Wetzel County, West Virginia
Wetzel County is a county in the U. S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 16,583, its county seat is New Martinsville. The county, founded in 1846, is named for a famous frontiersman and Indian fighter, its northern border aligns with the Mason-Dixon line but is to the west of the actual Mason-Dixon line. Wetzel County was formed in 1846 out of Virginia; the county had a number of districts: Proctor, Center Church, Clay and Grant Districts. The community of Martinsville may have been within one of the districts. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 361 square miles, of which 358 square miles is land and 3.3 square miles is water. US 250 WV 2 WV 7 WV 20 WV 69 WV 180 Marshall County Greene County, Pennsylvania Monongalia County Marion County Harrison County Doddridge County Tyler County Monroe County, Ohio Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge As of the census of 2000, there were 17,693 people, 7,164 households, 5,079 families residing in the county.
The population density was 49 people per square mile. There were 8,313 housing units at an average density of 23 per square mile; the racial makeup of the county was 98.92% White, 0.08% Black or African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.03% from other races, 0.53% from two or more races. 0.42% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 7,164 households out of which 30.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.70% were married couples living together, 9.30% had a female householder with no husband present, 29.10% were non-families. 25.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.80% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.92. In the county, the population was spread out with 23.80% under the age of 18, 6.80% from 18 to 24, 26.50% from 25 to 44, 26.80% from 45 to 64, 16.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years.
For every 100 females there were 94.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.20 males. The median income for a household in the county was $30,935, the median income for a family was $36,793. Males had a median income of $37,296 versus $19,339 for females; the per capita income for the county was $16,818. About 15.30% of families and 19.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.60% of those under age 18 and 15.20% of those age 65 or over. As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 16,583 people, 6,968 households, 4,768 families residing in the county; the population density was 46.3 inhabitants per square mile. There were 8,173 housing units at an average density of 22.8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 98.7% white, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% American Indian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.2% from other races, 0.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 27.5% were German, 16.0% were Irish, 12.8% were American, 12.4% were English.
Of the 6,968 households, 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.4% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.6% were non-families, 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.83. The median age was 44.8 years. The median income for a household in the county was $36,636 and the median income for a family was $48,523. Males had a median income of $45,833 versus $25,033 for females; the per capita income for the county was $19,899. About 13.1% of families and 17.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.5% of those under age 18 and 13.7% of those age 65 or over. Wetzel County was a rarity among northern West Virginia counties in supporting secession at the Virginia Secession Convention, thus reliably supporting Democratic presidential candidates for the next ninety years; the first Republican to carry Wetzel County was Herbert Hoover in 1928 due to anti-Catholicism, but the county afterwards stayed Democratic until 1952.
Since that time Wetzel County has followed the politics of West Virginia: a Democratic-leaning state up to the Clinton Era, after which Democratic party consistent shift to social-liberal positions and its support of green policies – an antithesis to the region's traditional economy – have caused rapid trends toward the Republican Party. In the mid-to-late 19th century a band similar to the James Gang of legend existed, known as the Jennings Gang. A number of robberies and murders were accounted to this gang, they were known to be located near the head of Doolin Run near Tarpan Ridge. The home they occupied was found to have an escape tunnel, used to escape capture on several occasions. A local group of citizens known as the "Redmen" cornered the gang at this home and a number of the members were killed. A detailed description exists in the Wetzel County History written in 1900; the oldest oil well location known is of one drilled on Long Run near Doolin Run which reached oil at a depth about 360 ft. Wetzel County has a long history in the Oil and Gas producing industry.
