Editing Parsons, West Virginia

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name            = Parsons, West Virginia
| settlement_type          = [[City]]
| image_skyline            = First Street Parsons WV 2021a.jpg
| image_caption            = First Street in Parsons
| image_flag               = 
| image_seal               = Seal of Parsons, West Virginia.svg
| nickname                 = 
| motto                    = 
| image_map                = File:Tucker County West Virginia Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Parsons Highlighted.svg
| mapsize                  = 250px
| map_caption              = Location of Parsons in Tucker County, West Virginia.
| coordinates              = {{coord|39|5|45|N|79|40|46|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name         = United States
| subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1        = [[West Virginia]]
| subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in West Virginia|County]]
| subdivision_name2        = [[Tucker County, West Virginia|Tucker]]
| established_title        = <!-- Settled -->
| established_date         = 
| established_title1       = Incorporated (town)
| established_date1        = June 16, 1893
| established_title2       = Incorporated (city)
| established_date2        = February 18, 1907<ref name=wvencyc>[http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1814 West Virginia Encyclopedia: "Parsons."] West Virginia Humanities Council, Charleston, WV. Accessed 2013-07-28.</ref>
| founder                  = 
| named_for                = Ward Parsons
| government_type          = 
| government_footnotes     = 
| leader_title             = Mayor
| leader_name              = Bruce Kolsun
| unit_pref                = Imperial
| area_footnotes           = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2019">{{cite web|title=2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_place_54.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 7, 2020}}</ref>
| area_total_km2           = 3.11
| area_total_sq_mi         = 1.20
| area_land_km2            = 2.91
| area_land_sq_mi          = 1.12
| area_water_km2           = 0.20
| area_water_sq_mi         = 0.08
| elevation_footnotes      = 
| elevation_m              = 502
| elevation_ft             = 1647
| population_footnotes     = <ref name="USCensusEst2020-2021">{{cite web |title=City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2021 |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-cities-and-towns.html |website=Census.gov |publisher=US Census Bureau |access-date=3 July 2022}}</ref>
| population_total         = 1322
| population_as_of         = [[2020 United States Census|2020]]
| population_est           = 1307
| pop_est_as_of            = 2021
| population_density_km2   = 478.49
| population_density_sq_mi = 1239.75
| timezone                 = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
| utc_offset               = -5
| timezone_DST             = EDT
| utc_offset_DST           = -4
| postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
| postal_code              = 26287
| area_code                = [[Area code 304|304]]
| blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info               = 54-62284<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=2008-01-31 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref>
| blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info              = 1555312<ref name="GR3">{{cite web|url=http://geonames.usgs.gov|access-date=2008-01-31|title=US Board on Geographic Names|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|date=2007-10-25}}</ref>
| website                  = {{URL|https://cityofparsonswv.com/}}
| footnotes                = 
| pop_est_footnotes        = <ref name="USCensusEst2020-2021"/>
}}

'''Parsons''' is the largest city in and [[county seat]] of [[Tucker County, West Virginia]], United States.<ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |access-date=2011-06-07 |title=Find a County |publisher=National Association of Counties |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531210815/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |archive-date=May 31, 2011 }}</ref> The population was 1,322 at the [[2020 United States Census|2020 census]].<ref name="USCensusEst2020-2021"/> Parsons is located at the confluence of the [[Shavers Fork]] and the [[Black Fork (Cheat River)|Black Fork]], forming the head of the [[Cheat River]].

==History==
Parsons was named for Ward Parsons, described by one source as having once owned the land on which the town was built, and by another as having been an aged wilderness pioneer in the area.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015009099824;view=1up;seq=501;size=125 | title=West Virginia Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning, Including the Nomenclature of the Streams and Mountains | publisher=The Place Name Press | author=Kenny, Hamill | year=1945 | location=Piedmont, West Virginia | pages=475}}</ref>

The [[West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railway]] was built into Parsons in 1888. The railway caused the town to boom by the 1890s. The railway was later merged into the [[Western Maryland Railway]] and provided passenger train service until the 1950s.

In the early 1890s, a dispute known as the [[Tucker County Seat War]] took place between the people in the town of Parsons and that of [[St. George, West Virginia|St. George]] over the location of the county seat. Although nobody was killed in the "war," the situation came to a climax when a mob of armed men from Parsons marched on St. George and took the county records by force.<ref name="tuckercountycommission.com">{{Cite web | title=Tucker County History - The Tucker County Seat| url=http://www.tuckercountycommission.com/index.php/our-county| access-date=2014-04-11}}</ref><ref name="livingplaces.com">{{Cite web | title=Living Places - Tucker County Courthouse and Jail| url=http://www.livingplaces.com/WV/Tucker_County/Parsons_City/Tucker_County_Courthouse_and_Jail.html| access-date=2014-04-11}}</ref>

