Keyser, West Virginia
Keyser, West Virginia
The Irish Settlement (c.1752)
Paddy Town (c.1752-1855) Wind Lea (1855-c.1860) New Creek (c.1860-1874) | ||
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FIPS code 54-43492[4] | | |
GNIS feature ID | 2390605[2] | |
Website | Official website |
Keyser (
History
Keyser, the county seat of Mineral County, is located on the North Branch of the Potomac River at its juncture with New Creek in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. Throughout the centuries, the town went through a series of name changes, but was ultimately named after William Keyser, a Baltimore and Ohio Railroad official.[6]
The first local land grant was issued by Lord Fairfax to Christopher Beelor on March 20, 1752. The place was first called Paddy Town, for Patrick McCarty, an Irish immigrant who came to then-Hampshire County, Virginia, sometime after 1740. Eventually, a community developed, which was also known as "the Irish Settlement." Initially a peaceful village, Paddy Town came under repeated attacks by Native Americans after French and Indian forces defeated Major General Edward Braddock west of Paddy Town in 1755. Patrick McCarty's son, Edward McCarty, built an iron furnace and foundry and a salt well, near present-day Armstrong Street.
In the early 19th century, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (C&O Canal) was constructed alongside the Potomac, from Washington, DC, to Cumberland, Maryland. Originally planned to reach the Ohio River, the canal never reached Paddy Town; after being overtaken by the railroad, the canal stopped as far west as Cumberland. By 1844, Paddy Town fell into decline, which reversed when the town received an economic boost in 1852 when the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, in search of a path through the Alleghenies, arrived.[7] Sometime between 1855 and the start of the Civil War, the townsfolk renamed the village New Creek Station, after the creek that runs by it.
In 1861, the
Following the war, the state legislature sent the Hampshire County seat back to Romney and split this northern half away to form Mineral County in 1866, eventually settling on New Creek to become the county seat, with the courthouse completed in 1868. In 1874, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad was looking for a place to set up division headquarters. Thus, on November 16, 1874, the town of Keyser was incorporated, named after William Keyser then the first vice president of the railroad, living in nearby Garrett County, Maryland, and in charge of the headquarters location division. In addition to the headquarters, the renamed town of Keyser received repair shops and a roundhouse, lifting employment and economic activity.[10] Keyser played an early and prominent role in the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, attracting the attention of national news and the involvement of Federal authorities.
Keyser's growth accelerated in the 1880s, with the end of the
In the 20th century, Keyser's economy relied heavily on manufacturing and the railroad. While after WWII, Keyser experienced another boom in industry, the town was hit hard by the economic crises of the 1970s and early 1980s, resulting in numerous industrial closures. Although Keyser's fortunes were generally tied the national economy through the centuries, the town did not experience the 1990s economic boom in the same way as other parts of the country. Since losing much of its manufacturing base, the town found employment via health care, education, and service jobs. Potomac State College has continued to develop and is associated with West Virginia University.
The
Geography
According to the
Today, Keyser's western horizon is dotted with wind turbines. The NedPower Mount Storm Wind Farm began construction in 2006, installing 132 wind turbines atop the Allegheny Front, many of them overlooking Keyser.[14] Eventually, the wind farm reached 162 turbines, making it the largest east of the Mississippi.[15]
Keyser's oldest section is its downtown with the 1868 courthouse and two main commercial streets: Main and Armstrong. Armstrong runs parallel to the CSX (formerly B&O) railroad tracks, across which is a neighborhood known as the North End, sandwiched between the tracks and the river, where homes were constructed beginning in the late 1910s. Not far from downtown is Fort Hill, a small hill in the center of the city crowned with the campus of Potomac State College. The south end of Keyser features a relatively newer neighborhood, on the west side of U.S. Route 220, with most of the homes built in the 1960s and 1970s, known as Airport Addition, as it was once the site of a small airfield. An area sandwiched between Airport Addition and Potomac State College is known as "Radical Hill," which was the name of Thomas Carskadon's farm in the same location, so named by Carskadon because of his self-described radical opinions.[16] The most recent commercial development for the city has been south of the city, where shopping centers, a hotel, the new high school, and the new hospital have been constructed in recent years.
