Editing Rivesville, West Virginia

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Rivesville, West Virginia
|settlement_type          = [[Town]]
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    =

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|image_skyline            = 
|imagesize                = 
|image_caption            = 
|image_flag               = 
|image_seal               =

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|image_map                = File:Marion County West Virginia Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Rivesville Highlighted.svg
|mapsize                  = 260px
|map_caption              = Location of Rivesville in Marion County, West Virginia.

<!-- Location -->
|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        = [[Marion County, West Virginia|Marion]]

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|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = 
|leader_title             = 
|leader_name              = 
|leader_title1            = 
|leader_name1             = 
|established_title        = 
|established_date         =

<!-- Area -->
|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_magnitude           = 
|area_total_km2           = 1.54
|area_land_km2            = 1.36
|area_water_km2           = 0.18
|area_total_sq_mi         = 0.59
|area_land_sq_mi          = 0.52
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.07

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States Census|2020]]
|population_est           = 823
|pop_est_as_of            = 2021
|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=July 3, 2022}}</ref>
|population_total         = 830
|population_density_km2   = 664.98
|population_density_sq_mi = 1723.28

<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
|utc_offset               = -5
|timezone_DST             = EDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -4
|elevation_footnotes      = 
|elevation_m              = 264
|elevation_ft             = 866
|coordinates              = {{coord|39|31|49|N|80|7|9|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 26588

|area_code                = [[Area code 304|304]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 54-68908<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref>
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 1545784<ref name="GR3">{{cite web|url=http://geonames.usgs.gov|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=US Board on Geographic Names|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|date=October 25, 2007}}</ref>
|pop_est_footnotes = <ref name="USCensusEst2020-2021"/>
|unit_pref = Imperial
}}
'''Rivesville''' is a town and former [[coal town]]  in [[Marion County, West Virginia|Marion County]], [[West Virginia]], United States. The population was 830 at the [[2020 United States Census|2020 census]].<ref name="USCensusEst2020-2021"/>

==Geography==
Rivesville is located at {{coord|39|31|49|N|80|7|9|W|type:city}} (39.530276, -80.119063)<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> in the heart of the [[Fairmont, West Virginia|Fairmont]] [[coal field]]<ref>[http://www.coalcampusa.com/ Coalfields of the Appalachian Mountains]</ref> on the north-west bank of the [[Monongahela River]] around its confluence with [[Paw Paw Creek]].

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|0.59|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, of which {{convert|0.52|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is land and {{convert|0.07|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=January 24, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125061959/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |archive-date=January 25, 2012 }}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1860= 54
|1870= 63
|1880= 136
|1890= 165
|1900= 164
|1910= 190
|1920= 1061
|1930= 1700
|1940= 1552
|1950= 1343
|1960= 1191
|1970= 1108
|1980= 1327
|1990= 1064
|2000= 913
|2010= 934
|2020= 830
|estyear=2021
|estimate=823
|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>
}}

===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=January 24, 2013}}</ref> of 2010, there were 934 people, 402 households, and 261 families living in the town. The [[population density]] was {{convert|1796.2|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 430 housing units at an average density of {{convert|826.9|/sqmi|/km2|1}}. The racial makeup of the town was 98.7% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.6% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.5% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], and 0.1% from [[Race (U.S. Census)|other races]]. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 0.3% of the population.

There were 402 households, of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.3% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.1% were non-families. 29.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.83.

The median age in the town was 42.1 years. 21.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.3% were from 25 to 44; 30.1% were from 45 to 64; and 16.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 46.6% male and 53.4% female.

===2000 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 913 people, 400 households, and 268 families living in the town. The [[population density]] was 1,602.5 inhabitants per square mile (618.4/km<sup>2</sup>). There were 450 housing units at an average density of 789.8 per square mile (304.8/km<sup>2</sup>). The racial makeup of the town was 98.80% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.11% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.11% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.33% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], and 0.66% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 0.55% of the population.

There were 400 households, out of which 24.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.3% 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 2.80.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 19.1% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 27.8% from 45 to 64, and 20.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $25,700, and the median income for a family was $35,417. Males had a median income of $26,875 versus $19,063 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $14,085. About 16.4% of families and 19.9% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 32.9% of those under age 18 and 12.9% of those age 65 or over.

