Poca is a town in Putnam County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 1,013 at the 2000 census.
Geography
Poca is located at 38°27′41″N 81°48′56″W / 38.46139°N 81.81556°W / 38.46139; -81.81556 (38.461343, -81.815592)[3]. It is sited at the confluence of the Kanawha River and the Pocatalico River.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.9 km² (0.7 mi²). 1.5 km² (0.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.4 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (22.22%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 1,013 people, 404 households, and 311 families residing in the town. The population density was 698.4/km² (1,806.2/mi²). There were 430 housing units at an average density of 296.5/km² (766.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.24% White, 1.09% African American, 0.49% Native American, and 1.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.49% of the population.
There were 404 households out of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.9% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.0% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the town the population was spread out with 23.5% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 27.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $42,273, and the median income for a family was $49,500. Males had a median income of $39,306 versus $20,536 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,108. About 9.2% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.1% of those under age 18 and 2.5% of those age 65 or over.
Trivia
The town's high school is somewhat famous for having the mascot "Dots," e.g. Poca Dots. Poca High School recently was selected by ESPN as having the number one sports nickname in the country, Poca Dots.
Poca is also memorialized in a series of art stamps and related stories created by the late noted West Virginian artist, Ben Mahmoud. The series of stamps feature humorous fictional stories sensationalized around bits and pieces of actual history. The stamps can be viewed on www.benmahmoud.com [1].
References
- ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
External links