The main thoroughfares for the city are U.S. Route 220 and West Virginia Route 46. U.S. Route 220 eventually intersects with U.S. Route 50 south of Keyser. At its north end, 220 crosses the Potomac via the newly reconstructed Memorial Bridge, heading toward Cumberland, Maryland. West Virginia Route 46 enters the east side of Keyser from the direction of Fort Ashby, West Virginia, becoming Armstrong Street and then West Piedmont Street before continuing on to Piedmont, West Virginia.
Geology
The type locality of the Silurian/Devonian Keyser Formation, a limestone, is located in a quarry and roadcut east of the town.
Climate
Climate data for Keyser, West Virginia (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1996–present) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °F (°C) | 72 (22) |
82 (28) |
90 (32) |
96 (36) |
99 (37) |
103 (39) |
104 (40) |
103 (39) |
102 (39) |
96 (36) |
84 (29) |
80 (27) |
104 (40) |
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 39.5 (4.2) |
43.8 (6.6) |
53.0 (11.7) |
66.5 (19.2) |
75.5 (24.2) |
83.9 (28.8) |
88.6 (31.4) |
86.5 (30.3) |
79.7 (26.5) |
67.4 (19.7) |
54.3 (12.4) |
43.3 (6.3) |
65.2 (18.4) |
Daily mean °F (°C) | 30.1 (−1.1) |
32.8 (0.4) |
40.6 (4.8) |
51.8 (11.0) |
61.3 (16.3) |
69.9 (21.1) |
74.7 (23.7) |
72.8 (22.7) |
65.7 (18.7) |
53.8 (12.1) |
42.5 (5.8) |
34.1 (1.2) |
52.5 (11.4) |
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 20.7 (−6.3) |
21.9 (−5.6) |
28.2 (−2.1) |
37.2 (2.9) |
47.1 (8.4) |
56.0 (13.3) |
60.9 (16.1) |
59.1 (15.1) |
51.7 (10.9) |
40.3 (4.6) |
30.6 (−0.8) |
24.9 (−3.9) |
39.9 (4.4) |
Record low °F (°C) | −11 (−24) |
−7 (−22) |
−2 (−19) |
18 (−8) |
28 (−2) |
38 (3) |
45 (7) |
43 (6) |
31 (−1) |
20 (−7) |
11 (−12) |
−3 (−19) |
−11 (−24) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 2.77 (70) |
2.57 (65) |
3.79 (96) |
3.85 (98) |
4.54 (115) |
4.34 (110) |
3.83 (97) |
3.25 (83) |
3.57 (91) |
3.11 (79) |
2.74 (70) |
3.04 (77) |
41.40 (1,052) |
Average snowfall inches (cm) | 9.6 (24) |
10.3 (26) |
5.5 (14) |
0.2 (0.51) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.2 (0.51) |
1.1 (2.8) |
6.6 (17) |
33.5 (85) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 13.6 | 12.6 | 13.6 | 14.7 | 15.7 | 13.5 | 11.3 | 12.3 | 10.3 | 11.0 | 10.2 | 12.5 | 151.3 |
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 6.5 | 6.2 | 4.4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 4.1 | 22.8 |
Source: NOAA[17][18] |
Transportation
Keyser is served by two primary highways. The most prominent of these is U.S. Route 220. From Keyser, US 220 heads north, crosses the North Branch Potomac River into Allegany County, Maryland, and continues to Cumberland and points north. Heading south, US 220 heads through Moorefield and Petersburg before crossing into Virginia. The other primary highway serving Keyser is West Virginia Route 46. From Keyser, WV 46 heads west to Piedmont and Elk Garden while to the east, WV 46 extends to Fort Ashby.