During the Oil boom of the 19th century it is reported that the Proctor Creek watershed had 12 saloons and numerous livery/hotels to accommodate the hundreds of logging and oil field workers. New Martinsville Paden City Hundred Pine Grove Smithfield Jacksonburg Littleton Reader Cecil H. Underwood Wildlife Management Area Ha
Doddridge County, West Virginia
Doddridge County is a county in the U. S. state of West Virginia. Its county seat is West Union. Doddridge County is part of WV Micropolitan Statistical Area; the area that became Doddridge County, Virginia — now West Virginia — was first settled in the late 1780s by James Caldwell, who owned 20,000 acres of land that included present West Union. Caldwell sold this land to Nathan Davis, Jr and his brothers about 1807, they in turn sold 16,000 acres to Lewis Maxwell, a Virginia Assembly delegate in the 1820s who became a U. S. Congressman. In 1828 Ephraim Bee, Sr and his wife Catherine established a log home on Meathouse Fork of Middle Island Creek, now part of West Union, they built an Inn across the "Creek" at what was called Lewisport, below a blockhouse on the Northwestern Turnpike. The "Beehive Inn" became a popular place for travelers and locals to meet, refresh themselves and re-provision. Bee operated the first local blacksmith shop. According to Ephraim's father, A. A. Bee: "The first bridge across Middle Island Creek was of hewed logs with a center abutment of stones.
In the great flood of 1835 it was washed away". In 1842, a contract was awarded to the well-known civil engineer Claudius Crozet to build a covered bridge at West Union, as part of a series of public works along the Turnpike. Ephraim Bee was by this time a district officer, state legislator and postmaster; as blacksmith, he made all the bolts and bands for the West Union Covered Bridge, completed in 1843. Doddridge County was created in 1845 from parts of Harrison, Tyler and Lewis Counties of what was still Virginia, it was named for Philip Doddridge, the late distinguished statesman of western Virginia, who had spent the greater part of his life in Brooke County. When it was announced the new county would be formed, Ephraim Bee rallied to locate the county seat at Lewisport, but Nathan Davis, Jr, William Fitz Randolph, others, won out in favor of West Union, across the river on the south side. There Ethelbert Bond laid out the town lots in regular fashion on land owned by Davis. Progress of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, on its way from Clarksburg to Parkersburg and bisected the county in 1856.
On the night of March 27, 1858, a fire devastated the town of West Union. West Virginia became a state following the Wheeling Conventions of 1861, after the American Civil War had begun. Maxwell Ridge — named for the Congressman's family — is said to have a cave, used by the Underground Railroad in the years leading up to the Civil War. Another nearby grotto, Jaco Cave, is said to have been used for the same purpose; the county seat of West Union was incorporated on 20 July 1881. Doddridge County’s oil and gas industry was an enormous boon to residents; the county's first oil pool, at Center Point, was discovered and drilled in 1892. This was an extension of the technology and boom of the western Pennsylvania oil and gas fields into Tyler and Doddridge Counties. Many farm owners, sons of farm owners, split their time between their farmwork and the petroleum operations; every local farm benefited from this as free gas was piped to the farmhouses of many landowners. Gas was soon used for heating and cooking, which replaced the wood stoves and kerosene and candles of previous generations.
By 1906, the Ideal Glass Factory opened to take advantage of the abundant natural gas. It was followed by the Doddridge County Window Glass Company; the two plants employed about 300 people. In years a garment factory opened, but closed in the 1970s. A long-remembered flood devastated West Union in June 1950, destroying homes and businesses and killing more than 20 people throughout the county. Today farming, timbering and gas, the business of county government and public education support the area, many people commute to jobs in Salem and Parkersburg, or to the North Central Regional Jail in Greenwood; the Lathrop Russell Charter House, Doddridge County Courthouse, Silas P. Smith Opera House, W. Scott Stuart House are individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places. West Union is home to two nationally recognized historic districts: West Union Downtown Historic District and West Union Residential Historic District. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 320 square miles, of which 320 square miles is land and 0.8 square miles is water.
