Nitro, West Virginia

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Nitro is a city in West Virginia, along the Kanawha River. Most of the city lies in Kanawha County, with the remainder in Putnam County. The population was 6,824 at the 2000 census.

Nitro was incorporated in 1932 by Circuit Court. Its name was selected by the United States government because of the establishment there during World War I of a large federal plant for the manufacture of explosives. This colorful history of Nitro culminated in several Superfund-funded cleanups of the ensuing mess.

Major League Baseball player Lew Burdette was born in Nitro in 1926. Singer Kathy Mattea was raised in nearby Cross Lanes and graduated from Nitro High School in the Kanawha County portion of the city. Nitro's current mayor is Rusty Casto. It is also home to high school football record breaker and current AAA Houston Astro prospect J.R. House.

[edit] Geography

Nitro is located at 38°24′55″N, 81°49′52″W (38.415281, -81.831249)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.6 km² (4.1 mi²). 9.7 km² (3.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.9 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (8.09%) is water.

Nitro was highly industralized, and today is sight of several EPA Superfund sights. Dioxin is reportedly found in many homes, and the city has a higher than average cancer rate.

The Mothman creature was sighted in Nitro in 1967 by several of the town's residents. Today, UFOs are frequently sighted around Nitro and nearby Poca, and locals believe that the Mothman may be linked to these sightings.

In 1952, the UFO that was pioleted by the Braxton County Monster was reported in local press to fly over Nitro. The city holds a yearly yardsale, where residents across the town participate, each summer to commemorate this event.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 6,824 people, 3,015 households, and 1,935 families residing in the city. The population density was 702.6/km² (1,821.2/mi²). There were 3,217 housing units at an average density of 331.2/km² (858.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.64% White, 1.63% African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.40% from other races, and 0.84% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.54% of the population.

There were 3,015 households out of which 23.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.3% were married couples living together, 12.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.8% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.80.

In the city the population was spread out with 20.1% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 26.1% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,389, and the median income for a family was $41,367. Males had a median income of $30,086 versus $21,932 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,453. About 7.3% of families and 10.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.5% of those under age 18 and 14.0% of those age 65 or over.