Nitro, WV

 

Nitro, West Virginia
Location of Nitro, West Virginia
Coordinates: 38°24′55″N 81°49′52″W / 38.41528, -81.83111
Country	United States
State	West Virginia
Counties	Kanawha, Putnam
Area
- City	sq mi (km²)
- Land	sq mi ( km²)
- Water	sq mi ( km²)
Elevation	ft ( m)
Population (2000)
- City
- Density	/sq mi (/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	25143
Area code(s)	304
FIPS code	54-590682
GNIS feature ID	15552283

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.

City name origin

The name Nitro comes from nitroglycerine, an explosive liquid that is the basis for modern gunpowder and plastic explosives. The Nitro area was to be the US's ammunition production facility during WWI. 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. The chemical plants in the are were able to fullfill this function during WWII, but to a lesser scale.

Famous xpats

Famous people with ties to the town

• 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.
• Current Baltimore Orioles player J. R. House was a record-setting quarterback at Nitro High in the late 1990s.

Geography

Nitro is located at 38°24′55″N, 81°49′52″W (38.415281, -81.831249)¹.

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.

Demographics

As of the census² 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.

The age distribution was 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.

Education

The city's public school students do not all attend the same schools, because West Virginia school districts are divided strictly along county lines, without regard to city boundaries.

Kanawha County residents are served by the following schools in the city

• Nitro Elementary School (public)
• Nitro High School (public)

There is no public middle school in Nitro on either side of the county line, nor is there any public school within the Putnam County portion of the city. Middle school students in Kanawha County must bus to Andrew Jackson Middle School in Cross Lanes. Putnam County students must bus to Rock Branch Elementary, Poca Middle, and Poca High.

Envoronment

This colorful history of Nitro culminated in several Superfund-funded cleanups of the ensuing mess.

External links

Coordinates: 38.415281° N 81.831249° W

• Founding of Nitro

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