==History==

The area was populated by some of the earliest settlers to the area, with the safety of [[Prickett's Fort]] sitting directly across the [[Monongahela River]]. [[David Morgan (frontiersman)]] moved there in 1772. That's also the location where he saved his family from an attack by Indians in 1778, based on a fevered dream he had, while recuperating from an illness at the fort. The house still stands there in Rivesville.<ref>{{citation|last=Ruth|first=Frances D.|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Morgan-Gold House. State of West Virginia, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, Historic Preservation.}}</ref> Now known as the Morgan-Gold House, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.<ref>{{citation| title=National Register Information System, National Register of Historic Places|publisher= National Park Service |date=March 13, 2009}}</ref>

Rivesville was [[plat]]ted in 1837, and named after [[William Cabell Rives]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Kenny|first=Hamill|title=West Virginia Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning, Including the Nomenclature of the Streams and Mountains|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015009099824;view=1up;seq=559;size=125|year=1945|publisher=The Place Name Press|location=Piedmont, WV|page=533}}</ref>

In 1900, it was a very small town, population 164, growing to 190 in 1910. This was immediately before the development of large-scale coal mining in the area and the subsequent population growth.<ref>Ray V. Hennen, David B. Berger, I.C. White, [https://books.google.com/books?id=hf5LAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA661 West Virginia Geological Survey, Marion, Monongalia and Taylor Counties], Wheeling News Litho. Co., Wheeling, 1913, page 35.</ref>

In the early 20th century, Rivesville was at the junction between the Pawpaw branch of the [[B&O Railroad]] and the Buckhannon & Northern Railroad, a branch of the [[Pittsburgh and Lake Erie]] a predecessor that was incorporated into the [[Monongahela Railway]] formed in 1915.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wvrail.railfan.net/mga_past.html |title=The History of the Monongahela Coalfields - 1900 to the Present |access-date=October 17, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509143010/http://www.wvrail.railfan.net/mga_past.html |archive-date=May 9, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Rivesville was also served by the Fairmont-Clarksburg Division of the Monongahela-West Pen Railways, originally the Monongahela Power and Railway Company.  This electric [[interurban]] line ran from [[Fairmont, West Virginia|Fairmont]] through Rivesville to the Rivesville Power Station, just north of town.<ref>[http://wbhearn.com/Trolley/monwpr/WV/wvpage004.html Monongahela - West Pen] part of [http://wbhearn.com/Trolley/bills_trolley_home_page.html Bill's Trolley Pages]</ref>

==Institutions==

===Schools===
The Rivesville Elementary/Middle school, formerly Rivesville High School, is administered by the Marion County Schools.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20040712221206/http://marionboe.com/index.asp?process=schools List of schools] from the [http://www.marionboe.com/ Marion County Schools] web page</ref>  It has 37 teachers and has been affiliated with the West Virginia University Benedum Collaborative as a Professional Development School since 1997. Tyson Furgason is currently principal. Based on 2007 test scores, the school ranked close to average for the state of West Virginia.  In 2007, the school enrolled 338 students between kindergarten and grade 8.

