Braxton County, West Virginia

Infobox U.S. County
county = Braxton County
state = West Virginia




map size = 200
founded = 1836
seat = Sutton | area_total_sq_mi =516
area_water_sq_mi =3
area percentage = 0.52%
census yr = 2000
pop = 14702
density_km2 =11
web = www.braxtonwv.org
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Braxton County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of West Virginia. By the 2000 census its population reached 14,702. Braxton County was formed in 1836 from parts of Lewis, Kanawha, and Nicholas Counties and named for Carter Braxton, a Virginia statesman and signer of the Declaration of Independence. The county seat is Sutton. The center of population of West Virginia is located in Braxton County, in the town of Gassaway [http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cenpop/statecenters.txt] .

Important salt works were formerly located at Bulltown and here, in 1772, Captain Bull and his family and friendly Delaware Indians were massacred by frontiersman.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 516 square miles (1,337 km²), of which, 513 square miles (1,330 km²) of it is land and 3 square miles (7 km²) of it (0.52%) is water.

Major highways

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Adjacent counties

*Lewis County (northeast)
*Webster County (southeast)
*Nicholas County (south)
*Clay County (southwest)
*Calhoun County (west)
*Gilmer County (northwest)

Demographics

In 1950, 18,082 people lived in Braxton County.

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 14,702 people, 5,771 households, and 4,097 families residing in the county. The population density was 29 people per square mile (11/km²). There were 7,374 housing units at an average density of 14 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.02% White, 0.69% Black or African American, 0.35% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.08% from other races, and 0.71% from two or more races. 0.44% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 5,771 households out of which 30.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.30% were married couples living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.00% were non-families. 25.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the county, the population was spread out with 22.80% under the age of 18, 7.50% from 18 to 24, 28.10% from 25 to 44, 25.80% from 45 to 64, and 15.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 102.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $24,412, and the median income for a family was $29,133. Males had a median income of $27,560 versus $17,778 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,349. About 17.90% of families and 22.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.90% of those under age 18 and 13.70% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Incorporated cities and towns

*Town of Burnsville
*Town of Flatwoods
*Town of Gassaway
*Town of Sutton

Unincorporated communities

References