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Hancock County, West Virginia
PeterTarrFurnaceSite2012
Peter Tarr Furnace Site
Map of West Virginia highlighting Hancock County
Location in the state of West Virginia
Map of the U.S
West Virginia's location in the U.S.
Founded January 15, 1848
Named for John Hancock
Seat New Cumberland
Largest city Weirton
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

88 sq mi (228 km²)
83 sq mi (215 km²)
5.4 sq mi (14 km²), 6.1
Population
 - (2020)
 - Density

29,095
Congressional district 1st
Time zone Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website www.hancockcountywv.org

Hancock County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 29,095.[1] Its county seat is New Cumberland and its largest city is Weirton.[2] The county was created from Brooke County in 1848 and named for John Hancock, first signer of the Declaration of Independence.[3][4] Hancock County is the northernmost point in both West Virginia and, by some definitions, the Southern United States; being at the tip of the state's Northern Panhandle. Hancock County is part of the Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, PA-WV-OH Combined Statistical Area.[5]

History[]

Hancock County was formed from Brooke County in 1848, some 15 years before West Virginia became a state. Both counties were once part of Ohio County, Virginia, which had been formed from the District of West Augusta in 1776. Hancock County has significant Revolutionary-period roots due to its location on the Ohio River south of Fort Pitt in Pittsburgh and north of Fort Henry in Wheeling.

Hancock County was the site of the infamous massacre of Iroquois leader Chief Logan's family in 1774, at Baker's Tavern across the Ohio River from the mouth of Yellow Creek. The event, known as the Yellow Creek massacre, sparked Lord Dunmore's War. Adam Poe had his famous fight with the Indian known as Big Foot at the mouth of Tomlinson Run in 1781. Historical markers commemorate both events. Significant Revolutionary War forts and blockhouses in Hancock County included Holliday's Cove Fort in downtown Weirton and Chapman's Blockhouse in New Cumberland.[6]

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.[7] Hancock County was divided into four districts: Butler, Clay, Grant, and Poe. Poe, the least populous district, was discontinued in the 1920s.[8]

Geography[]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 88 square miles (230 km2), of which 83 square miles (210 km2) is land and 5.4 square miles (14 km2) (6.1%) is water.[9] It is the smallest county in West Virginia by area, as well as one of the smallest in the United States. The highest point of elevation in Hancock County is approximately 1363 ft. and located about 1800 ft. ESE of Emmanuel Mission Church. [1]

Major highways[]

  • US 22 US 22
  • US 30 US 30
  • [[Template:Infobox road/WV/link WV|Template:Infobox road/WV/abbrev WV]]
  • [[Template:Infobox road/WV/link WV|Template:Infobox road/WV/abbrev WV]]
  • [[Template:Infobox road/WV/link WV|Template:Infobox road/WV/abbrev WV]]

Adjacent counties[]

Demographics[]

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1850 4,050
1860 4,445 9.8%
1870 4,363 −1.8%
1880 4,882 11.9%
1890 6,414 31.4%
1900 6,693 4.3%
1910 10,465 56.4%
1920 19,975 90.9%
1930 28,511 42.7%
1940 31,572 10.7%
1950 34,388 8.9%
1960 39,615 15.2%
1970 39,749 0.3%
1980 40,418 1.7%
1990 35,233 −12.8%
2000 32,667 −7.3%
2010 30,676 −6.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[10]
1790–1960[11] 1900–1990[12]
1990–2000[13] 2010–2020[1]

2000 census[]

As of the census[14] of 2000, there were 32,667 people, 13,678 households, and 9,506 families living in the county. The population density was 394 people per square mile (152/km2). There were 14,728 housing units at an average density of 178 per square mile (69/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 96.42% White, 2.30% Black or African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.12% from other races, and 0.69% from two or more races. 0.74% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 13,678 households, out of which 26.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.70% were married couples living together, 10.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.50% were non-families. 26.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.83.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 20.80% under the age of 18, 7.20% from 18 to 24, 27.10% from 25 to 44, 26.40% from 45 to 64, and 18.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 92.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $33,759, and the median income for a family was $40,719. Males had a median income of $34,813 versus $19,100 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,724. About 9.00% of families and 11.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.10% of those under age 18 and 7.10% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census[]