===Power plant===
The Rivesville [[Thermal Power Station|Power Plant]] was built by Monongahela Power and Railway Company in 1919 and is currently operated by [[Allegheny Energy]].<ref>Huilan Li, [https://eidr.wvu.edu/files/4972/Li_Huilan_dissertation.pdf Economic Evaluation of Air Pollution Reduction of Phase I Power Plants in West Virginia: An Output Distance Function Approach]{{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, PhD thesis, West Virginia University, 2006. See Appendix D.</ref>  Unit 5, installed in 1944 had a power output of 48 megawatts; Unit 6, installed in 1951, was 94 megawatts.<ref name="Allegheny-Generating-Company-Mar-2001-10-K405">{{cite web|url=http://edgar.secdatabase.com/695/367301500037/filing-main.htm |title=Allegheny Generating Company, Form 10-K405, Filing Date Mar 30, 2001 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date =May 14, 2018}}</ref><ref>Allegheny Energy, [http://www.secinfo.com/d3Ym.547.htm Form 8-K SEC filing], October 31, 2000.</ref><ref>Monongahela Power Co., [http://www.secinfo.com/d221h.br.b.htm Form POS AMC SEC filing], April 4, 1994.</ref>  The plant used open loop cooling, drawing up to 69.8 million gallons per day of cooling water from the [[Monongahela River]].<ref>[http://www.geography.siu.edu/geography_info/research/documents/ThermoReport.pdf Water Use Benchmarks for Thermoelectric Power Generation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612154843/http://www.geography.siu.edu/geography_info/research/documents/ThermoReport.pdf |date=June 12, 2010 }}, Department of Geography and Environmental Resources, Southern Ill. U., August 15, 2006</ref>  The [[coal]] stockpile at the plant had a capacity of 50,000 tons, and coal was delivered by [[barge]].<ref>U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, [http://www.iwr.usace.army.mil/ndc/ports/pdf/ps/ps60.pdf Port Series No. 60, Pittsburgh, PA, and Ports on the Ohio, Monongahela, and Allegheny Rivers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090109105716/http://www.iwr.usace.army.mil/ndc/ports/pdf/ps/ps60.pdf |date=January 9, 2009 }}, 2004 Survey</ref>  Earlier, coal was delivered by [[Rail transport|rail]].<ref>Pennsylvania Trolley Museum, [http://www.pa-trolley.org/Roster/MVT3000.htm Monongahela Valley Traction Company Car #3000] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121220800/http://www.pa-trolley.org/Roster/MVT3000.htm |date=November 21, 2008 }}, October 17, 2005.</ref>  The plant was connected to the [[Grid (electricity)|grid]] by 138Kv transmission lines.<ref>Electric Industry Restructuring Group,[http://www.nrcce.wvu.edu/special/electricity/elecpaper5.htm Electric Industry Restructuring: Opportunities and Risks for West Virginia, Interim Report No. 5: Transmission Enhancement and Expansion] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080908012300/http://www.nrcce.wvu.edu/special/electricity/elecpaper5.htm |date=September 8, 2008 }}, West Virginia University, January 1998. Section 5.2.</ref>  In the mid 1970s, this was the first commercial power plant to use [[fluidized bed combustion]] to fire its boilers.<ref>[http://www.fossil.energy.gov/programs/powersystems/combustion/fluidizedbed_successes.html Fluidized Bed Technology -- An R&D Success Story], U.S. Department of Energy, October 24, 2006.</ref>  {{As of|2007}}, this power plant employed 33 people.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120708204513/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2007_Nov_15/ai_n27448494 Allegheny Energy's Harrison and Rivesville Power Stations Recertified as VPP Star Worksites] Allegheny Energy press release, November 15, 2007.</ref>  New environmental regulations forced the company to shut down the plant in 2012, along with two others elsewhere in the state.<ref>[https://www.firstenergycorp.com/content/fecorp/newsroom/news_releases/firstenergy_citingimpactofenvironmentalregulationswillretirethre.html FirstEnergy, Citing Impact of Environmental Regulations, Will Retire Three Coal-Fired Power Plants in West Virginia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222130208/https://www.firstenergycorp.com/content/fecorp/newsroom/news_releases/firstenergy_citingimpactofenvironmentalregulationswillretirethre.html |date=February 22, 2014 }}, FirstEnergy press release, February 8, 2012.</ref>

===Coal mining===
About the only area around Rivesville where the coal has not been mined out is directly under the older portion of the town and under the riverbed.  [[Consolidation Coal Company]] Mine No. 97 was in the [[Pittsburgh coal seam]] around 100 feet below the level of the riverbed.  This mine operated between 1922 and 1954, with a peak production of 670408 tons per year.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mine Data Tonnage Reports for Consolidation No. 97 |url=http://www.state.wv.us/got/mhst/coresults.cfm?company=Consolidation%20Coal%20Co. |publisher=West Virginia Office of Miners' Health Safety & Training |access-date=June 16, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927183139/http://www.state.wv.us/got/mhst/coresults.cfm?company=Consolidation%20Coal%20Co. |archive-date=September 27, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The coal seam itself is 6 to 8 feet thick.  The number 97 Hoist Shaft was directly west of the westernmost corner of the Power Plant, with the hoisting engines to the north across the tracks.  [[Consolidation Coal Company|Consol.]] Mine No. 24 was directly across the river, with its shaft in the company town of Montana Mines, and in 1943, plans were filed to connect these mines with an under-river crossing.<ref>[http://downloads.wvgs.wvnet.edu/minemaps/904/904913_01.tif Document No. 904913] West Virginia [http://www.wvgs.wvnet.edu/www/coal/cbmp/coalims.html Coal Bed Mapping Project]</ref>  In 1934, Consol. No. 97 employed 412 men, all of whom were [[United Mine Workers|UMWA]] members.  The daily wage ranged from $6.37 for loaders to $9.29 for cutters.<ref>[http://newdeal.feri.org/hopkins/hop09.htm letter from Henry W. Francis to the Federal Emergency Relief Administration] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303184344/http://newdeal.feri.org/hopkins/hop09.htm |date=March 3, 2016 }} dated November 25, 1934.</ref>