U. S. Route 50 West Virginia Route 18 West Virginia Route 23 Wetzel County Harrison County Lewis County Gilmer County Ritchie County Tyler County As of the 2010 census, the population was 8,202; as of the census of 2000, there were 7,403 people, 2,845 households, 2,102 families residing in the county. The population density was 23 people per square mile. There were 3,661 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile; the racial makeup of the county was 98.31% White, 0.27% Black or African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.14% from other races, 0.82% from two or more races. 0.57% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 2,845 households out of which 32.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.30% were married couples living together, 10.30% had a female householder with no husband present, 26.10% were non-families. 22.50% of
1890 United States Census
The Eleventh United States Census was taken beginning June 2, 1890. It determined the resident population of the United States to be 62,979,766—an increase of 25.5 percent over the 50,189,209 persons enumerated during the 1880 census. The data was tabulated by machine for the first time; the data reported that the distribution of the population had resulted in the disappearance of the American frontier. Most of the 1890 census materials were destroyed in a 1921 fire and fragments of the US census population schedule exist only for the states of Alabama, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, the District of Columbia; this was the first census in which a majority of states recorded populations of over one million, as well as the first in which multiple cities – New York as of 1880, Philadelphia – recorded populations of over one million. The census saw Chicago rank as the nation's second-most populous city, a position it would hold until 1990, in which Los Angeles would supplant it.
The 1890 census collected the following information: The 1890 census was the first to be compiled using methods invented by Herman Hollerith and was overseen by Superintendents Robert P. Porter and Carroll D. Wright. Data was entered on a machine readable medium, punched cards, tabulated by machine; the net effect of the many changes from the 1880 census: the larger population, the number of data items to be collected, the Census Bureau headcount, the volume of scheduled publications, the use of Hollerith's electromechanical tabulators, was to reduce the time required to process the census from eight years for the 1880 census to six years for the 1890 census. The total population of 62,947,714, the family, or rough, was announced after only six weeks of processing; the public reaction to this tabulation was disbelief, as it was believed that the "right answer" was at least 75,000,000. The United States census of 1890 showed a total of 248,253 Native Americans living in the United States, down from 400,764 Native Americans identified in the census of 1850.
The 1890 census announced that the frontier region of the United States no longer existed, that the Census Bureau would no longer track the westward migration of the U. S. population. Up to and including the 1880 census, the country had a frontier of settlement. By 1890, isolated bodies of settlement had broken into the unsettled area to the extent that there was hardly a frontier line; this prompted Frederick Jackson Turner to develop his Frontier Thesis. The original data for the 1890 Census is no longer available. All the population schedules were damaged in a fire in the basement of the Commerce Building in Washington, D. C. in 1921. Some 25 % of the materials were presumed another 50 % damaged by smoke and water; the damage to the records led to an outcry for a permanent National Archives. In December 1932, following standard federal record-keeping procedures, the Chief Clerk of the Bureau of the Census sent the Librarian of Congress a list of papers to be destroyed, including the original 1890 census schedules.
The Librarian was asked by the Bureau to identify any records which should be retained for historical purposes, but the Librarian did not accept the census records. Congress authorized destruction of that list of records on February 21, 1933, the surviving original 1890 census records were destroyed by government order by 1934 or 1935; the other censuses for which some information has been lost are the 1810 enumerations. Few sets of microdata from the 1890 census survive, but aggregate data for small areas, together with compatible cartographic boundary files, can be downloaded from the National Historical Geographic Information System. Mayo-Smith, Richmond, "The Eleventh Census of the United States". In: The Economic Journal, Vol. 1, p. 43 - 58 1891 U. S Census Report Contains 1890 Census results Historical US Census data from the U. S. Census Bureau website Hollerith 1890 Census Tabulator by Columbia University "The Fate of the 1890 Population Census" from the National Archives website
Monroe County, Ohio
Monroe County is a county located on the eastern border of the U. S. state of Ohio, across the Ohio River from West Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 14,642, making it the second-least populous county in Ohio, its county seat is Woodsfield. The county was created in 1813 and organized in 1815. Monroe County was formed on January 28, 1813 from portions of Belmont and Washington counties, it was named after James Monroe, the U. S. Secretary of State when the county was formed, fifth President of the United States; when organized, the county's eastern border was with the state of Virginia. This portion of the state seceded from Virginia during the American Civil War, being admitted to the Union as the state of West Virginia; the rural county reached its peak of population in the 19th century, before urbanization drew people into and near cities for work and other opportunities. It is still a center of Amish population and farms. On or about December 20, 2011, Exxon Mobil Corp. a New Jersey petroleum company, via its subsidiary XTO Energy, acquired 20,056 acres of Monroe County Utica Shale gas leases from Beck Energy.