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 30,676 people, 13,297 households, and 8,732 families living in the county.[15] The population density was 371.3 inhabitants per square mile (143.4 /km2). There were 14,541 housing units at an average density of 176.0 per square mile (68.0 /km2).[16] The racial makeup of the county was 95.7% white, 2.3% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% American Indian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.0% of the population.[15] In terms of ancestry, 21.1% were German, 18.7% were Irish, 15.6% were Italian, 12.5% were English, 8.0% were Polish, and 6.2% were American.[17]

Of the 13,297 households, 26.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.3% were non-families, and 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.80. The median age was 45.3 years.[15]

The median income for a household in the county was $38,565 and the median income for a family was $46,978. Males had a median income of $40,961 versus $28,915 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,118. About 11.2% of families and 14.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.2% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.[18]

Government[]

Hancock County is governed by a three-member County Commission who each serve in rotating six-year terms. The terms are designed such that one seat is up for election in even years. The County Commission annually chooses its own president. The Hancock County Commissioners in 2015 are Joe Barnabei, Jeff Davis and Commission President Michael Swartzmiller.[19]

In the West Virginia Circuit Courts, Hancock County is part of the First Family Court Circuit of West Virginia, which also includes Brooke and Ohio Counties. In West Virginia, Family Court Judges were first elected to six-year terms beginning in 2002 and were elected to eight-year terms beginning in 2008. The current judges of the First Family Court Circuit are the Hon. Joyce Chernenko and the Hon. William Sinclair, both of whom were elected to eight-year terms in November 2008.[19] Additionally, Hancock County is part of the First Judicial Circuit of West Virginia, which again also includes Brooke and Ohio Counties. Circuit Judges are elected in non-partisan elections to eight-year terms. The current judges of the First Judicial Circuit are the Hon. Jason A. Cuomo, the Hon. James Mazzone, the Hon. David J. Sims, and the Hon. Ronald E. Wilson.[19]

Magistrates are elected in partisan elections serving four-year terms. Vacancies occurring in unexpired terms can be filled by a respective Circuit Court Judge. Unlike Circuit Court judges or Family Court judges, magistrates are not required to be attorneys. Hancock County currently has three magistrates: Mike White, William S. Hicks and Michael Powell.[19]

Other elected officials are Sheriff Ralph Fletcher, Circuit Clerk Brenda Jackson, County Clerk George Foley, Assessor Joe Alongi and Prosecuting Attorney James Davis.[2]

Politics[]

Abutting the free states of Ohio and Pennsylvania, and with a largely German–American culture unlike any other part of antebellum Virginia, Hancock County and the rest of the Northern Panhandle were central to the vanguard who made West Virginia a new state during the Civil War.[20][21] For the next six and a half decades the county, aided by its association with Pennsylvania's powerful ironmonger-led political machines, voted solidly Republican to the point of supporting William Howard Taft during the disastrously divided 1912 election. From the New Deal until the presidency of Bill Clinton, however, powerful unionization meant that Hancock County turned from solidly Republican to solidly Democratic, with the exception of George McGovern in 1972. Like all of West Virginia, since 2000 a combination of declining unionization and growing differences with the Democratic Party on social issues has produced a swing back to the Republican Party.[22][23]

