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Wayne County
County
Joseph S. Miller House at Kenova.
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of West Virginia
West Virginia's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 38°09′N 82°26′W / 38.15°N 82.43°W / 38.15; -82.43
Country	United States
State	West Virginia
Founded	January 18, 1842
Named for	Anthony Wayne
Seat	Wayne
Largest city	Kenova
Area
• Total	512 sq mi (1,330 km2)
• Land	506 sq mi (1,310 km2)
• Water	6.1 sq mi (16 km2)  1.2%
Population  (2020)
• Total	38,982
• Estimate  (2021)	38,498
• Density	76/sq mi (29/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	www.waynecountywv.org

Wayne County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,982.^[1] Its county seat is Wayne.^[2] The county was founded in 1842 and named for General "Mad" Anthony Wayne.^[3] Wayne County is part of the Huntington–Ashland, WV–KY–OH Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Wayne County, West Virginia was originally Wayne County, Virginia, which was created from part of Cabell County in 1842. The county was named for General "Mad" Anthony Wayne.

Settlement

Due to the constant threat of Indian attack, there were no European settlers in the area that became Wayne County until after 1794. The area was made safe for European settlers in 1794 through the defeat of the Shawnee at the Battle of Fallen Timbers by General "Mad" Anthony Wayne.

When the first permanent European settlers came to Wayne County around the year 1800, the area was part of Kanawha County. Most of the original pioneer settlers were self-sufficient farmers. They raised their own food, sheep for wool clothing, and made their buildings, furnishings and tools out of the surrounding forest. A few trading posts provided the manufactured goods the pioneers could not make for themselves. Later, grist mills at Wayne, Dickson, south of East Lynn and at Lavalette ground their corn into meal and their wheat into flour.

On June 20, 1863, at the height of the Civil War, Wayne was one of fifty Virginia counties that were admitted to the Union as the state of West Virginia. Later that year, the counties were divided into civil townships, 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.^[4] Wayne County was divided into five districts: Butler, Ceredo, Grant, Lincoln, and Union. A sixth district, Stonewall, was formed from part of Grant District in 1878. In the 1920s, Westmoreland was created as the county's seventh magisterial district. Grant District was discontinued between 1960 and 1970, followed by Lincoln in the 1980s.^[5]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 512 square miles (1,330 km²), of which 506 square miles (1,310 km²) is land and 6.1 square miles (16 km²) (1.2%) is water.^[6]

Rivers and lakes

• Ohio River
• Big Sandy River
• Twelvepole Creek
• Beech Fork Lake
• East Lynn Lake
• Tug Fork

Major highways

• Interstate 64
• I-73 (future)
• I-74 (future)
• U.S. Route 52
• U.S. Route 60
• West Virginia Route 37
• West Virginia Route 152
• West Virginia Route 75

Adjacent counties

• Lawrence County, Ohio (north)
• Cabell County (northeast)
• Lincoln County (east)
• Mingo County (southeast)
• Martin County, Kentucky (south)
• Lawrence County, Kentucky (west)
• Boyd County, Kentucky (northwest)

Wayne County is one of three counties (along with Apache County, Arizona and Cook County, Illinois) to border two counties of the same name, neither of which are in the same state as the county itself (Lawrence County, Ohio and Lawrence County, Kentucky).

Demographics

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 42,903 people, 17,239 households, and 12,653 families living in the county. The population density was 85 inhabitants per square mile (33/km²). There were 19,107 housing units at an average density of 38 per square mile (15/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.79% White, 0.13% Black or African American, 0.23% Native Americans, 0.20% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.08% from other races, and 0.56% from two or more races. 0.47% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 17,239 households, out of which 31.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.20% were married couples living together, 10.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.60% were non-families. 24.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.40% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 27.70% from 25 to 44, 25.30% from 45 to 64, and 14.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 95.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $27,352, and the median income for a family was $32,458. Males had a median income of $31,554 versus $20,720 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,906. About 16.20% of families and 19.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.50% of those under age 18 and 15.20% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 42,481 people, 17,347 households, and 12,128 families living in the county.^[12] The population density was 84.0 inhabitants per square mile (32.4/km²). There were 19,227 housing units at an average density of 38.0 per square mile (14.7/km²).^[13] The racial makeup of the county was 98.6% white, 0.3% American Indian, 0.2% black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.5% of the population.^[12] In terms of ancestry, 18.1% were Irish, 16.9% were English, 13.0% were American, and 11.8% were German.^[14]

Of the 17,347 households, 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.2% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.1% were non-families, and 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.92. The median age was 41.3 years.^[12]

The median income for a household in the county was $35,079 and the median income for a family was $44,886. Males had a median income of $40,233 versus $25,765 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,410. About 16.4% of families and 20.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.2% of those under age 18 and 15.0% of those age 65 or over.^[15]

Ancestry/Ethnicity

As of 2017 the largest self-identified ancestry groups in Wayne County were:

^[16]

Politics

Prior to 2000, Wayne County was strongly Democratic in presidential elections, with only four Republican candidates winning the county from 1872 to 1996, all as a part of a national landslide win for the party. Since 2000, the county has swung to becoming strongly Republican similar to the rest of West Virginia, so strongly that Donald Trump won the county in 2016 by a margin of over 50 percent.