Mullens, West Virginia
Encyclopedia
Mullens is a city in Wyoming County
, West Virginia
. As of the 2000 census
, it had a population of 1,769.
Located in a valley along the Guyandotte River
within a mountainous region of southern West Virginia, the town was nearly destroyed by flash flooding in July 2001. While the town has attempted to redevelop with the aid of state and federal recovery money, many local businesses and residents have left the area permanently. Organizations like the Mullens-based Rural Appalachian Improvement League
are working to improve conditions across the region. Mullens is also the hometown of New York Knicks
coach Mike D'Antoni
.
of Wyoming County. It was named for A. J. Mullins, who owned the land upon which the town is built. The towns original name was spelled with an "i" but when A.J didn't dot his "i" on a paper it looked as though he signed an "e". An Act of the West Virginia Legislature
granting a charter to the City of Mullens was passed February 22, 1929.
The early growth of the Mullens community came with development of the lumber and coal mining industries. In the early 20th century, coal-mining manager and developer William Nelson Page of Ansted
helped open the Winding Gulf Coalfield
with plans for the Deepwater Railway
, a new short-line railroad. When Page ran into competitive collusion by the bigger railroads which would have wrecked his project, backed by his silent partner, wealthy industrialist Henry Huttleston Rogers
, the plan was expanded in a secretive and massive way to build a line all the way east to the port of Hampton Roads
.
Completed in 1909, the Virginian Railway
(VGN) established engine terminal and yard facilities near Mullens which employed hundreds of workers during the first half of the 20th century. The VGN was merged with the Norfolk and Western Railway
(N&W) in 1959, and both later became part of the Norfolk Southern Railway
(NS). A caboose museum in Mullens celebrates the history of the railroad in the region.
The Mullens Historic District
was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1993. The nearby Wyco Church
was listed in 2010.
and the Slab Fork
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 1.9 square miles (4.9 km²), all of it land.
of 2000, there were 1,769 people, 771 households, and 502 families residing in the city. The population density
was 927.5 people per square mile (357.6/km²). There were 904 housing units at an average density of 474.0 per square mile (182.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.03% White, 3.45% African American, 0.06% Native American, 0.51% Asian, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.17% of the population.
There were 771 households out of which 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.9% were married couples
living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.8% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.83.
In the city the population was spread out with 20.0% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 22.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 97.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,742, and the median income for a family was $37,438. Males had a median income of $32,197 versus $20,917 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $17,314. About 11.9% of families and 15.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.5% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.
Wyoming County, West Virginia
Wyoming County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 23,796. Its county seat is Pineville. Wyoming County was created in 1850 from Logan County and named for the Delaware Indian word meaning "large plains."-Geography:According to the U.S...
, 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...
. As of the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
, it had a population of 1,769.
Located in a valley along the Guyandotte River
Guyandotte River
The Guyandotte River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 166 mi long, in southwestern West Virginia in the United States. It was named after the French term for the Wendat Native Americans...
within a mountainous region of southern West Virginia, the town was nearly destroyed by flash flooding in July 2001. While the town has attempted to redevelop with the aid of state and federal recovery money, many local businesses and residents have left the area permanently. Organizations like the Mullens-based Rural Appalachian Improvement League
Rural Appalachian Improvement League
The Rural Appalachian Improvement League is a 501 non-profit corporation based in Mullens, West Virginia. Since 2001, when flooding devastated southern West Virginia, RAIL has worked to improve the quality of life for residents of the area...
are working to improve conditions across the region. Mullens is also the hometown of New York Knicks
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
coach Mike D'Antoni
Mike D'Antoni
Michael Andrew "Mike" D'Antoni is an Italian-American former basketball player and is currently the head coach of the NBA's New York Knicks. While head coach of the Phoenix Suns, he won NBA Coach of the Year honors for the 2004–05 NBA season after the Suns posted 33 more wins than the previous...
.
History
Mullens was incorporated as a town on September 17, 1912 and operated under a charter issued by the Circuit CourtCircuit court
Circuit court is the name of court systems in several common law jurisdictions.-History:King Henry II instituted the custom of having judges ride around the countryside each year to hear appeals, rather than forcing everyone to bring their appeals to London...
of Wyoming County. It was named for A. J. Mullins, who owned the land upon which the town is built. The towns original name was spelled with an "i" but when A.J didn't dot his "i" on a paper it looked as though he signed an "e". An Act of the West Virginia Legislature
West Virginia Legislature
The West Virginia Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of West Virginia. A bicameral legislative body, the Legislature is split between the upper Senate and the lower House of Delegates. It was established under Article VI of the West Virginia Constitution following the state's...
granting a charter to the City of Mullens was passed February 22, 1929.
