Wood County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the U.S. state of

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 84,296, making it West Virginia's fifth-most populous county. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

is Parkersburg. The county was formed in 1798 from the western part of Harrison County and named for James Wood, governor of Virginia from 1796 to 1799. Wood County is part of the Parkersburg-Vienna, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Wood County was formed on December 21, 1798, from portions of Harrison County. It was named for the then

Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022. Oath of office On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes th ...

(1796–99), James Wood, formerly a brigadier general in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. In 1861, Virginia seceded from the Union. The delegates of the 40 western counties who opposed secession formed their own government and seceded from the Confederate state of Virginia. West Virginia was granted statehood in 1863. Later that year, West Virginia's counties were divided into

civil township A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States that is subordinate to a county, most often in the northern and midwestern parts of the country. The term town is used in New England, New York, and Wisconsin to ref ...

s, with the intention of encouraging local government. This proved impractical in the heavily rural state, and in 1872 the townships were converted into magisterial districts. Wood County was divided into ten districts: Clay, Harris, Lubeck, Parkersburg, Slate, Steele, Tygart, Union, Walker, and Williams.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.8%) is water. Wood County's northern and western boundary is the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of ...

. The Little Kanawha River flows northwestward through the county to its mouth at the Ohio River in Parkersburg. Tributaries of the Little Kanawha River in Wood County include Worthington Creek, Tygart Creek, and Walker Creek.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

* Washington County, Ohio (north) * Pleasants County (northeast) * Ritchie County (east) * Wirt County (southeast) * Jackson County (south) *

Meigs County, Ohio Meigs County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,210. Its county seat is Pomeroy. The county is named for Return J. Meigs Jr., the fourth Governor of Ohio. Geography According ...

(southwest) * Athens County, Ohio (west)

National protected area

* Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 87,986 people, 36,275 households, and 24,884 families living in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 240 people per square mile (92/km²). There were 39,785 housing units at an average density of 108 per square mile (42/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.32%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 1.01%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.21% Native American, 0.51% Asian, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.14% from other races, and 0.77% from two or more races. 0.58% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race. There were 36,275 households, out of which 29.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.30% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 10.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.40% were non-families. 27.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.88. In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.00% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 27.90% from 25 to 44, 25.60% from 45 to 64, and 15.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 92.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.30 males. The median income for a household in the county was $33,285, and the median income for a family was $40,436. Males had a median income of $34,899 versus $22,109 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $18,073. About 10.60% of families and 13.90% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 20.50% of those under age 18 and 8.60% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...

, there were 86,956 people, 36,571 households, and 24,262 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 40,215 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.4% white, 1.1% black or African American, 0.5% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.9% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 22.3% were

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, 19.6% were

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

, 13.7% were

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

, and 13.6% were Irish. Of the 36,571 households, 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.1% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.7% were non-families, and 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.85. The median age was 42.2 years. The median income for a household in the county was $42,146 and the median income for a family was $52,058. Males had a median income of $42,497 versus $27,893 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,890. About 12.3% of families and 16.4% of the population were below the

, including 25.3% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Wood County was strongly Unionist during the Virginia Secession Convention‘How Virginia Convention Delegates Voted on Secession, April 4 and April 17, 1861, and Whether They Signed a Copy of the Ordinance of Secession’
/ref> and has been solidly Republican for most of the century and a half since. The only Democrats to win Wood County have been Samuel J. Tilden in 1876,

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

in 1912 and 1916, Franklin D. Roosevelt between 1932 and 1940, Harry S. Truman in 1948, and Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

Communities

Cities

* Parkersburg (county seat) *

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

* Williamstown

Town

* North Hills

Magisterial districts

* Clay * Harris * Lubeck * Parkersburg * Slate * Steele * Tygart * Union * Walker * Williams

Census-designated places

* Blennerhassett * Boaz * Lubeck * Mineralwells *

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

* Waverly

Unincorporated communities

* Belleville * Bonnivale * Cedar Grove *

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

* Eli * Dallison * Davisville * Deerwalk * Fort Neal * Kanawha * Mount Carmel *

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

* Ogden * Pettyville * Rockport * Slate *

Volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates ...

* Walker * Wells Subdivision

References

{{Coord, 39.21, -81.51, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-WV_source:UScensus1990 West Virginia counties on the Ohio River Counties of Appalachia