Monroe County, West Virginia
Monroe County is a
county located in the
U.S. state of
West Virginia. As of
2000, the population is 14,583. Its
county seat is
Union6. Monroe County was created from
Greenbrier County in
1799 and named for
James Monroe, fifth
President of the
United States.
Monroe is the home county of
Andrew S. Rowan, of
Spanish-American War fame, who is immortalized in
Elbert Hubbard's classic
A Message to Garcia.
The county was also the site of the 1928 discovery of the 34.48 carat (6.896 g)
Jones Diamond by Grover C. Jones and his son, William "Punch" Jones.
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,227
km² (474
mi²). 1,226 km² (473 mi²) of it is land and 1 km² (0 mi²) of it (0.06%) is water.
Adjacent Counties
*
Greenbrier County (north)
*
Alleghany County, Virginia (northeast)
*
Craig County, Virginia (east)
*
Giles County, Virginia (south)
*
Mercer County (southwest)
*
Summers County (west)
As of the
census2 of 2000, there were 14,583 people, 5,447 households, and 3,883 families residing in the county. The
population density was 12/km² (31/mi²). There were 7,267 housing units at an average density of 6/km² (15/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.67%
White, 5.98%
Black or
African American, 0.23%
Native American, 0.16%
Asian, 0.01%
Pacific Islander, 0.03% from
other races, and 0.92% from two or more races. 0.49% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race.
There were 5,447 households out of which 29.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.80% were
married couples living together, 7.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.70% were non-families. 25.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.88.
In the county, the population was spread out with 20.10% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 30.30% from 25 to 44, 26.10% from 45 to 64, and 15.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 79.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.80 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $27,575, and the median income for a family was $35,299. Males had a median income of $25,643 versus $22,104 for females. The
per capita income for the county was $17,435. About 12.60% of families and 16.20% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 21.30% of those under age 18 and 12.30% of those age 65 or over.
Incorporated towns & cities
*
Alderson (partly)
*
Peterstown*
UnionUnincorporated communities