Government
Keyser's government is headed by a
Two of Keyser's longest serving mayors were John C. Freeland (1894-1967) and Irving T. Athey (1922-1997). Except for a two-year break in the 1950s due to a reelection defeat, Freeland served as mayor from 1937 until 1957.[20] Athey was first elected in 1973 and had stints as mayor until health problems forced him to resign in 1990.[21]
Economy
As of 2016, approximately 11 percent of Keyser's workers were employed in manufacturing jobs in or around Keyser. Another 20 percent worked in health care or personal care and service. A little less than 20 percent worked in sales and food service. About 17 percent worked in a combination of education, training, administrative, and social service. The remainder of the workforce was spread across trucking, management, maintenance and repair, and other industries.[22] The poverty rate in Keyser was 27.4 percent. Its median household income was $28,378.[23]
Among the largest companies employing Keyser residents are:
- Northrop Grumman, which operates Allegany Ballistics Laboratory in nearby Rocket Center, West Virginia, producing rocket motors, warheads, and fuses for the military, with more than 500 employees.
- WVU Medicine Potomac Valley Hospital, with more than 200 employees.
- Wal-Mart Stores, with more than 200 employees.
- Potomac State College of West Virginia University, with more than 100 employees.
- Mineral County Board of Education, with more than 100 employees.
- Keyser Healthcare Center by CommuniCare, which operates a nursing home, with more than 100 employees.
- Automated Packaging Systems, which manufactures bag packaging systems, with more than 100 employees.
- West Virginia Department of Highways, with more than 100 employees.
- Information Manufacturing Inc., with more than 100 employees.
- Lumber and Things, which manufactures wooden pallets and skids, with more than 100 employees.[24]
Demographics
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1880 | 1,693 | — | |
1890 | 2,165 | 27.9% | |
1900 | 2,563 | 18.4% | |
1910 | 3,705 | 44.6% | |
1920 | 6,003 | 62.0% | |
1930 | 6,248 | 4.1% | |
1940 | 6,177 | −1.1% | |
1950 | 6,347 | 2.8% | |
1960 | 6,192 | −2.4% | |
1970 | 6,586 | 6.4% | |
1980 | 6,569 | −0.3% | |
1990 | 5,870 | −10.6% | |
2000 | 5,303 | −9.7% | |
2010 | 5,439 | 2.6% | |
2020 | 4,853 | −10.8% | |
2021 (est.) | 4,860 | [3] | 0.1% |
U.S. Decennial Census[25] |
2010 census
As of the
Of the 2,224 households, 26.8 percent had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.6 percent were married couples living together, 14.8 percent had a female householder with no husband present, 5.9 percent had a male householder with no wife present, and 43.7 percent were non-families. Of all households, 37.5 percent were made up of individuals, and 18.5 percent had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.88.
The median age in the city was 36.1 years. 19.4 percent of residents were under the age of 18; 19 percent were between the ages of 18 and 24; 19.8 percent were from 25 to 44; 24.7 percent were from 45 to 64; and 17.1 percent were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.2 percent male and 51.8 percent female.
2000 census
As of the
Out of 2,241 households, 24.8 percent had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.3 percent were married couples living together, 13.3 percent had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.5 percent were non-families. 36.4 percent of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.6 percent had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.85.
The population was spread out within the city: 20.0 percent under the age of 18, 13.5 percent from 18 to 24, 23.5 percent from 25 to 44, 22.0 percent from 45 to 64, and 21.0 percent who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $23,718, and the median income for a family was $32,708. Males had a median income of $29,034 versus $20,818 for females.
Education
Keyser is the home of the
Keyser is part of the Mineral County Schools district. The schools in Keyser include Keyser Primary School and Fountain Primary School, which cover Pre-Kindergarten through fifth grade; Keyser Middle School, which covers sixth through eighth grade; Keyser High School, which covers ninth through 12th grades; Mineral County Alternative School; and the Mineral County Technical Center, a vocational school.[27] The mascot of Keyser High is the "Golden Tornado."
