Hamlin, West Virginia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hamlin is a town in Lincoln County, West Virginia, along the Mud River. The population was recorded as 1,119 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lincoln County^GR6.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 History
4 Famous residents
5 External links

[edit] Geography

Hamlin is located at 38°16′44″N, 82°6′25″W (38.278946, -82.106825).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.5 km² (0.6 mi²). 1.5 km² (0.6 mi²) of it is land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,119 people, 478 households, and 312 families residing in the town. The population density was 758.0/km² (1,949.7/mi²). There were 527 housing units at an average density of 357.0/km² (918.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.84% White, 0.09% African American, 0.27% Native American, and 0.80% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.54% of the population.

There were 478 households out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.9% were married couples living together, 17.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.7% were non-families. 32.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.77.

In the town the population was spread out with 21.0% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 21.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 80.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $22,143, and the median income for a family was $30,250. Males had a median income of $30,000 versus $17,059 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,728. About 20.3% of families and 22.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 38.0% of those under age 18 and 12.1% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] History

The act creating the county provided that the county seat was to be built on the lands of Charles Lattin, now Hamlin. The land was originally an old brier field, cleared by David Stephenson who had patented the land and built a cabin on it in 1802. The land changed hands several times before being sold to Charles Lattin in the early 1860s. The first public building constructed on the land was the county jail, in 1867. Hamlin was made the permanent county seat by the state legislature on February 26, 1869.

There is some debate concerning who the county seat, Hamlin, is named for. Some historians believe that the town was originally incorporated by the Virginia General Assembly in 1833 as Hamline, in honor of Bishop Leonidas L. Hamline of the Methodist Episcopal Church. A postmaster later dropped the final “e”, claiming that Bishop Hamline had added the "e" to the family name. Others argue that the town was named in honor of Hannibal Hamlin, President Lincoln's Vice-President during his first Administration. It is difficult to determine which claim is correct, largely because most of the county's early records were destroyed when the county courthouse burnt to the ground in 1909.