Ronceverte, West Virginia
Encyclopedia
Ronceverte is a city in Greenbrier County
, West Virginia
, on the Greenbrier River
. The population was 1,557 at the 2000 census.
of the area, Cecil Clay, president of the St. Lawrence Boom and Manufacturing Company. According to Clay, he saw the name on an old Jesuit map from Fort Duquesne
. His argument was the name "looked well in print and was euphonious in sound."
As the owner of the town's site, Clay argued he had the right to decide on the name, but the residents could change the name to whatever they wanted once Ronceverte was fully established. That day has never happened. Since April 1, 1882, the town has been Ronceverte.
Ronceverte is French
for "Bramble Green" which is the Gallic
equivalent for "Greenbrier
". The Greenbriers are a common vine
(Smilax rotundifolia) and a humorous myth has it the surveyors
were trapped in a thicket of the painful vines when they discovered the Greenbrier River
. French surveyors were likely the first cartographers for the area, although much of the details have been lost to history.
The river is still inseparable from the culture of the town itself, considered one of the earliest significant riverport
s in the Greenbrier River
watershed
.http://www.greenbrierriver.org
The Hokes Mill Covered Bridge
was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1981. The Ronceverte Historic District
was listed in 2005.
to Hinton
, and to Clifton Forge, Virginia
. Ronceverte was part of the "Gravel Girtie" line where Hinton-based train cars were sent to the limestone
quarry
at Fort Spring
and loaded with crushed lime. This cargo was sent to Clifton Forge where it fluxed in the large furnaces.
During World War II
the tracklines carried German
Prisoners of War to areas like local farms and projects. One of the depots
for the area, the Rockland Depot, has been lost to history and only the name of Rockland Road in Ronceverte remains.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 1.4 square miles (3.7 km²), of which 1.4 square miles (3.7 km²) is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1 km²) is water. The total area is 1.39% water.
of 2000, there were 1,557 people, 686 households, and 447 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1,093.7 people per square mile (423.4/km²). There are 780 housing units at an average density of 547.9 per square mile (212.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.33% White, 7.13% African American, 0.51% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.19% from other races, and 0.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.16% of the population.
There were 686 households out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% were married couples
living together, 14.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.8% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.77.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.8% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $24,400, and the median income for a family was $27,500. Males had a median income of $31,307 versus $20,313 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $14,731. About 15.7% of families and 20.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.1% of those under the age of 18 and 12.6% of those 65 and older.
Ronceverte's economic area is in the downtown section, crossed with railroad tracks for the Chesapeake & Ohio and a large floodplain that causes occasional adjustment for its citizens. Grants from Tony Hawk
and the Izaak Walton League
have allowed this public area to grow for the health and recreational opportunities for its citizens. A ball field, swimming pool, playground, interpretive walk and walking track appeal to all ages adjacent to a public access point of the Greenbrier River
, where picnickers are welcome. The county's recycling depot is close by, encouraging further business from a large area. The public access includes a boat launch for swimmers and fishers, and an outdoor amphitheater. Every June this area is inundated with the Ronceverte River Festival, where a unique raffle is held by floating hundreds of small, numbered yellow ducks into the river. The winning duck can be a cash prize or a new truck; runners-up are gifts from local businesses to support county interests.
In September 10–19 the Outdoor Amphitheater holds Riders of the Flood, a popular historical drama play based on the book by Pocahontas County
author W. E. Blackhurst
for the Riders of the Flood Outdoor Drama. The play's theme is a demonstration of Ronceverte's importance in the turn of the 20th century, when its St. Lawrence Boom and Lumber Company
was the largest softwood
mill in the country, and traces of its industry have sculpted Ronceverte's portion of the Greenbrier River
to the shape it is today. All proceeds from the play are recycled back into the town of Ronceverte with the intention of improving the community, uplifting its economy, and fostering civic pride. Riders of the Flood is a member of West Virginia's Institute for Outdoor Drama. At this point, it is a purely volunteer program as is its sequel, "Big Dreams, Restless Spirit."
Greenbrier County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 34,453 people, 14,571 households, and 9,922 families residing in the county. The population density was 34 people per square mile . There were 17,644 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile...
, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, on the Greenbrier River
Greenbrier River
The Greenbrier River is a tributary of the New River, long, in southeastern West Virginia, USA. Via the New, Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of...