===1985 flood===
The [[1985 Election day floods|1985 Cheat River flood]] caused extensive damage in Parsons. Over 90 percent of the businesses and hundreds of homes were damaged or destroyed.<ref name=wvencyc/>  Twenty-five years later, in 2010, several empty storefronts lined the street up to the courthouse. Bars, restaurants, clothing stores and other businesses never returned to Parsons.  The floods caused an estimated $570 million in damages. More than 3,500 homes and 180 businesses were destroyed.<ref name=dwhite>West Virginia Gazette: "Remembering the '85 floods" (D. White) 4 Nov 2010</ref><ref name=dhcarp>[http://pubs.usgs.gov/wri/1988/4213/report.pdf "FLOODS IN WEST VIRGINIA, VIRGINIA, PENNSYLVANIA, AND MARYLAND, NOVEMBER 1985" (DH Carpenter) USGS WRI report 88-4213 Towson, MD, 1990]</ref>  The BF Long & Co general store had a "high water mark" more than 7'6" from the floorboards.<ref name=dwhite/>   Flood stage in the shallow riverbed was only 7 feet.<ref name=dwhite/>

===Historic sites===
Located at Parsons and listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] are the [[Tucker County Bank Building]],<ref name="nps">{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/listings/20100903.htm|title=National Register of Historic Places Listings|date=2010-09-03|work=Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 8/23/10 through 8/27/10|publisher=National Park Service}}</ref> [[Tucker County Courthouse and Jail]], and [[Western Maryland Depot (Parsons, West Virginia)|Western Maryland Depot]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2009a}}</ref>

==Geography==
The [[Cheat River]] is formed at Parsons by the confluence of the [[Shavers Fork]] and the [[Black Fork (Cheat River)|Black Fork]].<ref>{{cite book| title= West Virginia Atlas & Gazetteer |year=1997 |publisher= [[DeLorme]] |location=Yarmouth, Me. |isbn= 0-89933-246-3 |pages= 37}}</ref>

The city has a total area of {{convert|1.20|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, of which {{convert|1.11|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is land and {{convert|0.09|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is water.<ref name="Gazetteer files">{{cite web |title=US Gazetteer files 2010 |url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=2013-01-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112090031/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |archive-date=January 12, 2012 }}</ref>

===Climate===
According to the [[Köppen climate classification]] system, Parsons has a [[humid subtropical climate]], abbreviated ''Cfa'' on climate maps,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=768664&cityname=Parsons%2C+West+Virginia%2C+United+States+of+America&units=|title=Climate Summary for Parsons, West Virginia|website=Weatherbase}}</ref> although it closely borders on and resembles a [[humid continental climate]] (''Dfa'') especially in its snowfall total of {{convert|55.3|in|m|sigfig=2|disp=or}}. The climate is characterised by very warm and humid summers, chilly to freezing winters, and heavy precipitation year-round.

Parsons had {{convert|96.99|inches|mm|1|disp=or}} of precipitation in 2018, a state record.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/12/05/inches-rain-deluged-sperryville-virginia-setting-new-state-record/|title=In 2018, 94 inches of rain deluged Sperryville, Va., setting a state record|last=Livingston|first=Ian|date=2019-12-05|work=Washington Post|access-date=2019-12-08|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

