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 city has a total area of , all land.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. 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, Williamson has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

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 3,191 people, 1,524 households, and 835 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 1,885 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 87.3%

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 ...

, 9.4%

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% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.1% from other races, and 2.3% 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 people of any race were 0.8% of the population. There were 1,524 households, of which 22.0% 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, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 45.2% were non-families. 42.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.7% 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 2.76. The median age in the city was 47.1 years. 18.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.8% were from 25 to 44; 31.2% were from 45 to 64; and 21.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 45.2% male and 54.8% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 3,414 people, 1,566 households, and 903 families living in the city. The

was 1,022.6 people per square mile (394.7/km²). There were 1,892 housing units at an average density of 566.7 per square mile (218.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 83.51%

, 13.65%

, 0.38% Native American, 1.00% Asian, 0.29% from other races, and 1.17% from two or more races.

or Latino people of any race were 0.91% of the population. There were 1,566 households, out of which 24.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.0% were

living together, 15.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.3% were non-families. 40.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.85. In the city the population was spread out, with 20.0% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 21.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $19,635, and the median income for a family was $35,893. Males had a median income of $36,250 versus $20,291 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 $15,303. About 22.1% of families and 28.8% 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 39.5% of those under age 18 and 18.2% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

The Coal House, whose walls are constructed from 65 tons of

bituminous coal Bituminous coal, or black coal, is a type of coal containing a tar-like substance called bitumen or asphalt. Its coloration can be black or sometimes dark brown; often there are well-defined bands of bright and dull material within the coal seam, ...

from the nearby Winifrede Seam, serves as the headquarters of the Tug Valley Chamber of Commerce. It was built in 1933 and is 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 October 2010, the interior of the Coal House was destroyed in a fire. The Coal House interior has since been restored while preserving the historical integrity of the building. The Williamson Field House is a 6,000 capacity facility which was once home to the Williamson High School boys' basketball team. The

Hatfield–McCoy Trails The Hatfield–McCoy Trails (HMT) is a trail system popular for its recreational trails for All-terrain vehicle, ATVs, Side-by-side (vehicle), UTVs, and dirt bikes, but the trails are also open to hikers, Mountain biking, mountain bikers, and hor ...

, a popular network of ATV trails, run through the mountains surrounding the city, with numerous trailheads in and around the Williamson area. One of Hatfield–McCoy Trails has a community connector in Williamson area, Buffalo Trail which can be found on the W 4th Ave (coordinates: ). Each June, as many as 500 distance runners from around the United States and several foreign countries descend upon Williamson for the Hatfield–McCoy

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

. Beginning in South Williamson, Kentucky, the race ends in the midst of the annual Hatfield–McCoy Reunion Festival in downtown Williamson.

Media

* WXCC-FM * '' The Williamson Daily News''

Infrastructure

Highways

U.S. Route 52 U.S. Route 52 (US 52) is a major U.S. Highway in the Central United States that extends from the northern to southeastern region of the United States. Contrary to most other even-numbered U.S. Highways, US 52 primarily follows a north ...

* U.S. Route 119

Notable people

* H. Truman Chafin, West Virginia state senator * Robert H. Foglesong, U.S. Air Force general

References

External links

{{authority control Cities in Mingo County, West Virginia Coal towns in West Virginia County seats in West Virginia Cities in West Virginia West Virginia populated places on the Tug Fork