. The population was 1,557 at the 2000 census.
Culture and History
Ronceverte might have been named Edgar, for the high number of Edgars who lived in the town, but the name was settled by a leading entrepreneurEntrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
of the area, Cecil Clay, president of the St. Lawrence Boom and Manufacturing Company. According to Clay, he saw the name on an old Jesuit map from Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers in what is now downtown Pittsburgh in the state of Pennsylvania....
. His argument was the name "looked well in print and was euphonious in sound."
As the owner of the town's site, Clay argued he had the right to decide on the name, but the residents could change the name to whatever they wanted once Ronceverte was fully established. That day has never happened. Since April 1, 1882, the town has been Ronceverte.
Ronceverte is French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
for "Bramble Green" which is the Gallic
Gauls
The Gauls were a Celtic people living in Gaul, the region roughly corresponding to what is now France, Belgium, Switzerland and Northern Italy, from the Iron Age through the Roman period. They mostly spoke the Continental Celtic language called Gaulish....
equivalent for "Greenbrier
Greenbrier
Greenbrier is the common name of the plant genus Smilax. It may also refer to:Places, United States*Greenbrier, Arkansas*Greenbrier, Orange County, Indiana*Greenbrier, Warrick County, Indiana*Greenbrier, Tennessee, in Robertson County...
". The Greenbriers are a common vine
Vine
A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...
(Smilax rotundifolia) and a humorous myth has it the surveyors
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
were trapped in a thicket of the painful vines when they discovered the Greenbrier River
Greenbrier River
The Greenbrier River is a tributary of the New River, long, in southeastern West Virginia, USA. Via the New, Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of...
. French surveyors were likely the first cartographers for the area, although much of the details have been lost to history.
The river is still inseparable from the culture of the town itself, considered one of the earliest significant riverport
Riverport
Riverport can refer to:*Riverport, Nova Scotia which is located around Ritcey's Cove and surrounded by the communities of Five Houses, Lower LaHave, East LaHave and Middle LaHave, Upper and Lower Rose Bay, Upper and Lower Kingsburg, Indian Path, Bayport, Feltzen South and The Ovens are collectively...
s in the Greenbrier River
Greenbrier River
The Greenbrier River is a tributary of the New River, long, in southeastern West Virginia, USA. Via the New, Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of...
watershed
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
.http://www.greenbrierriver.org
The Hokes Mill Covered Bridge
Hokes Mill Covered Bridge
Hokes Mill Covered Bridge is a historic covered bridge at Ronceverte, Greenbrier County, West Virginia. It was built between 1897 and 1899, and measures 12 feet wide and 81.6 feet long. It has red board-and-batten siding and a standing seam metal roof...
was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1981. The Ronceverte Historic District
Ronceverte Historic District
Ronceverte Historic District is a national historic district located at Ronceverte, Greenbrier County, West Virginia. The district encompasses 215 contributing buildings, one contributing site, and three contributing structures located in the commercial district and surrounding residential section...
was listed in 2005.
Railroad
Ronceverte is a proud railroad town, a part of the C&O tracklines that connected Pocahontas CountyPocahontas County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,131 people, 835 households, and 527 families residing in the county. The population density was 10 people per square mile . There were 7,594 housing units at an average density of 8 per square mile...
to Hinton
Hinton (Amtrak station)
Hinton is an Amtrak station in Hinton, West Virginia, served by the Cardinal. The station is a former Chesapeake and Ohio Railway depot.Due to a bend in the adjacent New River, eastbound trains actually head southwest when passing the station .Of the ten West Virginia stations served by Amtrak,...
, and to Clifton Forge, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. Ronceverte was part of the "Gravel Girtie" line where Hinton-based train cars were sent to the limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
at Fort Spring
Fort Spring
Fort Spring is an unincorporated community in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, USA. It is situated along the Greenbrier River within the Greenbrier River Watershed. It was once a substantial portion of the Chesapeake and Ohio railway by way of the Gravel Girtie route from Hinton in Summers...
and loaded with crushed lime. This cargo was sent to Clifton Forge where it fluxed in the large furnaces.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the tracklines carried German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
Prisoners of War to areas like local farms and projects. One of the depots
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
for the area, the Rockland Depot, has been lost to history and only the name of Rockland Road in Ronceverte remains.