According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 457 square miles, of which 456 square miles is land and 1.7 square miles is water. It is bordered by the Ohio River to the east; the terrain is hilly in this area, with waterways cutting through some hills of the Appalachian Plateau, which extends from Lake Erie to the Ohio River, which flows southwest to the south of this county. Belmont County Marshall County, West Virginia Wetzel County, West Virginia Tyler County, West Virginia Washington County Noble County Wayne National Forest As of the census of 2000, there were 15,180 people, 6,021 households, 4,413 families residing in the county; the population density was 33 people per square mile. There were 7,212 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile; the racial makeup of the county was 98.72% White, 0.26% Black or African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.11% from other races, 0.67% from two or more races. 0.41% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 6,021 households out of which 29.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.70% were married couples living together, 8.10% had a female householder with no husband present, 26.70% were non-families. 24.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.50% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.96. In the county, the population was spread out with 23.60% under the age of 18, 7.10% from 18 to 24, 25.90% from 25 to 44, 27.20% from 45 to 64, 16.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 97.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $30,467, the median income for a family was $36,297. Males had a median income of $33,308 versus $19,628 for females; the per capita income for the county was $15,096. About 11.00% of families and 13.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.30% of those under age 18 and 11.40% of those age 65 or over.
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 14,642 people, 6,065 households, 4,183 families residing in the county. The population density was 32.1 inhabitants per square mile. There were 7,567 housing units at an average density of 16.6 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 98.1% white, 0.4% black or African American, 0.1% Asian, 0.1% American Indian, 0.1% from other races, 1.2% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 34.8% were German, 14.5% were Irish, 10.6% were English, 9.6% were American. Of the 6,065 households, 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.0% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.0% were non-families, 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.87. The median age was 44.7 years. The median income for a household in the county was $37,030 and the median income for a family was $43,261.
Males had a median income of $39,261 versus $24,922 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,738. About 12.3% of families and 17.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.7% of those under age 18 and 12.3% of those age 65 or over. Monroe County voted Democratic in every election from 1976 until 2008. In 2012, it voted Republican for the first time in 40 years. In 2016, it took a sharp turn to the right. In the 2014 gubernatorial election, Monroe was one of two counties to vote for Democrat Ed FitzGerald over Republican John Kasich. However, in 2018 it voted for Republican Mike DeWine over Democrat Richard Cordray. Monroe County has three County Commissioners who oversee the various County departments, similar to 85 of the other 88 Ohio counties. Current Commissioners are: Mick Schumacher, Tim Price, Carl Davis. Monroe County is served by the Monroe County District Library from its administrative offices in Woodsfield, Ohio. In 2005, the library loaned more than 141,000 items to its 6,000 cardholders.
Total holding are over 64,000 volumes with over 140 periodical subscriptions. This library is a member of the SOLO Regional Library System. Monroe County contains the following schools through the Switzerland of Ohio Local Sc
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is used in Canada, Romania and the United States. County towns have a similar function in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, in Jamaica. In most of the United States, counties are the political subdivisions of a state; the city, town, or populated place that houses county government is known as the seat of its respective county. The county legislature, county courthouse, sheriff's department headquarters, hall of records and correctional facility are located in the county seat though some functions may be located or conducted in other parts of the county if it is geographically large. A county seat is but not always, an incorporated municipality; the exceptions include the county seats of counties that have no incorporated municipalities within their borders, such as Arlington County, Virginia. Ellicott City, the county seat of Howard County, is the largest unincorporated county seat in the United States, followed by Towson, the county seat of Baltimore County, Maryland.
