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Fairmont, West Virginia

Fairmont is a city in Marion County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 19,097 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Marion County. Established in 1820 as Middletown, then in Monongalia County, it was chartered by the Virginia General Assembly in 1843 as Fairmont, a contraction of "Fair Mountain". Fairmont is nicknamed "The Friendly City" and is also touted as "The Home of the Original Pepperoni Roll"

and the first Father's Day service.

Fairmont is located in the North-Central region of the state, along West Virginia's I-79 High Tech Corridor, about 18 miles southwest of Morgantown, and about 23 miles northeast of Clarksburg. Fairmont's National White Collar Crime Center provides nationwide support to law enforcement agencies involved in prevention, investigation, and prosecution of economic and high-tech crime. The NASA Independent Verification and Validation Facility, governed by the Goddard Space Flight Center, houses more than 150 full-time employees and more than 20 in-house partners and contractors.NASA IV&V Facility

As of June 2006, Fairmont city council is in the process (depending on votes) of consolidating Fairmont with the unincorporated communities of Marion County, to have a City-County government, the first to do so in West Virginia. This would make Fairmont the 3rd largest city in the state, just behind Charleston and Huntington.

Fairmont State University, established in 1865, is located in Fairmont. The former head of the art department of the school, Luella Mundel, was the subject of a documentary called American Inquisition by Helen Whitney. Mundel was the victim of blacklisting during the McCarthy era, and the documentary showed how the negative effects of that era reached even smalltown West Virginia. This documentary was the subject of a very famous case about the First Amendment.Floyd Abrams, Speaking Freely, published by Viking Press (2005), Page 153-58

Geography

Fairmont is located at (39.481253, -80.143453). The Tygart Valley River and the West Fork River join in Fairmont to form the Monongahela River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.2 square miles (21.2 km²), of which, 7.8 square miles (20.3 km²) of it is land and 0.4 square miles (0.9 km²) of it (4.40%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 19,097 people, 8,447 households, and 4,671 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,438.5 people per square mile (941.7/km²). There were 9,755 housing units at an average density of 1,245.6/sq mi (481.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.16% White, 7.26% African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.20% from other races, and 1.49% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.82% of the population.

There were 8,447 households out of which 21.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.2% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.7% were non-families. 36.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.83.

In the city the population was spread out with 18.4% under the age of 18, 14.9% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 87.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,628, and the median income for a family was $37,126. Males had a median income of $27,944 versus $20,401 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,062. About 12.6% of families and 20.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.0% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over.

City Council

1st District- John Dahlia (Deputy Mayor)

2nd District-Burley "Butch" Tennant

3rd District-Deborah Seifrit

4th District-Bill Burdick

5th District-Chuck Warner

6th District-De'Andrea Bussey

7th District-S. Scott Sears (Mayor)

8th District-Robin Smith

9th District-Matt Delligatti

Tourism

Pricketts Fort State Park is located in the northern part of Fairmont. A reconstruction of the original fort which hosts costumed reinactments of eighteenth century life as well as plays and music performances.

Valley Falls State Park is also located nearby to the east.

The Johnnie Johnson (musician) Blues & Jazz Festival is held annully in Fairmont, WV.

The Volcano Island Indoor Water Park Resort is currently under construction and will feature a hotel resort as well as many water rides and attractions. Times West Virginian Local Newspaper

Prominent natives

Frank Kendall Everest, Jr., The Fastest Man Alive

Johnnie Johnson, musician

John Paul Henderson, farmer, winner of 1976 Farm Family of the Year Award.

John Knowles, author

Luella Mundel, professor and McCarthyism victim

Mary Lou Retton, gymnast

Nick Saban, football coach

John Sandor, opera singer

Francis H. Pierpont, father of West Virginia

Julia Pierpont, founder of Decoration/Memorial Day

Robert Tinnell, Director, Writer, Producer

Harry T. Leeper, Co-Founder of the International Thespian Society

David Carpenter, 376th pick in the 2006 MLB Draft by the St.Louis Cardinals.

Hershel W. Williams, Medal of Honor recipient for the Battle of Iwo Jima

External links

City of Fairmont website

Times West Virginian newspaper

Main Street Fairmont

Fairmont State University

Fairmont Community Development Partnership

Fairmont/Morgantown Housing Authority

Pepperoni Roll History

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