The early growth of the Mullens community came with development of the lumber and coal mining industries. In the early 20th century, coal-mining manager and developer William Nelson Page of Ansted
Ansted, West Virginia
Ansted is a town in Fayette County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is situated on high bluffs along U.S. Highway 60 on a portion of the Midland Trail a National Scenic Byway near Hawk's Nest overlooking the New River far below....
helped open the Winding Gulf Coalfield
Winding Gulf Coalfield
The Winding Gulf Coalfield is located in western Raleigh County and eastern Wyoming County, in southern West Virginia. The Winding Gulf coalfield is named after Winding Gulf Creek, a tributary of the Guyandotte River...
with plans for the Deepwater Railway
Deepwater Railway
The Deepwater Railway was an intrastate short line railroad located in West Virginia in the United States which operated from 1898 to 1907.William N. Page, a civil engineer and entrepreneur, had begun a small logging railroad in Fayette County in 1896, sometimes called the Loup Creek and Deepwater...
, a new short-line railroad. When Page ran into competitive collusion by the bigger railroads which would have wrecked his project, backed by his silent partner, wealthy industrialist Henry Huttleston Rogers
Henry H. Rogers
Henry Huttleston Rogers was a United States capitalist, businessman, industrialist, financier, and philanthropist. He made his fortune in the oil refinery business, becoming a leader at Standard Oil....
, the plan was expanded in a secretive and massive way to build a line all the way east to the port of Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
.
Completed in 1909, the Virginian Railway
Virginian Railway
The Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads....
(VGN) established engine terminal and yard facilities near Mullens which employed hundreds of workers during the first half of the 20th century. The VGN was merged with the Norfolk and Western Railway
Norfolk and Western Railway
The Norfolk and Western Railway , a US class I railroad, was formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It had headquarters in Roanoke, Virginia for most of its 150 year existence....
(N&W) in 1959, and both later became part of the Norfolk Southern Railway
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...
(NS). A caboose museum in Mullens celebrates the history of the railroad in the region.
The Mullens Historic District
Mullens Historic District
Mullens Historic District is a national historic district located at Mullens, Wyoming County, West Virginia. It encompasses 95 contributing buildings and one contributing structure in the central business district of Mullens. It also includes surrounding residential areas...
was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1993. The nearby Wyco Church
Wyco Church
Wyco Church, also known as Wyco Community Church, Wyco Independent Church, Wyco Freewill Baptist Church, and Wyco Independent Baptist Church, is a historic Baptist church located near Mullens, Wyoming County, West Virginia. It was built in 1917, and is a rectangular frame building with a front...
was listed in 2010.
Geography
Mullens is located at 37°35′5"N 81°23′5"W (37.584678, -81.384736), at the confluence of the Guyandotte RiverGuyandotte River
The Guyandotte River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 166 mi long, in southwestern West Virginia in the United States. It was named after the French term for the Wendat Native Americans...
and the Slab Fork
Slab Fork
The Slab Fork is a tributary of the Guyandotte River, long, in southern West Virginia in the United States. Via the Guyandotte and Ohio rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of in a mainly rural area on the unglaciated portion of the Allegheny Plateau.The...
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The 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 1.9 square miles (4.9 km²), all of it land.
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 1,769 people, 771 households, and 502 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 927.5 people per square mile (357.6/km²). There were 904 housing units at an average density of 474.0 per square mile (182.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.03% White, 3.45% African American, 0.06% Native American, 0.51% Asian, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.17% of the population.
There were 771 households out of which 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.9% 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, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.8% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.83.
In the city the population was spread out with 20.0% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 22.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 97.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,742, and the median income for a family was $37,438. Males had a median income of $32,197 versus $20,917 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 $17,314. About 11.9% of families and 15.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.5% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.
Notable residents and natives
- Jerome Anderson, basketball player and coach
- Christy Martin, professional female boxer, was named the best woman boxer in the world by the World Boxing Council in 1996.
- Rick TolleyRick Tolley-External links:* *...
, Marshall head football coach, who lost his life on November 14, 1970 along with the entire football team, coaches and fans in a devastating plane crash. - Mike D'AntoniMike D'AntoniMichael Andrew "Mike" D'Antoni is an Italian-American former basketball player and is currently the head coach of the NBA's New York Knicks. While head coach of the Phoenix Suns, he won NBA Coach of the Year honors for the 2004–05 NBA season after the Suns posted 33 more wins than the previous...
(born May 8, 1951 in Mullens, West Virginia) is a former basketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player and is currently the head coach of the NBANational Basketball AssociationThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
's New York KnicksNew York KnicksThe New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
.