Kenova, West Virginia
Encyclopedia
Wayne County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 42,903 people, 17,239 households, and 12,653 families residing in the county. The population density was 85 people per square mile . There were 19,107 housing units at an average density of 38 per square mile...
, West Virginia
West Virginia
West 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...
, at the confluence
Confluence (geography)
In geography, a confluence is the meeting of two or more bodies of water. It usually refers to the point where two streams flow together, merging into a single stream...
of the Ohio
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
and Big Sandy Rivers. The name of the town comes from its unique position where the borders of Kentucky, Ohio, and (West) Virginia meet. Founded in 1859 but not incorporated until 1894, the town's early history and development was centered around the railroad industry. It is home to a major Norfolk Southern Ohio River Bridge. CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...
's former Chesapeake and Ohio
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P...
Kanawha Subdivision travels through the town as well.
The population of Kenova was 3,485 at the 2000 census. Kenova is a part of the Huntington
Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia, along the Ohio River. Most of the city is in Cabell County, for which it is the county seat. A small portion of the city, mainly the neighborhood of Westmoreland, is in Wayne County. Its population was 49,138 at...
-Ashland
Ashland, Kentucky
Ashland, formerly known as Poage Settlement, is a city in Boyd County, Kentucky, United States, nestled along the banks of the Ohio River. The population was 21,981 at the 2000 census. Ashland is a part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of the 2000 census, the...
, WV
West Virginia
West 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...
-KY
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
-OH
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 288,649.
The city is also near the site of the Southern Airways Flight 932 aviation disaster. In 1970, a plane carrying the Marshall University
Marshall University
Marshall University is a coeducational public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States founded in 1837, and named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States....
football team crashed on a hillside on approach to the Tri-State Airport
Tri-State Airport
Tri-State Airport , also known as Milton J. Ferguson Field, is a public-use airport in Wayne County, West Virginia, United States. The airport is located three nautical miles south of the central business district of Huntington, West Virginia, near the cities of Ceredo and Kenova...
, killing all on board. A movie about the tragedy, We Are Marshall
We Are Marshall
We Are Marshall is a 2006 American drama film directed by Joseph McGinty Nichol about the aftermath of the 1970 plane crash that killed 37 football players on the Marshall University Thundering Herd football team as well as five coaches, two athletic trainers, the athletic director, 25 boosters and...
, was released in 2006.
Education
Since the closing of Ceredo-Kenova and Buffalo-Wayne High Schools in 1998, Kenova Elementary is the lone public education facility within Kenova city limits. The school has been awarded multiple national blue ribbons in academic achievement. Buffalo Elementary and Buffalo Middle schools are also located near Kenova, but just outside city limits. The former Ceredo-Kenova High School, locally known as "C-K," boasted a great number of athletic state championships, including 12 in football and one in cheerleading. Buffalo can credit championships in boys' and girls' basketball and in football to their accomplishments. In 1998, Ceredo-Kenova and Buffalo-Wayne High Schools were closed and consolidated with Huntington, West Virginia based Vinson High School to form Spring Valley High School.Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A 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 3,485 people, 1,594 households, and 996 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 2,887.9 people per square mile (1,112.0/km²). There were 1,767 housing units at an average density of 1,464.3 per square mile (563.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 99.23% White, 0.23% African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 0.03% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race 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 0.29% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.20% of the population.
There were 1,594 households out of which 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.3% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage 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, 14.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.5% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.77.
In the city the population was spread out with 20.5% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 20.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 83.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $23,342, and the median income for a family was $29,688. Males had a median income of $27,656 versus $22,500 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per 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 $16,485. About 14.5% of families and 18.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.4% of those under age 18 and 12.6% of those age 65 or over.
Dreamland Pool
Dreamland Pool, first opened in 1926, was once the largest swimming pool in the United States east of the Mississippi RiverMississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
, measuring 250 feet by 125 feet. The original construction included a three story pavilion that ran the length of the pool. The top floor of the pavilion included a dance floor, where many notable Big Bands played though the 1930s and 1940s and attracted big names such as Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
, Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, and Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
. A fire in the 1972 destroyed the pavilion, but the rest of the facility survived. The pool was conveyed to the City of Kenova in 1973. Presently, the Kenova Parks & Recreation Board oversees the operation and management of the facility. About the size of a football field, Dreamland sports two cement floats equidistant from each other in the middle of the pool to allow swimmers a place to rest. Dreamland Pool was recently renovated in 2008.
The Pumpkin House
The 1891 Victorian home located at 748 Beech Street is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places and was once visited by President Grover Cleveland. In recent years it has become known as The Pumpkin House, because of the more than 3000 hand-carved Jack-o-Lanterns which owner Ric Griffith, the town's mayor and pharmacist, adorn it with each Halloween season. The Pumpkin House has received national media attention and has been featured on segments of NBC's The Today Show, the Ellen DeGeneres Show, and many other media outlets. Pumpkin house owner Ric Griffith is also longtime owner of the Griffith and Feil Drug Store, an old time drug store with an authentic early 20th century soda fountain which he has totally restored. His father, longtime Kenova businessman and resident Dick Griffith, worked in the pharmacy on a semi-retirement basis for many years until he was in his early 90s. He also sponsored a tennis tournament which bears his name in nearby Huntington.Notable natives
- Michael W. SmithMichael W. SmithMichael Whitaker Smith is a Billboard top ten Billboard Hot 100 recording artist and Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. He is one of the best-selling and most influential artists in Contemporary Christian music. Smith also has achieved a considerable amount of...
- musician, pastor, actor - Bobbie Joe LongBobbie Joe LongBobby Joe Long , also known as Bobbie Joe Long, Robert Joe Long and Robert Joseph Long, is an American serial killer, on death row in the state of Florida. Long abducted, sexually assaulted, and murdered at least 10 women in the Tampa Bay Area during an eight month period in 1984...
— convicted serial killer and serial rapist - Don Robinson - Major League baseball pitcher
- Jeff BaldwinJeff BaldwinJeffrey Allen Baldwin is a former Major League Baseball player. Baldwin played in seven games for the Houston Astros in the 1990 season. He had no hits in eight at-bats, in seven games. He also had one walk....
- Major League baseball player
External links
- City of Kenova - official site