Huntington, West Virginia
| Huntington's | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname : The Jewel City, The River City | |||
 Huntington's Disease |
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| Location in West Virginia | |||
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| Basic data | |||
| Foundation : | 1785 | ||
| State : | United States | ||
| State : | West Virginia | ||
| Counties : |
Cabell County Wayne County |
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| Coordinates : | 38 ° 25 ′ N , 82 ° 26 ′ W | ||
| Time zone : | Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 ) | ||
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Inhabitants : - Metropolitan Area : |
48,113 (as of 2016) 359,588 (as of 2016) |
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| Population density : | 1,167.8 inhabitants per km 2 | ||
| Area : | 46.6 km 2 (approx. 18 mi 2 ) of which 41.2 km 2 (approx. 16 mi 2 ) is land |
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| Height : | 252 m | ||
| Postcodes : | 25701-25779 | ||
| Area code : | +1 304 | ||
| FIPS : | 54-39460 | ||
| GNIS ID : | 1540605 | ||
| Website : | www.cityofhuntington.com | ||
| Mayor : | Steve Williams (D) | ||
 City view from Marshall University |
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Huntington is the second largest city in the US state of West Virginia and the seat of Countyverwaltung ( county seat ) of Cabell County . The site was named after Collis P. Huntington , who founded the city in 1870 as the west end of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway , and is home to Marshall University and several museums including the Huntington Museum of Art . Huntington is connected to the neighboring city of Proctorville in the state of Ohio via the East End Bridge , which crosses the Ohio River .
The city reached a population of around 86,000 in the 1950s due to its economic growth through coal mining and companies in the chemical and steel industries . However, with the decline in the importance of coal as an energy source and the railroad as a means of transport, Huntington lost a significant part of its industrial base, which also caused the population to decline continuously since the early 1960s. At present, the population and work situation in the city is shaped by the remaining steel companies, in particular by the resident hospitals , which not only supply the city but also its rural surroundings, and the university.
The worst accident in the history of American college sports occurred near Huntington in 1970 when a plane carrying players from the Marshall University football team crashed. The events surrounding this disaster were the model for the McG film They Were Heroes with Matthew McConaughey and Robert Patrick . The shooting in 2006 took place in Huntington among other places.
In 2017, one in four HD residents was a drug addict. Over 10,000 people of the 49,000 inhabitants use heroin or other opioids .
Population development
| year | Residents |
|---|---|
| 1980 | 63,684 |
| 1990 | 54,844 |
| 2000 | 51,475 |
| 2005 | 49.198 |
| 2010 | 49,138 |
| 2016 | 48.113 |
sons and daughters of the town
| Year of birth | Surname | Year of death | job |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1917 | Curtis Bill Pepper | 2014 | Journalist and author |
| 1918 | Archer Edwin Reilly (Archer E. Reilly) | 2003 | Lawyer and politician |
| 1921 | Harold Franklin Hawkins (Hawkshaw Hawkins) | 1963 | Country singer |
| 1928 | Ernie Farrow | 1969 | Jazz bassist |
| 1928 | Morris Tanenbaum | Chemist and manager | |
| 1934 | Calf legge | 1963 | Jazz pianist |
| 1936 | Harold Everett Greer (Hal Greer) | 2018 | Basketball player |
| 1950 | Bradford Claude Dourif (Brad Dourif) | actor | |
| 1951 | John W. Rudnicki | Engineering scientist | |
| 1960 | Evan Hollin Jenkins (Evan Jenkins) | Politician | |
| 1971 | Thomas Harold Massie (Thomas Massie) | Politician | |
| 1979 | Joshua Denver Harto (Joshua Harto) | actor | |
| 1987 | Ovinton J'Anthony Mayo (OJ Mayo) | Basketball player | |
| 1987 | William Henry Walker (Bill Walker) | Basketball player | |
| Julia Keller | Writer, journalist and university lecturer |