United States presidential election results for Hancock County, West Virginia[24]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 9,806 71.05% 3,790 27.46% 206 1.49%
2016 8,909 69.59% 3,262 25.48% 631 4.93%
2012 7,226 59.47% 4,627 38.08% 297 2.44%
2008 7,518 56.87% 5,504 41.63% 198 1.50%
2004 7,298 50.96% 6,906 48.22% 117 0.82%
2000 6,458 47.94% 6,249 46.39% 765 5.68%
1996 4,268 30.44% 7,521 53.64% 2,231 15.91%
1992 3,897 25.92% 7,830 52.08% 3,309 22.01%
1988 5,882 41.19% 8,338 58.39% 60 0.42%
1984 7,326 45.44% 8,708 54.01% 90 0.56%
1980 6,610 40.12% 8,784 53.32% 1,081 6.56%
1976 6,771 38.92% 10,627 61.08% 0 0.00%
1972 10,634 61.25% 6,727 38.75% 0 0.00%
1968 6,181 32.82% 10,174 54.03% 2,476 13.15%
1964 5,009 26.35% 14,001 73.65% 0 0.00%
1960 8,031 41.81% 11,176 58.19% 0 0.00%
1956 8,750 47.88% 9,524 52.12% 0 0.00%
1952 6,520 40.02% 9,772 59.98% 0 0.00%
1948 4,561 35.16% 8,242 63.53% 170 1.31%
1944 4,285 36.88% 7,334 63.12% 0 0.00%
1940 4,997 36.98% 8,515 63.02% 0 0.00%
1936 3,957 33.62% 7,756 65.89% 58 0.49%
1932 4,328 46.94% 4,603 49.92% 289 3.13%
1928 5,461 74.06% 1,884 25.55% 29 0.39%
1924 3,775 71.08% 1,187 22.35% 349 6.57%
1920 2,768 63.43% 1,435 32.88% 161 3.69%
1916 1,434 58.72% 891 36.49% 117 4.79%
1912 664 33.54% 634 32.02% 682 34.44%



Communities[]

Cities[]

  • Chester
  • New Cumberland (county seat)
  • Weirton (part)

Magisterial districts[]

  • Butler
  • Clay
  • Grant

Census-designated place[]

  • Newell

Unincorporated communities[]

  • Congo
  • Fairhaven
  • Kings Creek
  • Lawrenceville
  • Lennyville
  • Moscow
  • New Manchester
  • Sun Valley
  • Vermont Terrace

Population ranking[]

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Hancock County.[25]

county seat

Rank City/Town/etc. Population (2010 Census) Population (2019 Estimate) Municipal type
1 Weirton partially in Brooke County 19,746 18,266 City
2 Chester 2,585 2,369 City
3 Newell 1,376 1,349 CDP
4 New Cumberland 1,103 1,006 City

See also[]

  • Hillcrest Wildlife Management Area
  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Hancock County, West Virginia
  • Ohio River Trail
  • Tomlinson Run State Park

References[]

  1. ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/54/54029.html. 
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. 
  3. ^ "Hancock County history sources". http://www.wvculture.org/history/counties/hancock.html. 
  4. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off.. pp. 148. https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ. 
  5. ^ www.whitehouse.gov
  6. ^ Nogay, Michael Edward (2009). Every Home a Fort, Every Man a Warrior. Tri-State Publishing Co.. 
  7. ^ Otis K. Rice & Stephen W. Brown, West Virginia: A History, 2nd ed., University Press of Kentucky, Lexington (1993), p. 240.
  8. ^ United States Census Bureau, U.S. Decennial Census, Tables of Minor Civil Divisions in West Virginia, 1870–2010.
  9. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_54.txt. 
  10. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html. 
  11. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu. 
  12. ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/wv190090.txt. 
  13. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf. 
  14. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov. 
  15. ^ a b c "DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/DPDP1/0500000US54029. 
  16. ^ "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/GCTPH1.CY07/0500000US54029. 
  17. ^ "DP02 SELECTED SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS IN THE UNITED STATES – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP02/0500000US54029. 
  18. ^ "DP03 SELECTED ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP03/0500000US54029. 
  19. ^ a b c d West Virginia Secretary of State; Election Results Center
  20. ^ MacKenzie, Scott; ‘The Fifth Border State: Slavery and the Formation of West Virginia, 1850-1868’ (thesis), Auburn University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
  21. ^ Link, William A.; ‘This Bastard New Virginia: Slavery, West Virginia Exceptionalism, and the Secession Crisis’
  22. ^ Schwartzman, Gabe; ‘How Central Appalachia Went Right’; Daily Yonder, January 13, 2015
  23. ^ Cohn, Nate; ‘Demographic Shift: Southern Whites’ Loyalty to G.O.P. Nearing That of Blacks to Democrats’, New York Times, April 24, 2014
  24. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS. 
  25. ^ "2010 U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.2010.html. 

External links[]

Template:Northern Panhandle of West Virginia

Coordinates: 40°31′N 80°35′W / 40.52, -80.58

This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Hancock County, West Virginia. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.
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