[[File:ParkerRunTipple.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The Parker Run Coal & Coke Co. Mine at Rivesville, circa 1913.]] 
Other mines in the area exploited the shallower Sewickley Coal Seam, largely above the river level to the north and east.  Between 1901 and 1913,<ref>Samuel B. Brown, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZDAQAAAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA343 Bulletin No. 1], West Virginia Geologic Survey, Acme Publishing Co., Morgantown, 1901, page 343</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Mine Data Tonnage Reports for Parker Run Coal & Coke |url=http://www.state.wv.us/got/mhst/coresults.cfm?company=Parker%20Run%20Coal%20%26%20Coke%20Co. |publisher=West Virginia Office of Miners' Health Safety & Training |access-date=June 16, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927183341/http://www.state.wv.us/got/mhst/coresults.cfm?company=Parker%20Run%20Coal%20&%20Coke%20Co. |archive-date=September 27, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> for example, the Parker Run Coal and Coke Company operated a mine just east of Rivesville, shipping coal by rail and barge.  In 1910, this mine employed 60 miners.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=xVYpAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA18#PRA2-PA18,M1 Annual Report of the Department of Mines for the Year Ending June 30, 1910], West Virginia Department of Mines, The News Mail Co., Charleston, 1911, page 18</ref>  In 1913, it employed 10 laborers and 25 miners to take 500 tons of coal a day.  The coal in this seam was over 6 feet thick, but higher in sulfur than the Pittsburgh seam.  Mines in the Sewickley seam were opened earlier and mined out earlier than the mines in the Pittsburgh Seam.<ref>Ray V. Hennen, David B. Berger, I.C. White, [https://books.google.com/books?id=hf5LAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA661 West Virginia Geological Survey, Marion, Monongalia and Taylor Counties], Wheeling News Litho. Co., Wheeling, 1913, pages 660-661.</ref>

In 1913, the Monongahela Valley Traction Company had a mine in the even shallower Waynesburg coal seam about a mile southwest of Rivesville near Dakota.  This coal seam was about 5 feet thick, including an intermediate shale bed one foot thick.<ref>Ray V. Hennen, David B. Berger, I.C. White, [https://books.google.com/books?id=hf5LAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA661 West Virginia Geological Survey, Marion, Monongalia and Taylor Counties], Wheeling News Litho. Co., Wheeling, 1913, page 242.</ref>  By 1921, Monongahela Traction had opened a second mine in the area near Baxter, about a mile up Paw Paw creek.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=aZxBAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA14&lpg=PA14 List of Coal Mines in West Virginia, July 1, 1921], West Virginia Geological Survey, page 14.</ref>  As of 1921, other mines listed as being in Rivesville included the Rivesville Coal Company's Hood Mine, the Winfield Coal Company's River Side Mine, and the Virginia & Pittsburgh Coal & Coke Co.'s Morgan mine.

== Folklore ==

=== The Ogua River Monster ===
On a summer night in 1983, a coal miner named John Edward White settled onto the riverbank to enjoy a relaxing night of fishing. The blackness of the water started to churn and a huge serpentine form rose from the depths. White stated that “a monstrous head, as big as a basketball, emerged mere yards away. Behing it, a powerful, writhing tall, longer than a pickup truck, whipped the surface to a froth.” This was a notorious encounter with the Ogua River Monster. The Ogua River Monster is one of America’s oldest and most intriguing river cryptid legends. Native tribes warned white settlers of the creatures ferocity. Some believe it to be a surviving relic of the dinosaur age, a gigantic alligator snapping turtle, or even a new species unknown to science. <ref>{{Cite web |title=The Ogua Monster: Terrifying Legend of the Monongahela River Cryptid |url=https://hangar1publishing.com/blogs/cryptids/ogua-monster?srsltid=AfmBOor__g29YJu3NDAq0ls9dxg6BA6h0IqHw3wUT_7Awuj2LPZJNG8g |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=Hangar1publishing |language=en}}</ref>

==Notable person==
* [[Harrison C. Summers]], [[World War II|WWII]] hero

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Marion County, West Virginia}}
{{West Virginia municipalities}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in Marion County, West Virginia]]
[[Category:Towns in West Virginia]]
[[Category:Coal towns in West Virginia]]
[[Category:West Virginia populated places on the Monongahela River]]