Welch, West Virginia

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Welch, West Virginia
settlement_type = City
nickname =
motto =

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image_

mapsize = 250x200px
map_caption = Location of Welch, West Virginia


mapsize1 =
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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = West Virginia
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = McDowell

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

unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 8.5
area_land_km2 = 8.5
area_water_km2 = 0.0
area_total_sq_mi = 3.3
area_land_sq_mi = 3.3
area_water_sq_mi = 0.0

population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_total = 2683
population_density_km2 = 317.0
population_density_sq_mi = 821.1

timezone = Eastern (EST)
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 403
elevation_ft = 1322
latd = 37 |latm = 26 |lats = 14 |latNS = N
longd = 81 |longm = 34 |longs = 44 |longEW = W

postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 24801
area_code = 304
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 54-85228GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 1555936GR|3
website =
footnotes =

Welch is a city in McDowell County, West Virginia, USA. The population was 2,683 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of McDowell CountyGR|6.

History

Welch was incorporated in 1894 and named after Isaiah A. Welch, a captain in the Confederate Army.

Welch was made the county seat of McDowell County in an election by county citizens in 1892 [http://www.polsci.wvu.edu/wv/McDowell/mcdhistory.html] even before Welch was incorporated as a city. The previous county seat was in Perryville (now English, WV) near present day Coalwood. Results of the election were contested so to avoid violence county records were secretly moved from Perryville to Welch at night in 2 wagons by James A. Strother and Trigg Tabor.

On March 2, 1921 the Welch City Council met to discuss impeachment of then Mayor J. H. Whitt. Whitt showed up at the meeting and disrupted the proceedings. The Welch City Council then asked the McDowell Co. Sheriff's Dept. to investigate Whitt. Later that same day, Mayor Whitt shot and killed McDowell County Deputy Sheriff William Johnson Tabor who was investigating the matter. Mayor Whitt was arrested and charged with murder but won acquittal at his trial (allegedly based on perjured testamony). Whitt left the area for parts unknown on September 27, 1921.

On August 1, 1921 detectives from the Baldwin-Felts agency killed Matewan sheriff Sid Hatfield as well as Ed Chambers at the McDowell County Courthouse located in Welch. [http://www.matewan.com/History/battle2.htm]

It was once a prosperous city during the coal mine boom of the early 20th century. Once the boom ended, the city fell on hard times.

When presidential candidate John F. Kennedy visited Welch by train in 1960, he saw a city that was seriously decaying and had a very high poverty rate caused by the declining coal mining industry. It was his visit here that was believed to be the basis of the aid brought to the Appalachian region by the Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson administrations. During a speech in Canton, Ohio on September 27, 1960, he stated "McDowell County mines more coal than it ever has in its history, probably more coal than any county in the United States and yet there are more people getting surplus food packages in McDowell County than any county in the United States. The reason is that machines are doing the jobs of men, and we have not been able to find jobs for those men." [ The American Presidency Project http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=74231 ] The first recipients of food stamps were the Chloe and Alderson Muncy family of Welch. The family, which included fifteen children, received $95 worth of stamps from Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman on May 29, 1961 as a crowd of reporters watched.

In 2006, the city made national headlines. It was alleged that Police Chief Robert K. Bowman stopped CPR from being conducted on Claude Green Jr during a heart attack. Bowman recognized Green as a member of the local gay community, and insisted that he was HIV positive and should not receive CPR. Green later died at a local hospital, and was shown to not be HIV positive. The American Civil Liberties Union has a pending lawsuit against the city and Bowman. Subsequent information from the ACLU indicates that the lawsuit was settled out of court and the settlement sealed.

Firsts

Welch is the location of the first memorial building erected in the United States to the memory of the veterans of World War I. It was dedicated on May 30, 1923.

In 1928, Welch resident Minnie Buckingham Harper became the first black woman legislator in the United States. Harper was appointed by the Governor to the West Virginia House of Delegates to fill the vacancy caused by the death of her husband.

Welch also built the first municipally owned parking building in the United States, which was opened September 1, 1941. It accommodated 232 cars and showed a profit its first year in operation.

Geography

Welch is located at coor dms|37|26|14|N|81|34|44|W|city (37.437323, -81.579002)GR|1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.3 square miles (8.5 km²), all of it land.

Periodical flooding of the Elkhorn and Tug Fork rivers plagued future prosperity of the city. Most notably, the record flooding in 2001 and 2002 nearly destroyed Welch altogether. Flood reduction projects to prevent further destruction in the future are presently in progress.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 2,683 people, 1,195 households, and 714 families residing in the city. The population density was 821.1 people per square mile (316.8/km²). There were 1,453 housing units at an average density of 444.7/sq mi (171.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 79.20% White, 19.27% African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.34% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.04% of the population.

There were 1,195 households out of which 22.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.2% were married couples living together, 17.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.2% were non-families. 37.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.12 and the average family size was 2.76.

In the city the population was spread out with 19.3% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 26.7% from 45 to 64, and 22.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 81.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $19,795, and the median income for a family was $30,833. Males had a median income of $30,104 versus $23,320 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,308. About 23.0% of families and 28.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 45.9% of those under age 18 and 16.7% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

* [http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-03-02-cpr-suit_x.htm USAToday.com Story on Pending Lawsuit against the City and Bowman]
* [http://boe.mcdo.k12.wv.us/mountview/ Mount View High School]
* [http://boe.mcdo.k12.wv.us/MViewmiddle/ Mount View Middle School]
* [http://boe.mcdo.k12.wv.us/welchelem/ Welch Elementary School]
* [http://maroonwave.tripod.com/home.html Welch High School Alumni]
* [http://mountviewalumni.webs.com/ Mount View High School Alumni]