Geography
Ronceverte is located at 37°44′54"N 80°28′12"W (37.748460, -80.469910).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 1.4 square miles (3.7 km²), of which 1.4 square miles (3.7 km²) is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1 km²) is water. The total area is 1.39% water.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 1,557 people, 686 households, and 447 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,093.7 people per square mile (423.4/km²). There are 780 housing units at an average density of 547.9 per square mile (212.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.33% White, 7.13% African American, 0.51% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.19% from other races, and 0.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.16% of the population.
There were 686 households out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 14.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.8% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.77.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.8% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $24,400, and the median income for a family was $27,500. Males had a median income of $31,307 versus $20,313 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $14,731. About 15.7% of families and 20.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.1% of those under the age of 18 and 12.6% of those 65 and older.
Ronceverte's economic area is in the downtown section, crossed with railroad tracks for the Chesapeake & Ohio and a large floodplain that causes occasional adjustment for its citizens. Grants from Tony Hawk
Tony Hawk
Anthony Frank "Tony" Hawk , nicknamed "The Birdman" is an American retired professional skateboarder and actor. Hawk gained significant fame for completing the first 900 as well as his licensed video game titles distributed by Activision...
and the Izaak Walton League
Izaak Walton League
The Izaak Walton League is an American environmental organization founded in 1922 that promotes natural resource protection and outdoor recreation. The organization was founded in Chicago, Illinois by a group of sportsmen who wished to protect fishing opportunities for future generations...
have allowed this public area to grow for the health and recreational opportunities for its citizens. A ball field, swimming pool, playground, interpretive walk and walking track appeal to all ages adjacent to a public access point of the Greenbrier River
Greenbrier River
The Greenbrier River is a tributary of the New River, long, in southeastern West Virginia, USA. Via the New, Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of...
, where picnickers are welcome. The county's recycling depot is close by, encouraging further business from a large area. The public access includes a boat launch for swimmers and fishers, and an outdoor amphitheater. Every June this area is inundated with the Ronceverte River Festival, where a unique raffle is held by floating hundreds of small, numbered yellow ducks into the river. The winning duck can be a cash prize or a new truck; runners-up are gifts from local businesses to support county interests.
Theater and Drama
In the late 1880s, a man was traveling through on the rail and saw a very pretty young woman at the Ronceverte Depot. The incident inspired a song, "The Pretty Girl of Ronceverte" written by Thomas Thackston and set to music by Charles Pratt. The music is on display at the Ronceverte Public Library.http://ronceverte.lib.wv.us/In September 10–19 the Outdoor Amphitheater holds Riders of the Flood, a popular historical drama play based on the book by Pocahontas County
Pocahontas County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,131 people, 835 households, and 527 families residing in the county. The population density was 10 people per square mile . There were 7,594 housing units at an average density of 8 per square mile...
author W. E. Blackhurst
W. E. Blackhurst
Warren E. "Tweard" Blackhurst was an author and a lifelong resident of the Cass community who centered on the culture of eastern West Virginia where the higher elevations supported northern pine forests...
for the Riders of the Flood Outdoor Drama. The play's theme is a demonstration of Ronceverte's importance in the turn of the 20th century, when its St. Lawrence Boom and Lumber Company
St. Lawrence Boom and Lumber Company
The St. Lawrence Boom and Manufacturing Company was founded in 1802 by a Colonel Cecil C. Clay, a former US Army Brigadier-General from Philadelphia....
was the largest softwood
Softwood
The term softwood is used to describe wood from trees that are known as gymnosperms.Conifers are an example. It may also be used to describe trees, which tend to be evergreen, notable exceptions being bald cypress and the larches....
mill in the country, and traces of its industry have sculpted Ronceverte's portion of the Greenbrier River
Greenbrier River
The Greenbrier River is a tributary of the New River, long, in southeastern West Virginia, USA. Via the New, Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of...
to the shape it is today. All proceeds from the play are recycled back into the town of Ronceverte with the intention of improving the community, uplifting its economy, and fostering civic pride. Riders of the Flood is a member of West Virginia's Institute for Outdoor Drama. At this point, it is a purely volunteer program as is its sequel, "Big Dreams, Restless Spirit."
External links
- roncevertewv.com is the official website of Ronceverte, West Virginia.
- Greenbrier Valley Local Foods Directory