Editing Mingo County, West Virginia (section)

==History==
Mingo County is West Virginia's newest county, formed by an act of the [[West Virginia Legislature|state legislature]] in 1895 from parts of [[Logan County, West Virginia|Logan County]]. The county was named for the [[Mingo]] Native Americans.<ref name="WV Culture and History"/>

At the time of its creation, Mingo County was divided into [[minor civil division|magisterial districts]], which the [[United States Census Bureau]] classifies as a type of non-functional subdivision serving purely administrative purposes.<ref name="Census Bureau MCD">[[United States Census Bureau]], [[United States Census|U.S. Decennial Census]], Tables of Minor Civil Divisions in West Virginia, 1870–2010.</ref> After West Virginia's establishment in 1863, its counties were initially divided into [[civil township]]s, with the intent to encourage 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>

Mingo County's five original districts were Hardee, Harvey, Lee, Magnolia, and Stafford. As West Virginia's only county established after 1871, Mingo is unique in never having been divided into townships, but Hardee, Lee, and Magnolia districts were formerly districts in Logan County, and Hardee and Magnolia were townships until 1872.<ref name="Census Bureau MCD"/>

A sixth district, Warfield, was created from part of Harvey District in 1906, followed by the formation of Williamson District from part of Lee in 1908; Williamson District was coextensive with the City of Williamson. In the 1920s, Warfield District was renamed Kermit, after its chief town. An eighth district, Tug River, was formed from part of Lee District in 1947.<ref name="Census Bureau MCD"/> Mingo County was redistricted in 2005, at which time Hardee and Tug River Districts were consolidated to form Tug Hardee, and Harvey and Kermit were consolidated to form Kermit Harvey.<ref>[[United States Geological Survey]], [[Geographic Names Information System]].</ref>

The attempt to unionize coal miners in the county in the 1920s led to the [[Battle of Blair Mountain]] in neighboring Logan County.

Politically, Mingo County strongly opposed former President [[Barack Obama]]. In 2008, Obama received only 8% of the vote in the [[2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries|Democratic primary]], one of his worst performances nationwide. In [[2012 West Virginia Democratic presidential primary|2012]], [[Keith Russell Judd]], a convicted felon who was the only other candidate on the ballot, received more Mingo County primary votes than Obama.<ref>Mathesian, Charles. [http://www.politico.com/blogs/charlie-mahtesian/2012/05/how-the-felon-won-122930.html How the felon won]. ''[[Politico]]''. Retrieved May 9, 2012.</ref>

In 2014 Mingo County native Jeremy T. K. Farley published ''The Ghosts of Mingo County'', based on the real-life story of Timmy Barker, a history of what Farley called "the bloodiest county in America." The book met with mixed reviews; some residents said it portrayed the county as too lawless, while others believed the book told the county's history accurately.<ref>Wytheville Enterprise [http://www.swvatoday.com/news/wytheville/article_94a531ea-ba6e-11e3-a37a-0017a43b2370.html Wythe County official pens history of coalfields struggle].</ref>

In 2016 Mingo County was "one of the places in America most touched by [[opioid epidemic|opioids]]."<ref name="snyder266">{{cite book|last1=Snyder|first1=Timothy|author-link=Timothy Snyder|title=[[The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America]]|date=2018|publisher=The Bodley Head|location=London, U.K.|isbn=978-1-847-92526-8|page=266|quote=Mingo County, West Virginia, was one of the places in America most touched by opioids. A town in Mingo County with a population of 3,200 was shipped about two million opioid pills per year.}}</ref>

In 2023, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced funding for a clean ammonia production facility to be placed in Mingo County, known as the Adams Fork Energy clean ammonia project.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 4, 2023 |title=Manchin Announces Multi-Billion Dollar Clean Ammonia Manufacturing Investment in Mingo County, WV |url=https://www.energy.senate.gov/2023/4/manchin-announces-multi-billion-dollar-clean-ammonia-manufacturing-investment-in-mingo-county-wv |access-date=March 20, 2024 |website=U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources |language=en}}</ref> It will be the second-largest ammonia facility in the nation, producing 2 million pounds of ammonia per year.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 16, 2024 |title=Virtual public hearing planned to discuss proposed ammonia facility |url=https://www.wboy.com/news/west-virginia/virtual-public-hearing-planned-to-discuss-proposed-ammonia-facility/ |access-date=March 20, 2024 |website=WBOY.com |language=en-US}}</ref>