Fairmont, West Virginia
Encyclopedia : F : FA : FAI : Fairmont, West Virginia
Fairmont is a city in Marion County, West Virginia, USA. The population was 19,097 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Marion County[Geographic references#6GR6]. Established in 1820 as Middletown, then in Monongalia County, it was chartered by the Virginia General Assembly in 1843 as Fairmont, a contraction of "Fair Mountain". Fairmont is nicknamed "The Friendly City" and is also touted as "The Home of the Original Pepperoni Roll". Father's day originated in Fairmont as well.
Fairmont is located in the northern region of the state, along West Virginia's I-79 High Tech Corridor, about 18 miles southwest of Morgantown. Fairmont's National White Collar Crime Center provides nationwide support to law enforcement agencies involved in prevention, investigation, and prosecution of economic and high-tech crime. The NASA Independent Verification and Validation Facility, governed by the Goddard Space Flight Center, houses more than 150 full-time employees and more than 20 in-house partners and contractors.
As of June 2006, Fairmont city council is in the process (depending on votes) of consolidating Fairmont with the unincorporated communities of Marion County, to have a City-County government, the first to do so in West Virginia. This would make Fairmont the 3rd larest city in the state, just behind Charleston and Huntington. [link]
Fairmont State University, established in 1865, is located in Fairmont.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 21.2 km² (8.2 mi²). 20.3 km² (7.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.9 km² (0.4 mi²) of it (4.40%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 19,097 people, 8,447 households, and 4,671 families residing in the city. The population density was 941.7/km² (2,438.5/mi²). There were 9,755 housing units at an average density of 481.0/km² (1,245.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.16% White, 7.26% African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.20% from other races, and 1.49% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.82% of the population.There were 8,447 households out of which 21.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.2% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.7% were non-families. 36.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.83.
In the city the population was spread out with 18.4% under the age of 18, 14.9% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 87.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,628, and the median income for a family was $37,126. Males had a median income of $27,944 versus $20,401 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,062. About 12.6% of families and 20.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.0% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over.
Past population figures
Historic U.S. Census population data for Fairmont:
1850 683 1860 704 1870 621 1880 900 1890 1,023 1900 5,655 1910 9,711 1920 17,851 1930 23,159 1940 23,105 1950 29,346 1960 27,477 1970 26,093 1980 23,863 1990 20,210 2000 19,097
Famous people from Fairmont
- Frank Kendall Everest, Jr, The Fastest Man Alive
- Johnnie Johnson, musician
- John Knowles, author
- Mary Lou Retton, gymnast
- Nick Saban, football coach
- John Sandor, opera singer
External links
- [City of Fairmont website]
- [Times West Virginian newspaper]
- [Main Street Fairmont]
- [Fairmont State University]
- [Fairmont Community Development Partnership]
- [Fairmont/Morgantown Housing Authority]
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