Beckley, West Virginia
Encyclopedia : B : BE : BEC : Beckley, West Virginia
Beckley is a city in Raleigh County, West Virginia, USA and founded on April 4, 1838. The population was 17,254 at the 2000 census. Beckley has also been referred to as Beckleyville and its nickname was the "Smokeless Coal Capital". It is also called "The Gateway To Southern West Virginia." The population of the Beckley area is roughly 90,000 including Raleigh County and parts of Fayette County. It is the county seat of Raleigh County[Geographic references#6GR6].
Beckley was named in honor of John J. Beckley, who was the first Clerk of the House of Representatives and the first Librarian of Congress. It was founded by his son Alfred Beckley (US Army general and confederate militia commander, born in Washington, D.C.). The current mayor (2005) is Emmett S. Pugh, III.
Beckley is home to Mountain State University.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.8 km² (9.2 mi²), all land.
Demographics
As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 17,254 people, 7,651 households, and 4,590 families residing in the city. The population density was 724.1/km² (1,874.9/mi²). There were 8,731 housing units at an average density of 366.4/km² (948.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 73.64% White, 22.89% African American, 0.14% Native American, 1.89% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 1.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.74% of the population.There were 7,651 households out of which 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% were married couples living together, 16.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 35.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.83.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.8% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 20.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 82.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,122, and the median income for a family was $38,110. Males had a median income of $35,780 versus $23,239 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,912. About 16.4% of families and 20.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.9% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.
Notable people of Beckley
- Jon McBride - Former astronaut who was born in Charleston, West Virginia, but considers Beckley his hometown.
- Nick Rahall - Ranking Democrat on the U.S. House Committee on Resources born in Beckley.
- Calvin Simon - member of Funkadelic who was born here.
- Tamar Slay - He plays basketball for the New Jersey Nets and was born here.
- Hulett C. Smith - Former governor of West Virginia who was born here.
- Chris Sarandon - Film and television actor who was raised in Beckley. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Leon in "Dog Day Afternoon."
- Morgan Spurlock - Documentary filmmaker who was raised in Beckley. His documentary "Supersize Me" was nominated for an Academy Award. He recently produced the FX TV series "30 Days."
- Dr. Vaughn G. Rhudy - A high school English and journalism teacher at Shady Spring High School who was recipient of the Milken National Educator Award in 2003.
External links
- [City of Beckley Website]
- [Beckley-Raleigh County Chamber of Commerce]
- [Maps and aerial photos]
- * Street map from [Google Maps] or [Yahoo! Maps]
- * Topographic map from [TopoZone]
- * Aerial image or topographic map from [TerraServer-USA]
- * Satellite image from [Google Maps] or [Windows Live Local]
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