Weston is a city in
Lewis CountyAs of the census of 2000, there were 16,919 people, 6,946 households, and 4,806 families residing in the county. The population density was 44 people per square mile . There were 7,944 housing units at an average density of 21 per square mile...
,
West VirginiaWest Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 4,317 at the 2000 census. It is the
county seatA county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of
Lewis CountyAs of the census of 2000, there were 16,919 people, 6,946 households, and 4,806 families residing in the county. The population density was 44 people per square mile . There were 7,944 housing units at an average density of 21 per square mile...
, and home to the West Virginia Museum of American Glass.
History
Weston was founded in 1818 as Preston; the name was changed to Fleshersville soon after, and then to Weston in 1819. The city was
incorporatedA municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. Municipal incorporation occurs when such municipalities become self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which...
in 1913.
Weston is the site of the former
Weston State HospitalThe Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, subsequently the Armand Auclerc Weston State Hospital, was a Kirkbride psychiatric hospital that operated from 1864 until 1994 by the government of the U.S. state of West Virginia, in the city of Weston. The hospital was bought by Joe Jordan in 2007, and partly...
, a
psychiatric hospitalPsychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...
and
National Historic LandmarkA National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
which has been mostly vacant since its closure in 1994 upon its replacement by the nearby William R. Sharpe Jr. Hospital.
Jackson's MillJackson's Mill was a grist mill in West Virginia . The center of the Jackson estate stood in the peninsula formed by the confluence of Freeman's Creek and the West Fork River...
, a childhood home of
Stonewall Jacksonຄຽשת״ׇׂׂׂׂ֣|birth_place= Clarksburg, Virginia |death_place=Guinea Station, Virginia|placeofburial=Stonewall Jackson Memorial CemeteryLexington, Virginia|placeofburial_label= Place of burial|image=...
, is approximately four miles (6 km) north of Weston; it has been operated as a
4-H4-H in the United States is a youth organization administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the United States Department of Agriculture , with the mission of "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development." The name represents...
facility since the 1920s and is also the site of conference center operated by the
West Virginia UniversityWest Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...
ExtensionAgricultural extension was once known as the application of scientific research and new knowledge to agricultural practices through farmer education...
Service. It is listed on the
National Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
as the
Jackson's Mill State 4-H Camp Historic DistrictJackson's Mill State 4-H Camp Historic District, also known as West Virginia University Jackson's Mill Center for Lifelong Learning, is a historic 4-H camp and national historic district near Weston, Lewis County, West Virginia. The district includes 23 contributing buildings, 4 contributing sites,...
.
Weston has two national
historic districtsIn the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
: the
Weston Downtown Historic DistrictWeston Downtown Historic District is a national historic district located at Weston, Lewis County, West Virginia. The district includes 58 contributing buildings in the central business district of Weston. Most of the buildings were built between 1875 and 1920, with the earliest dating to about...
and
Weston Downtown Residential Historic DistrictWeston Downtown Residential Historic District is a national historic district located at Weston, Lewis County, West Virginia. The district includes 193 contributing buildings and 3 contributing structures in a primarily residential district. The dwellings are generally two-story and rest on stone...
. Other buildings on the National Register of Historic Places are the
Jonathan M. Bennett HouseJonathan M. Bennett House, also known as Louis Bennett Public Library, is a historic home located at Weston, Lewis County, West Virginia. It was built in 1874-1875, and is a 17 room mansion in the High Victorian Italianate style. It features a 4 1/2 story entrance tower with a mansard roof...
and
Weston Colored SchoolWeston Colored School, also known as the Central West Virginia Genealogical & Historical Library and Museum and Frontier School, is a historic one-room school building located at Weston, Lewis County, West Virginia. It was built in 1882, and is a single-story rubbed red brick building on a...
.
Geography
Weston is located at 39°2′31"N 80°28′12"W (39.041857, -80.469929), along the
West Fork RiverThe West Fork River is a principal tributary of the Monongahela River, 103 miles long, in north-central West Virginia in the United States...
at its confluence with
Stonecoal CreekStonecoal Creek is a tributary of the West Fork River, long, in north-central West Virginia in the United States. Via the West Fork, Monongahela and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of on the unglaciated portion of the Allegheny Plateau...
.
According to the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 1.7 square miles (4.4 km²), all of it land.
The city is crossed by Interstate 79,
U.S. Route 19U.S. Route 19 in West Virginia runs through West Virginia from the Virginia state line in Bluefield, WV to the Pennsylvania state line near Mount Morris, PA.-Route:...
, U.S. Route 33 and U.S. Route 119.
Demographics
As of the
censusA census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 4,317 people, 1,942 households, and 1,172 families residing in the city. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 2,533.5 inhabitants per square mile (980.5/km²). There were 2,222 housing units at an average density of 1,304.0 per square mile (504.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.24% White, 0.19% African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.19% from
other racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.46% of the population.
There were 1,942 households out of which 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.4% were
married couplesMarriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.6% were non-families. 34.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.84.
In the city the population was spread out with 20.3% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 83.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $26,690, and the median income for a family was $33,783. Males had a median income of $27,988 versus $17,335 for females. The
per capita incomePer capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $14,089. About 15.1% of families and 18.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.8% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.
Notable residents
- William Thomas Bland
William Thomas Bland was a U.S. Representative from Missouri, grandson of John G. Jackson and cousin of James M...
, congressman
- Andrew Edmiston, Jr.
Andrew Edmiston, Jr was a Democratic politician who served as a United States Representative from West Virginia. He was born in Weston in Lewis County, West Virginia on November 13, 1892. He served in the Seventy-third through Seventy-seventh Congresses...
, congressman
- John William Hamilton
John William Hamilton was an American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, elected in 1900. He was also the Chancellor of American University from 1916 until 1922...
, bishop
- Buddy Hayes
Theodore Harmon "Buddy" Hayes was a big band musician who was a member of the Lawrence Welk orchestra. His instruments were the bass and the tuba....
, musician
- Rush D. Holt, Jr.
Rush Dew Holt, Jr. is the U.S. Representative for . He is a member of the Democratic Party. He is currently the only Quaker in Congress.-Early life and education :Rush D. Holt was born to Rush D...
, congressman
- Lewis Maxwell
Lewis Maxwell was a U.S. Representative from Virginia.Born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, Maxwell moved with his mother to Virginia about 1800.He completed a preparatory course.He studied law....
, congressman
- Alexander Scott Withers
Alexander Scott Withers was the author of Chronicles of Border Warfare , a history of the early white settlement of western Virginia and consequent conflicts with American Indians.-Biography:Withers was a son of Enoch K...
, author
- Fred Wyant
Frederick Mount "Fred" Wyant, Jr. is a former American football quarterback who went on to serve as an American football official in the National Football League for 27 years with 19 of those years as a referee...
, football player
External links