Putnam County, West Virginia

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Putnam County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, its population was 57,440.<ref name="QF">Template:Cite web</ref> Its county seat is Winfield, its largest incorporated city is Hurricane, and its largest community is the census-designated place of Teays Valley.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Putnam County is part of the Huntington–Ashland, WV-KY-OH metropolitan statistical area, across the Kanawha River from Charleston, West Virginia.

History

The Virginia General Assembly formed Putnam County on March 11, 1848, from parts of Cabell, Kanawha, and Mason Counties. It was named for Israel Putnam, who was a hero in the French and Indian War and a general in the American Revolutionary War. George Washington surveyed the area in 1770. Winfield, the county seat, had been founded in 1818, but was incorporated on February 21, 1868, and named to honor General Winfield Scott, a general during the Mexican American War and the early stage of the Civil War.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Slavery was a divisive issue in Putnam County before and during the Civil War. In the Virginia Secession Convention of 1861, Putnam County voters elected James W. Hoge to represent them, and he voted against secession on April 17, 1861, when the convention passed the secession ordinance. He returned to Richmond for the second session in June, though, and signed the ordinance.<ref>How Virginia Convention Delegates Voted on Secession, April 4 and April 17, 1861, and Whether They Signed a Copy of the Ordinance of Secession</ref> No one from Putnam County attended the Wheeling Convention, which ultimately led to the creation of the state of West Virginia in 1863.

Two minor battles were fought in Putnam County during the Civil War. On July 17, 1861, Confederate soldiers defeated a Union force at the Battle of Scary Creek, before withdrawing to Charleston. The Confederates included a cavalry troop raised by Colonel Albert Gallatin Jenkins, who until Virginia's secession from the Union, had represented the area in Congress. Jenkins was commissioned a brigadier general in 1862, but died of wounds received at the Battle of Cloyd's Mountain in May 1864. The second skirmish occurred on October 24, 1864, after West Virginia became a Union state. Confederate troops seized and sank a Union steamboat on the Kanawha River near Winfield, then attacked the courthouse, but the "Battle of Winfield" ended as a Union victory.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Putnam County's Civil War soldiers were about evenly split between Union and Confederate, with about four hundred on each side.<ref>Sullivan, Ken (ed.), The West Virginia Encyclopedia, The West Virginia Humanities Council, 2006, pg. 592, Template:ISBN</ref>

Putnam County was one of 50 Virginia counties admitted to the Union as the state of West Virginia on June 20, 1863. Later that year, its 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.<ref>Otis K. Rice & Stephen W. Brown, West Virginia: A History, 2nd ed., University Press of Kentucky, Lexington (1993), p. 240.</ref> Putnam County was initially divided into six townships: Buffalo, Curry, Grant, Hutton, Scott, and Union. These became magisterial districts in 1872, and the following year, two were renamed, with Grant becoming Teays Valley, while Hutton became Pocatalico. Except for minor adjustments, these districts were largely unchanged until the 1980s, when Buffalo and Union Districts were consolidated into Buffalo-Union District, and Teays Valley's name abbreviated to "Teays".<ref>United States Census Bureau, U.S. Decennial Census, Tables of Minor Civil Divisions in West Virginia, 1870–2010.</ref>

A railroad was rebuilt through Putnam County in 1875.

Geography

The Kanawha River flows north-northwestward through the center of Putnam County. The county terrain consists of wooded hills, carved with drainages.<ref>Putnam County WV Google Maps (accessed March 20, 2019)</ref> The terrain slopes to the north, with the highest point near its southwest corner at Template:Convert above mean sea level.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert (1.3%) are covered by water.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Major highways

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Adjacent counties

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Mason County - north
Jackson County - northeast
Kanawha County - east
Lincoln County - south
Cabell County - west

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Demographics

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2000 census

As of the census of 2000, 51,589 people, 20,028 households, and 15,281 families lived in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. The 21,621 housing units had an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 97.97% White, 0.56% Black or African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.58% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.13% from other races, and 0.59% from two or more races. About 0.51% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.

Od the 20,028 households, 35.4% had children under 18 living with them, 64.2% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.7% were not families. Around 20.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 2.96.

The county age distribution was 25.0% under 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.7 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 93.5 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $41,892, and for a family was $48,674. Males had a median income of $40,782 versus $23,532 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,471. About 7.1% of families and 9.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.3% of those under 18 and 7.6% of those 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, 55,486 people, 21,981 households, and 16,176 families resided in the county.<ref name="DC">Template:Cite web</ref> The population density was Template:Convert. The 23,438 housing units had an average density of Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The racial makeup of the county was 96.8% White, 0.9% Black or African American, 0.7% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.9% of the population.<ref name=DC/> In terms of ancestry, 13.2% were American, 12.9% were German, 11.3% were English, and 10.6% were Irish.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Of the 21,981 households, 33.6% had children under 18 living with them, 59.6% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 26.4% were not families, and 22.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.93. The median age was 40.9 years.<ref name=DC/>

The median income for a household in the county was $52,618 and for a family was $63,642. Males had a median income of $51,837 versus $31,198 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,857. About 8.5% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.6% of those under 18 and 6.5% of those 65 or over.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Politics

Notable people

Michael Barber, a former American football wide receiver, played high-school football at Winfield and college football at Marshall University. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005. Drafted in the fourth round (pick 112) by the San Francisco 49ers, he went on to play four seasons in the NFL. He was inducted into the West Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2020.
Frank Clayton Bowyer, born in Teays Valley, was an American businessman who served as mayor of Tampa, Florida, from June 1898 to June 1900. He was a Democrat.
Virginia Mae Brown-, born in Pliny, was a civil servant, government official, and lawyer. She was West Virginia's first female assistant attorney general. She was later the first female to hold the position of West Virginia's insurance commissioner. President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Brown a member of the Interstate Commerce Commission, the first female since its inception in 1887, and later promoted her to be its first female chair.
Samuel Simon Gordon, a native of Fraziers Bottom, West Virginia, was an American Negro League first baseman between 1908 and 1913.
Kathie Hess Crouse is an American politician and activist serving as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates from the 13th district, which includes part of Putnam County. Her family and she live in Buffalo.
Minnie Buckingham Harper, born in Winfield, was an American politician and housewife. In 1928, she became the first Black woman legislator in the United States.
Samantha Jane Atkeson Morgan, born in Buffalo (then Virginia), was a painter.
Brady Ralph Paxton, born in Bancroft, was a politician and a Democratic member of the West Virginia House of Delegates representing District 13 since his April 22, 1999, appointed to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Representative Gary Tillis.
Eric J. Tarr is a Republican member of the West Virginia Senate, representing the 4th district, which includes Putnam County, since January 9, 2019.