Wetzel County

administration
The Wetzel County Courthouse (left) in downtown New Martinsville, listed on the NRHP since 1988
US state :	West Virginia
Administrative headquarters :	New Martinsville
Address of the administrative headquarters:	County Courthouse P.O. Box 156 New Martinsville, WV 26155-0156
Foundation :	January 10, 1846
Made up from:	Tyler County
Area code :	001 304
Demographics
Residents :	16,583 (2010)
Population density :	17.8 inhabitants / km ²
geography
Total area :	936 km²
Water surface :	6 km²
map

Website : www.wetzelcounty.wv.gov

The Wetzel County is a county in the US state of West Virginia . At the 2010 census , the county had 16,583 people and a population density of 17.8 people per square kilometer. The county seat is New Martinsville .

geography

The county is located in northern West Virginia and borders Ohio to the west , the border being formed by the Ohio River . In the northeast, the border is Pennsylvania by the Mason - Dixon - line formed, the extension of the County of Northern Panhandle defines West Virginia.

Wetzel County covers an area of 936 square kilometers, of which six square kilometers are water.

The following neighboring counties border Wetzel County:

	Marshall County	Greene County, Pennsylvania
Monroe County (Ohio)		Monongalia County , Marion County
Tyler County	Doddridge County	Harrison County

history

Wetzel County was formed on January 10, 1846 from former parts of Tyler County. It was named after Lewis Wetzel (1763-1808), a border guard and Indian fighter of German descent.

Demographic data

Population development
Census	Residents	± in%
1850	4284	-
1860	6703	56.5%
1870	8595	28.2%
1880	13,896	61.7%
1890	16,841	21.2%
1900	22,880	35.9%
1910	23,855	4.3%
1920	23,069	-3.3%
1930	22,334	-3.2%
1940	22,342	0%
1950	20,154	-9.8%
1960	19,347	-4%
1970	20,314	5%
1980	21,874	7.7%
1990	19,258	-12%
2000	17,693	-8.1%
2010	16,583	-6.3%
Before 1900 1900–1990 2000 2010

The New Martinsville Bridge over the Ohio River

As of the 2010 census , Wetzel County had 16,583 people in 7,071 households. The population density was 17.8 inhabitants per square kilometer.

The racial the population was composed of 98.7 percent white, 0.1 percent African American, 0.1 percent Native American, 0.2 percent Asian and other ethnic groups; 0.6 percent were descended from two or more races. Regardless of ethnicity, 0.5 percent of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Statistically, 2.33 people lived in each of the 7,071 households.

20.9 percent of the population were under 18 years old, 59.6 percent were between 18 and 64 and 19.5 percent were 65 years or older. 50.9 percent of the population was female.

The median income for a household was 37,787 USD . The per capita income was $ 19,690. 18.7 percent of the population lived below the poverty line.