McDowell County, West Virginia
McDowell County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,111. Its county seat is Welch. McDowell County is the southernmost county in the state. It was created in 1858 by the Virginia General Assembly and named for Virginia Governor James McDowell. It became a part of West Virginia in 1863, when several Union-affiliated counties seceded from the state of Virginia during the American Civil War. McDowell County is located in the Cumberland Mountains, part of the Appalachia region.
McDowell County Courthouse in Welch
A coal miners house and family, 1946
Anawalt Lake Wildlife Management Area in McDowell County
Coalwood, home of the 'Rocket Boys," who experimented with home-made rockets in the 1950s, the subject of the film October Sky
Welch is a city in and the county seat of McDowell County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 3,590 at the 2020 census; the 2021 census estimate put the population at 1,914, due to the Federal Correctional Institution, McDowell leaving city limits. Welch was incorporated as a city in 1893.
Facing south on McDowell Street in 2019
Child laborer at Welch Mining Company, 1908. Photo by Lewis Hine
Facing north on McDowell Street in Welch, on a Saturday afternoon in 1946
Municipal parking building in Welch
