Marmet, West Virginia

{{Other uses|Marmet (surname)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}

{{Infobox settlement

|official_name = Town of Marmet

|settlement_type = Town

|nickname =

|image_skyline =

|imagesize =

|image_caption =

|image_flag =

|image_seal = Seal of Marmet, West Virginia.png

|image_map = File:Kanawha County West Virginia Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Marmet Highlighted.svg

|mapsize = 300px

|map_caption = Location of Marmet in Kanawha County, West Virginia.

|subdivision_type = Country

|subdivision_name = {{flag|United States}}

|subdivision_type1 = State

|subdivision_name1 = {{flag|West Virginia}}

|subdivision_type2 = County

|subdivision_name2 = Kanawha

|government_footnotes =

|government_type =

|leader_title = Mayor

|leader_name = David T. Fontalbert

|leader_title1 =

|leader_name1 =

|established_title =

|established_date =

|unit_pref = Imperial

|area_footnotes = {{cite web|title=2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_place_54.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 7, 2020}}

|area_magnitude =

|area_total_km2 = 3.65

|area_land_km2 = 3.30

|area_water_km2 = 0.35

|area_total_sq_mi = 1.41

|area_land_sq_mi = 1.27

|area_water_sq_mi = 0.14

|population_as_of = 2020

|population_est = 1473

|pop_est_as_of = 2021

|population_footnotes = {{cite web |title=City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2021 |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-cities-and-towns.html |website=Census.gov |publisher=US Census Bureau |access-date=3 July 2022}}

|population_total = 1501

|population_density_km2 = 414.13

|population_density_sq_mi = 1072.21

|timezone = Eastern (EST)

|utc_offset = -5

|timezone_DST = EDT

|utc_offset_DST = -4

|elevation_footnotes =

|elevation_m = 186

|elevation_ft = 610

|coordinates = {{coord|38|14|43|N|81|34|3|W|region:US_type:town|display=inline,title}}

|postal_code_type = ZIP codes

|postal_code = 25315, 25365

|area_code = 304 & 681

|blank_name = FIPS code

|blank_info = 54-51724{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=2008-01-31|title=U.S. Census website}}

|blank1_name = GNIS feature ID

|blank1_info = 1542771{{cite web|url=http://geonames.usgs.gov|access-date=2008-01-31|title=US Board on Geographic Names|publisher=United States Geological Survey|date=2007-10-25}}

|website = {{URL|https://townofmarmetwv.com}}

|footnotes =

|pop_est_footnotes =

}}

Marmet (pronounced mar-MET) is a town in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States, along the Kanawha River. The population was 1,501 at the 2020 census.

The community was re-named in 1900 after the local Marmet Coal Company, which had the name of its proprietors Edwin, Otto, and William Marmet.{{cite book|last=Kenny|first=Hamill|title=West Virginia Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning, Including the Nomenclature of the Streams and Mountains|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015009099824;view=1up;seq=431;size=125|year=1945|publisher=The Place Name Press|location=Piedmont, WV|page=403}} The town name was changed from Brownsville. The town name prior to 1829 was Elizaville that was founded in 1780 by Leonard Morris.{{cite web |last1=Explorer Magazine |first1=WV |title=Marmet, West Virginia |url=https://wvexplorer.com/communities/cities-towns/marmet-west-virginia/ |website=wvexplorer.com |publisher=WV Explorer Magazine |access-date=2 February 2022}}

Geography

Marmet is located at {{coord|38|14|43|N|81|34|3|W|type:town}} (38.245148, -81.567510).{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=2011-04-23|date=2011-02-12|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of {{convert|1.41|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, of which {{convert|1.27|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is land and {{convert|0.14|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is water.{{cite web|title=US Gazetteer files 2010|url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=2013-01-24|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125061959/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt|archive-date=2012-01-25}}

Demographics

{{US Census population

|1930= 1200

|1940= 1814

|1950= 2515

|1960= 2500

|1970= 2339

|1980= 2196

|1990= 1879

|2000= 1693

|2010= 1503

|2020= 1501

|estyear=2021

|estimate=1473

|estref=

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}

}}

=2010 census=

As of the census{{cite web|title=U.S. Census website|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=2013-01-24}} of 2010, there were 1,503 people, 616 households, and 397 families living in the town. The population density was {{convert|1183.5|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 700 housing units at an average density of {{convert|551.2|/sqmi|/km2|1}}. The racial makeup of the town was 96.5% White, 1.6% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.2% Asian, and 1.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.3% of the population.

There were 616 households, of which 26.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.2% were married couples living together, 15.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.6% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.83.

The median age in the town was 46.2 years. 18.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 20.6% were from 25 to 44; 28.7% were from 45 to 64; and 23.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 43.5% male and 56.5% female.

Battle of Blair Mountain

In August 1921, thousands of pro-union coal miners organized in Marmet and marched 60 miles to Mingo County through Boone County and then into Logan before entering into Mingo.{{cite news|title=Men Don't Know Why They Fight |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/465063097 |access-date=2 February 2022 |work=The West Virginian |agency=newspapers.com |issue=Friday Evening Copy |publisher=The West Virginian |date=2 September 1921 |ref=The West Virginian}} The aim was an attempt to free striking miners who had been arrested after the governor declared martial law. This confrontation between armed miners’ and the coal companies' army constituted the largest pitched battle in the history of the labor movement in the United States and became the largest insurrection on U.S. soil since the American Civil War. The battle only ended after President Harding called in the army to suppress the uprising. Once the military intervened, the miners laid down their weapons and the fighting ended.{{cite web |last1=Park Service |first1=National |title=Introduction to the West Virginia Mine Wars |url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/introduction-to-the-west-virginia-mine-wars.htm |website=National Park Service |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=2 February 2022}}

References