Montgomery, West Virginia

City of Montgomery
—  City  —
Location of Montgomery, West Virginia
Coordinates: 38°10′48″N 81°19′36″W / 38.18°N 81.32667°W / 38.18; -81.32667Coordinates: 38°10′48″N 81°19′36″W / 38.18°N 81.32667°W / 38.18; -81.32667
Country	United States
State	West Virginia
Counties	Fayette, Kanawha
Government
– Mayor	Chris Martin
Area
– Total	1.6 sq mi (4.1 km2)
– Land	1.6 sq mi (4.1 km2)
– Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	636 ft (194 m)
Population (2000)
– Total	1,942
– Density	1,237.5/sq mi (477.8/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
– Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	25136
Area code(s)	304
FIPS code	54-55468[1]
GNIS feature ID	1555154[2]

Montgomery is a city in West Virginia, along the Kanawha River. Most of the city is in Fayette County, with the remainder in Kanawha County. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 1,942 (1,239 in Fayette County, 703 in Kanawha County).

Montgomery was incorporated April 1, 1891 and named for James C. Montgomery, one of the city's first settlers. It is the home of West Virginia University Institute of Technology, popularly called WVU Tech. The city is also home to Bridgemont Community College.

Trivia

The novel "Goodbye Miss 4th of July" written by Christopher Janus is a biographical story of his Greek family's struggles while growing up in Montgomery, WV. In 1988, a film version of "Goodbye Miss 4th of July" was produced by the Disney Channel.^[3]

Geography

Montgomery is located at 38°10′48″N 81°19′36″W / 38.18°N 81.32667°W / 38.18; -81.32667 (38.179918, -81.326722)^[4].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.6 square miles (4.1 km²), of which, 1.6 square miles (4.1 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (1.26%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 1,942 people, 725 households, and 326 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,237.5 people per square mile (477.6/km²). There were 869 housing units at an average density of 553.7 per square mile (213.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 76.47% White, 17.40% African American, 0.31% Native American, 3.76% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 0.46% from other races, and 1.49% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 0.62% of the population.

There were 725 households out of which 17.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.6% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 54.9% were non-families. 42.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.03 and the average family size was 2.80.

The age distribution, which is strongly influenced by the presence of WVU Tech, is: 13.2% under the age of 18, 33.0% from 18 to 24, 17.9% from 25 to 44, 17.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 107.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.3 males. The unusual sex distribution can also be explained by WVU Tech's presence. The college is primarily an engineering and science school, and engineering has traditionally been male-dominated.

The median income for a household in the city was $20,606, and the median income for a family was $32,000. Males had a median income of $27,794 versus $25,139 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,663. About 25.7% of families and 37.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 50.4% of those under age 18 and 13.7% of those age 65 or over.

Rail transportation

See also: Montgomery (Amtrak station)

Amtrak, the national passenger rail service, provides service to Montgomery from the Cardinal route. CSX transportation's Kanawha Subdivision also runs through Montgomery. (The amtrak runs on CSX trackage.)

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
3. ^ "Goodbye Miss 4th of July". Internet Movie Database, retrieved 2011-06-03.
4. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23.