Wellsburg, West Virginia
Wellsburg is a city in Brooke County, West Virginia, ZIP code 26070. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 1990 it had a population of 3,385. The town was named for Alexander Wells, son-in-law of Charles Prather, builder of the first large flour warehouse in the east. The town was laid out in 1790, and its post office was opened on September 1 1870. It is the county seat of Brooke CountyTemplate:GR.
Geography
Wellsburg is located at 40°16′39″N 80°36′34″W / 40.27750°N 80.60944°WInvalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (40.277370, -80.609349)Template:GR, along the Ohio River.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.6 km² (0.9 mi²) of it is land and 1.2 km² (0.5 mi²) of it (33.09%) is water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 2,891 people, 1,361 households, and 815 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,200.2/km² (3,104.0/mi²). There were 1,493 housing units at an average density of 619.8/km² (1,603.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.68% White, 2.01% African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 0.03% from other races, and 1.07% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.24% of the population.
There were 1,361 households out of which 20.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.1% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.1% were non-families. 37.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.12 and the average family size was 2.78.
In the city the population was spread out with 17.9% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 23.3% from 25 to 44, 27.6% from 45 to 64, and 24.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 82.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,298, and the median income for a family was $36,750. Males had a median income of $29,808 versus $18,707 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,498. About 11.4% of families and 14.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.5% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.
Famous Wellsburgers
- Glenn Ashby Davis-Olympic hurdler.
- Patrick Gass - Member of the Lewis and Clark expedition, though not born in Wellsburg, later settled here.
- Joe Pettini - Major League Baseball player, and coach for the St. Louis Cardinals