Some county seats may not be incorporated in their own right, but are located within incorporated municipalities. For example, Cape May Court House, New Jersey, though unincorporated, is a section of Middle Township, an incorporated municipality. In some of the colonial states, county seats include or included "Court House" as part of their name. In the Canadian provinces of Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, the term "shire town" is used in place of county seat. County seats in Taiwan are the administrative centers of the counties. There are 13 county seats in Taiwan, which are in the forms of county-administered city, urban township or rural township. Most counties have only one county seat. However, some counties in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont have two or more county seats located on opposite sides of the county. An example is Harrison County, which lists both Biloxi and Gulfport as county seats; the practice of multiple county seat towns dates from the days.
There have been few efforts to eliminate the two-seat arrangement, since a county seat is a source of pride for the towns involved. There are 36 counties with multiple county seats in 11 states: Coffee County, Alabama St. Clair County, Alabama Arkansas County, Arkansas Carroll County, Arkansas Clay County, Arkansas Craighead County, Arkansas Franklin County, Arkansas Logan County, Arkansas Mississippi County, Arkansas Prairie County, Arkansas Sebastian County, Arkansas Yell County, Arkansas Columbia County, Georgia Lee County, Iowa Campbell County, Kentucky Kenton County, Kentucky Essex County, Massachusetts Middlesex County, Massachusetts Plymouth County, Massachusetts Bolivar County, Mississippi Carroll County, Mississippi Chickasaw County, Mississippi Harrison County, Mississippi Hinds County, Mississippi Jasper County, Mississippi Jones County, Mississippi Panola County, Mississippi Tallahatchie County, Mississippi Yalobusha County, Mississippi Jackson County, Missouri Hillsborough County, New Hampshire Seneca County, New York Bennington County, Vermont In New England, the town, not the county, is the primary division of local government.
Counties in this region have served as dividing lines for the states' judicial systems. Connecticut and Rhode Island have no county level of thus no county seats. In Vermont and Maine the county seats are designated shire towns. County government consists only of a Superior Court and Sheriff, both located in the respective shire town. Bennington County has two shire towns. In Massachusetts, most government functions which would otherwise be performed by county governments in other states are performed by town or city governments; as such, Massachusetts has dissolved many of its county governments, the state government now operates the registries of deeds and sheriff's offices in those counties. In Virginia, a county seat may be an independent city surrounded by, but not part of, the county of which it is the administrative center. Two counties in South Dakota have their county seat and government services centered in a neighboring county, their county-level services are provided by Fall River Tripp County, respectively.
In Louisiana, divided into parishes rather than counties, county seats are referred to as parish seats. Alaska is divided into boroughs rather than counties; the Unorganized Borough, which covers 49 % of Alaska's area, has equivalent. The state with the most counties is Texas, with 254, the state with the fewest counties is Delaware, with 3. County seat war Administrative center County town, administrative centres in Ireland and the UK Chef-lieu, administrative centres in Algeria, Luxembourg, France and Tunisia Municipality, equivalent to county in many c
Middlebourne, West Virginia
Middlebourne is a town in Tyler County, West Virginia, USA. The population was 815 at the 2010 census, it serves as the county seat of Tyler County. Middlebourne was established by an enactment of the Virginia General Assembly in 1813. Two explanations have been given for the name of the town: One is that it was located halfway between Pennsylvania and a series of salt wells along the Kanawha River upstream of Charleston; the Tyler County Courthouse and Jail is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Middlebourne is located at 39°29′38″N 80°54′21″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.38 square miles, of which, 0.36 square miles is land and 0.02 square miles is water. The climate in this area is characterized by cold winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Middlebourne has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Cfd" on climate maps; as of the census of 2010, there were 815 people, 360 households, 228 families residing in the town.
