Lincoln County, West Virginia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lincoln County
County
The Lincoln County Courthouse in Hamlin in 2007
Location within the U.S. state of West Virginia
West Virginia's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	West Virginia
Founded	February 23, 1867
Named for	Abraham Lincoln
Seat	Hamlin
Largest town	Hamlin
Area
• Total	439 sq mi (1,140 km2)
• Land	437 sq mi (1,130 km2)
• Water	1.6 sq mi (4 km2)  0.4%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	20,463
• Estimate  (2021)	20,126
• Density	46.61/sq mi (17.997/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	1st

Lincoln County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,463. Its county seat is Hamlin. The county was created in 1867 and named for Abraham Lincoln.

Lincoln County is part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Lincoln County was created by an act of the West Virginia Legislature on February 23, 1867, from parts of Boone, Cabell, Kanawha and Putnam counties. By 1869, the county had returned much of its Putnam County territory and absorbed the northern portion of Logan County and a portion of Wayne County. In 1869, Harts Creek Township (later district) was created from this latter region. Lincoln County is one of five counties created by West Virginia since the Civil War. Hamlin, seat of government for the county, was established in 1853.

Jesse, John, David, William, and Moses McComas were the first Anglo settlers in what is now Lincoln County. They cultivated 20 acres (81,000 m²) of corn, the first ever grown in the area near present-day West Hamlin, in 1799. Later that year, they returned to eastern Virginia to get their families. Their families were initially left behind because it was not known if there were any hostile Native Americans in the area, or if the soil would be suitable for cultivation. John Lucas, William Hinch, and John Johnson soon joined the McComases in the county. They built cabins in the county around 1800. About 1804, William Wirt Brumfield settled at the mouth of Big Ugly Creek.

Based on military enlistments, Lincoln County appears to have been evenly divided in its sympathies during the Civil War. The county hosted a handful of small skirmishes, mostly centered on Mud River.

After the war, timbering constituted the county's primary industry. The county also became nationally known for its tobacco cultivation. In the early twentieth century, the county experienced a gas boom.

In 1863, West Virginia's counties were divided into civil townships, with the intention of encouraging local government. This proved impractical in the heavily rural state, and in 1872 the townships were converted into magisterial districts. Between its formation in 1867 and 1870, Lincoln County was divided into seven townships: Carroll, Duval, Harts Creek, Jefferson, Sheridan, Union, and Washington. In 1871, Laurel Hill Township was formed from portions of Harts Creek and Sheridan Townships. The following year, the eight townships became magisterial districts. Except for minor adjustments, the eight historic magisterial districts remained largely unchanged until the twenty-first century, when they were consolidated into three new districts: District 1, District 2, and District 3.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 439 square miles (1,140 km²), of which 437 square miles (1,130 km²) is land and 1.6 square miles (4.1 km²) (0.4%) is water.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 119
• West Virginia Route 3
• West Virginia Route 10
• West Virginia Route 34
• West Virginia Route 37
• West Virginia Route 214

Adjacent counties

• Putnam County (north)
• Kanawha County (northeast)
• Boone County (southeast)
• Logan County (south)
• Mingo County (southwest)
• Wayne County (west)
• Cabell County (northwest)

Demographics

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 21,720 people, 8,783 households, and 6,268 families living in the county. The population density was 49.7 inhabitants per square mile (19.2/km²). There were 9,887 housing units at an average density of 22.6 per square mile (8.7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 99.0% white, 0.1% Asian, 0.1% American Indian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.1% from other races, and 0.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 27.0% were American, 12.8% were Irish, 12.4% were English, and 12.4% were German.

Of the 8,783 households, 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 28.6% were non-families, and 25.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.92. The median age was 41.2 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,868 and the median income for a family was $37,667. Males had a median income of $43,662 versus $23,166 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,439. About 22.8% of families and 26.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.7% of those under age 18 and 13.2% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Towns

• Hamlin (county seat)
• West Hamlin

Magisterial districts

Current

• District 1
• District 2
• District 3

Historic

• Carroll
• Duval
• Harts Creek
• Jefferson
• Laurel Hill
• Sheridan
• Union
• Washington

Census-designated places

• Alum Creek (part)
• Harts

Unincorporated communities

Notable people

• Dagmar, actress
• Lloyd G. Jackson, politician
• Clark Kessinger, fiddler
• Clark W. May, politician
• J. S. Pridemore, oil industrialist
• Johnny Sias, professional disc golfer and PDGA World Champion
• Russ Thomas, professional football player
• John S. Witcher, Civil War senior officer
• Chuck Yeager, aviator
• Fred "Sonic" Smith, musician

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Lincoln (Virginia Occidental) para niños