{{weather box
| location = Parsons, West Virginia (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1899–present)
| single line = y
| width = auto
| Jan record high F = 80
| Feb record high F = 82
| Mar record high F = 88
| Apr record high F = 98
| May record high F = 95
| Jun record high F = 102
| Jul record high F = 102
| Aug record high F = 102
| Sep record high F = 100
| Oct record high F = 90
| Nov record high F = 82
| Dec record high F = 77
| year record high F = 102
| Jan high F = 39.4
| Feb high F = 43.0
| Mar high F = 51.7
| Apr high F = 64.3
| May high F = 72.8
| Jun high F = 79.5
| Jul high F = 83.0
| Aug high F = 81.9
| Sep high F = 76.1
| Oct high F = 65.2
| Nov high F = 53.3
| Dec high F = 43.3
| year high F = 62.8
| Jan mean F = 30.7
| Feb mean F = 33.5
| Mar mean F = 41.2
| Apr mean F = 51.9
| May mean F = 61.4
| Jun mean F = 68.9
| Jul mean F = 72.9
| Aug mean F = 71.9
| Sep mean F = 65.5
| Oct mean F = 54.1
| Nov mean F = 43.0
| Dec mean F = 35.0
| year mean F = 52.5
| Jan low F = 22.1
| Feb low F = 23.9
| Mar low F = 30.6
| Apr low F = 39.5
| May low F = 50.0
| Jun low F = 58.3
| Jul low F = 62.8
| Aug low F = 61.9
| Sep low F = 54.9
| Oct low F = 42.9
| Nov low F = 32.7
| Dec low F = 26.8
| year low F = 42.2
| Jan record low F = -28
| Feb record low F = -18
| Mar record low F = -8
| Apr record low F = 0
| May record low F = 21
| Jun record low F = 30
| Jul record low F = 36
| Aug record low F = 36
| Sep record low F = 28
| Oct record low F = 12
| Nov record low F = -7
| Dec record low F = -26
| year record low F = -28
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation inch = 3.81
| Feb precipitation inch = 3.88
| Mar precipitation inch = 4.45
| Apr precipitation inch = 4.64
| May precipitation inch = 5.79
| Jun precipitation inch = 5.95
| Jul precipitation inch = 5.79
| Aug precipitation inch = 4.75
| Sep precipitation inch = 4.04
| Oct precipitation inch = 3.94
| Nov precipitation inch = 3.60
| Dec precipitation inch = 4.37
| year precipitation inch = 55.01
| Jan snow inch = 16.8
| Feb snow inch = 15.0
| Mar snow inch = 9.2
| Apr snow inch = 1.6
| May snow inch = 0.0
| Jun snow inch = 0.0
| Jul snow inch = 0.0
| Aug snow inch = 0.0
| Sep snow inch = 0.0
| Oct snow inch = 0.1
| Nov snow inch = 3.3
| Dec snow inch = 9.3
| year snow inch = 55.3
| unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
| Jan precipitation days = 19.1
| Feb precipitation days = 16.0
| Mar precipitation days = 16.3
| Apr precipitation days = 14.9
| May precipitation days = 15.9
| Jun precipitation days = 14.1
| Jul precipitation days = 14.8
| Aug precipitation days = 13.0
| Sep precipitation days = 11.1
| Oct precipitation days = 11.4
| Nov precipitation days = 12.1
| Dec precipitation days = 17.3
| year precipitation days = 176.0
| unit snow days = 0.1 in
| Jan snow days = 8.6
| Feb snow days = 6.6
| Mar snow days = 3.8
| Apr snow days = 1.1
| May snow days = 0.0
| Jun snow days = 0.0
| Jul snow days = 0.0
| Aug snow days = 0.0
| Sep snow days = 0.0
| Oct snow days = 0.2
| Nov snow days = 1.8
| Dec snow days = 6.2
| year snow days = 28.3
|source 1 = [[NOAA]]<ref name=nws>{{cite web
| url = https://www.weather.gov/wrh/Climate?wfo=pbz
| title = NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data
| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
| access-date = June 13, 2021}}</ref><ref name=NCEI>{{cite web
| url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USC00466867&format=pdf
| title = Station: Parsons 3 SE, WV
| work = U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020)
| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
| access-date = June 13, 2021}}</ref>
}}

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|align=left
|1900= 618
|1910= 1780
|1920= 2001
|1930= 2012
|1940= 2077
|1950= 2009
|1960= 1798
|1970= 1784
|1980= 1937
|1990= 1453
|2000= 1463
|2010= 1485
|2020= 1322
|estyear=2021
|estimate=1307
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2020-2021"/>
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}
[[File:Parsons WV Municipal Building 2021.jpg|thumb|Charles W. "Bill" Rosenau Municipal Building in 2021]]
[[File:Shavers Fork Parsons WV 2021a.jpg|thumb|Former rail bridge over [[Shavers Fork]] in 2021, now used by the West Virginia [[Allegheny Trail]]]]

===2010 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name ="wwwcensusgov">{{cite web|title=U.S. Census website|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2013-01-24}}</ref> of 2010, there were 1,485 people, 628 households, and 419 families living in the city. The [[population density]] was {{convert|1337.8|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 730 housing units at an average density of {{convert|657.7|/sqmi|/km2|1}}. The racial makeup of the city was 98.8% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.1% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.1% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], and 1.1% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 0.8% of the population.

There were 628 households, of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.3% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 33.3% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.4% 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 2.87.

The median age in the city was 42.7 years. 22.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.4% were from 25 to 44; 26.4% were from 45 to 64; and 19.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.7% male and 51.3% female.

===2000 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 1,463 people, 642 households, and 426 families living in the city. The [[population density]] was 1,332.5 people per square mile (2.566/km<sup>2</sup>. There were 731 housing units at an average density of 665.8 per square mile (2.566/km<sup>2</sup>). The racial makeup of the city was 98.97% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.21% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.07% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.75% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 0.34% of the population.

There were 642 households, out of which 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.5% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% were non-families. 29.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.82.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.4% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,424, and the median income for a family was $31,645. Males had a median income of $22,331 versus $20,069 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $16,565. About 16.1% of families and 18.7% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 22.7% of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{TuckerCountyWV}}
{{West Virginia municipalities}}
{{West Virginia county seats}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Cities in Tucker County, West Virginia]]
[[Category:County seats in West Virginia]]
[[Category:Cities in West Virginia]]