The population density was 2,263.9 inhabitants per square mile. There were 405 housing units at an average density of 1,125.0 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 99.3% White and 0.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.2% of the population. There were 360 households of which 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.4% had a male householder with no wife present, 36.7% were non-families. 35.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.2% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.87. The median age in the town was 42.5 years. 23.7% of residents were under the age of 18. The gender makeup of the town was 46.0% male and 54.0% female. As of the census of 2000, there were 870 people, 370 households, 247 families residing in the town; the population density was 2,320.0 inhabitants per square mile.
There were 402 housing units at an average density of 1,072.0 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 99.54% White, 0.46% from two or more races. There were 370 households out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.9% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.2% were non-families. 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.8% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.89. In the town, the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 28.7% from 45 to 64, 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $128,704, the median income for a family was $40,893. Males had a median income of $35,000 versus $19,167 for females.
The per capita income for the town was $14,673. About 12.6% of families and 13.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.3% of those under age 18 and 11.9% of those age 65 or over
West Virginia's 1st congressional district
West Virginia's 1st congressional district is located in the northern part of the state. It is the most drawn of the state's three districts, it includes the industrial Rust Belt area of the state's northern panhandle which includes the district's third largest city, Wheeling, as well as Fairmont and the college town of Morgantown, the home of the main campus of West Virginia University. The largest city in the district is Parkersburg, it includes many rural farm and timber producing areas. The district has no population change reported in the 2010 Census change relative to the other 2 districts, as growth around Morgantown and Parkersburg offset population loss elsewhere, the district was carried over unchanged for the next ten-year cycle; the district is represented by David McKinley, a Republican who has represented the district since 2011. West Virginia has tended to give its congressmen long tenures in Washington, the 1st District is no exception. Only four men have represented the district since 1953: Bob Mollohan, former Governor Arch Moore, Jr. Bob Mollohan again, Alan Mollohan and McKinley.
Despite the lack of turnover in the congressional seat the 1st was not safe for either party. The cities are ancestrally Democratic strongholds, while the rural areas are much more conservative and have a tendency to swing Republican more often; as late as 2014, state legislators were split between both parties. The district has been Democratic, mirroring the state as a whole. However, West Virginia Democrats tend to be somewhat more conservative than their counterparts in the rest of the nation, the district has been swept up in the growing Republican trend in the state at the national level. No Democrat since Bill Clinton has carried the 1st District in presidential elections. George W. Bush carried the district both times in 2000 with 54% of the vote and 2004 with 58% of the vote. John McCain carried the district in 2008 with 56.77% of the vote while Barack Obama received 41.51%. The First District has always been anchored in Wheeling, as such has always included Hancock, Ohio and Wetzel counties–the five counties reckoned as the Northern Panhandle.
The original 1863 districting included Tyler, Doddridge, Ritchie, Wirt, Gilmer and Lewis counties. It was the successor of Virginia's 11th congressional district. In 1882, the counties of Tyler, Harrison, Gilmer and Braxton were added to the core counties. In 1902, the core counties were joined by Marion and Lewis counties. In the 1916 redistricting it included only Marion and Taylor; the district was unchanged in the 1954 redistrictings. In 1962, Calhoun, Gilmer, Lewis and Taylor joined the five core counties; the 1972 redistricting added Tyler and Woods and deleted Taylor. The 1982 redistricting added Taylor back to the district.1992 began the district as constituted, consisting of Barbour, Doddridge, Hancock, Marion, Mineral, Ohio, Preston, Taylor, Tyler and Wood counties. In 2002 Gilmer was added. For the election cycle that begins in 2012 the district was unchanged. West Virginia's congressional districts List of United States congressional districts Martis, Kenneth C.. The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress.
New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. Martis, Kenneth C.. The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
Tyler County, West Virginia