Media
The city and surrounding county are served by a
Three radio stations broadcast in Keyser: WQZK 94.1 FM (Top 40), WKYW 102.9 FM (Folk), and WKLP 1390 AM (Sports).
Notable people
- William Armstrong (1782–1865) – United States representative from Virginia. Died in Keyser.[28]
- Woodrow Wilson Barr (1918–1942) – World War II soldier awarded the Silver Starposthumously; born in Keyser
- Ruth Ann Davis (1936–2009) – American educator and academic
- Henry Louis Gates Jr. (b. 1950) – Historian, author, academic; born in Keyser[29]
- Jonah Edward Kelley (1923–1945) – World War II soldier awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously; raised in Keyser
- John Kruk (b. 1961) – Major League Baseball player, ESPN baseball analyst; raised in Keyser
- Pete Ladygo (1928–2014) – American/Canadian football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Ottawa Rough Riders
- Frank Lovece – Journalist, author, comics writer; lived there in childhood[30]
- Catherine Marshall (1914–1983) – American author known for her inspirational works, notably the novel Christy; raised in Keyser
- Leo Mazzone (b. 1948) – Major League Baseball pitching coach; born in Keyser
- Walter E. Rollins (1906–1973), (also known as Jack Rollins) – Songwriter who wrote "Frosty the Snowman" and "Smokey Bear"
- Harley Orrin Staggers (1907–1991) – United States Congressman; born in Keyser
In popular culture
Keyser is mentioned in the BBC television mini series The State Within (Season 1, Episode 1).[31]
References
- ^ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
- ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Keyser, West Virginia
- ^ a b c d "City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2021". Census.gov. US Census Bureau. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
- ^ a b "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ Kenny, Hamill (1945). West Virginia Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning, Including the Nomenclature of the Streams and Mountains. Piedmont, WV: The Place Name Press. p. 349.
- ^ Industrial History of the Potomac's Quartette of Towns. Piedmont, WV: Industrial Publishing Company. 1906.
- ^ Swick-Cruse, Deborah "Keyser." e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia. 31 May 2013. Web. 04 April 2017. https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1198
- ^ "A Rebel Raid on New Creek, Va. - Destruction of the Place". Philadelphia Inquirer. November 30, 1864.
- ^ Wolfe, William W. (1974). History of Keyser, West Virginia, 1737-1913. Keystone Print, Inc. pp. 22–23.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files 2010". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on January 25, 2012. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
- ^ Kindle, E.M. (1912). Bulletin 508: The Onondaga Fauna of the Allegheny Region. Washington: United States Geological Survey. p. 38.
- ^ "Mount Storm Wind Project Behind Schedule". Cumberland Times-News. March 8, 2008.
- ^ "NedPower - About".
- ^ "Radical Hill Mansion".
- ^ "NOWData - NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
- ^ "Summary of Monthly Normals 1991-2020". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
- ^ "City of Keyser Government".
- ^ "John C. Freeland Service Set Today". Cumberland News. October 30, 1967.
- ^ "Keyser Mayor Resigns Because of Health". Cumberland Times-News. May 2, 1990.
- ^ "Data USA: Keyser, WV".
- ^ "Data USA: Keyser, WV".
- ^ "West Virginia Department of Commerce - Mineral County".
- ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
- ^ "Mineral County Schools".
- ^ William Armstrong at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on November 18, 2015.
- ISBN 978-1-4051-5107-8.
- ^ Abrams, Nancy (September 10, 1989). "Frank Lovece Makes a Living Writing About TV". The Dominion Post. Morgantown, West Virginia. Archived from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2013.
- ^ "The State Within - Episodes". BBC.
External links
- Geographic data related to Keyser, West Virginia at OpenStreetMap
- City of Keyser (website)
- Full Text of The McCarthy's in Early American History (concerning the McCarty's who settled Paddy Town)
- "Keyser a Strategic Stronghold during Civil War," Cumberland Times-News
- Keyser High School
- Full text of History of Keyser, West Virginia by William W. Wolfe (1974)