Point Pleasant, West Virginia

[Kristin Moore]

Point Pleasant, West Virginia

Point Pleasant is a city in Mason County, West Virginia, United States, at the confluence of the Ohio and Kanawha rivers. The population was 4,637 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Mason County[3] and the principal city of the Point Pleasant, WV-OH Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Point Pleasant is most famous for the 1967 collapse of the Silver Bridge, which killed 46 people, and the sightings of the elusive creature that is said to live in the abandoned TNT factory, the cryptid Mothman.

Point Pleasant is located at 38°51′27″N 82°7′43″W / 38.8575°N 82.12861°W / 38.8575; -82.12861 (38.857527, -82.128571)[4].

[Kristin Moore]

The confluence of the Kanawha and Ohio Rivers. The Kanawha River flows in from the left of the picture and joins the Ohio, meandering off in the distance. The town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia is in the foreground on the right. Henderson, West Virginia is on the left. The Ohio River forms the boundary between West Virginia and Ohio. The town of Gallipolis, Ohio lies in the far distance across the Ohio River. The view is to the west-southwest down the river.

[Kristin Moore]

Location of Point Pleasant, West Virginia
Coordinates: 38°51′27″N 82°7′43″W / 38.8575°N 82.12861°W / 38.8575; -82.12861Coordinates: 38°51′27″N 82°7′43″W / 38.8575°N 82.12861°W / 38.8575; -82.12861
Country    United States
State    West Virginia
County    Mason
Area
 - Total    3.1 sq mi (8.0 km2)
 - Land    2.4 sq mi (6.2 km2)
 - Water    0.7 sq mi (1.8 km2)
Elevation    568 ft (173 m)
Population (2000)
 - Total    4,637
 - Density    1,945.6/sq mi (751.2/km2)
Time zone    Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST)    EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code    25550
Area code(s)    304
FIPS code    54-64708[1]
GNIS feature ID    1555381[2]
Website    www.ptpleasantwv.org

[Kristin Moore]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.1 square miles (8.0 km²), of which, 2.4 square miles (6.2 km²) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²) of it (22.73%) is water.

[Kristin Moore]

Demographics

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 4,637 people, 2,107 households, and 1,310 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,945.6 people per square mile (752.3/km²). There were 2,313 housing units at an average density of 970.5 per square mile (375.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.57% White, 1.90% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.09% from other races, and 0.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.54% of the population.

[Kristin Moore]

There were 2,107 households out of which 26.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.7% were married couples living together, 14.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.8% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.80.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.3% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 83.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,022, and the median income for a family was $33,527. Males had a median income of $31,657 versus $16,607 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,692. About 22.2% of families and 24.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.9% of those under age 18 and 13.3% of those age 65 or over.

[Kristin Moore]

Tourists at the monument of the Battle of Point Pleasant in Tu-Endie-Wei State Park.

[Kristin Moore]

A replica of Fort Randolph, a fort from the American Revolutionary War. The town of Point Pleasant was built on the site of the original fort, and so the rebuilt fort was located nearby.

[Kristin Moore]

History
The Céloron expedition of 1749

In the second half of 1749 the French explorer Pierre Joseph Céloron de Blainville claimed French sovereignty over the Ohio Valley, burying a lead plaque at the meeting point of the Rivers Ohio and Kanawha, naming the place Point Pleasant.

The text on the plaque is as follows:

    L'AN 1749 DV REGNE DE LOVIS XV ROY DE FRANCE, NOVS CELORON, COMMANDANT D'VN DETACHEMENT ENVOIE PAR MONSIEVR LE MIS. DE LA GALISSONIERE, COMMANDANT GENERAL DE LA NOUVELLE FRANCE POVR RETABLIR LA TRAN QUILLITE DANS QUELQUES VILLAGES SAUVAGES DE CES CANTONS, AVONS ENTERRE CETTE PLAQUE AU CONFLUENT DE L'OHIO ET DE TCHADAKOIN CE 29 JVILLET, PRES DE LA RIVIERE OYO AUTREMENT BELLE RIVIERE, POUR MONUMENT DU RENOUVELLEMENT DE POSSESSION QUE NOUS AVONS PRIS DE LA DITTE RIVIERE OYO, ET DE TOUTES CELLE~ QUI Y TOMBENT, ET DE TOUTES LES TERRES DES DEUX COTES JVSQVE AVX SOURCES DES DITTES RIVIERES AINSI QV'EN ONT JOVY OU DV JOVIR LES PRECEDENTS ROIS DE FRANCE, ET QU'ILS S'Y SONT MAINTENVS PAR LES ARMES ET PAR LES TRAIT TES, SPECIALEMENT PAR CEVX DE RISWICK D'VTRECHT ET D'AIX LA CHAPELLE.

[Kristin Moore]

    (in the year 1749, in the reign of King Louis XV, we, Celeron, commander of a detachment sent by Commander de La Galissonière, Commander General of New France, for the restoration of peace in various untamed villages in the region, have buried ed this plaque at the confluence of the Ohio and Tchadakoin [Rivers] this 29th day of July near the fine river bank, to commemorate the retaking into possession of the afore-mentioned river bank and all the surrounding lands on both river shores back to the river sources, as secured by previous kings of France, and maintained by force of arms and by treaties, specifically the Treaties of Rijswick, of Utrecht and of Aix la Chapelle)

Céloron's expedition was a diplomatic failure since the local tribes remained pro-English, and English representatives in the region refused to go away. This was therefore the prelude to a series of incidents that would lead to the loss of New France and the domination of northern American by the British Empire, to be followed later in the century by the War of American Independence.

The expedition can nevertheless be seen in more positive terms as a geographical project, since the Céloron expedition was the starting point for the first map of the Ohio Valley. The map was the work of the Jesuit Joseph Pierre de Bonnecamps.

[Kristin Moore]

This 12-foot-tall (3.7 m) stainless steel sculpture of the Mothman by artist Robert Roach is in downtown Point Pleasant.

[Kristin Moore]

The Battle of Point Pleasant 1774

The town is also noted for the October 10, 1774, Battle of Point Pleasant, in which 1,100 Virginia militiamen led by Colonel Andrew Lewis defeated an equal sized force of Algonquin Confederation of Shawnee and Mingo warriors led by Shawnee Chief Cornstalk. The event is celebrated in Point Pleasant as the first battle of the American Revolutionary War, and in 1908 the US Senate authorized **** of a monument to commemorate Point Pleasant as the site of the first battle of the American Revolution. Most historians, however, regard it not as a battle of the Revolution but instead as a part of Lord Dunmore's War.

[Kristin Moore]

Civil War Connections

It was the final home of Confederate Brigadier-General John McCausland, the next-to-last Confederate General to die. He died at his farm at Grimm's Landing on January 23, 1927, and is buried in nearby Henderson.

[Kristin Moore]

The Mothman

Paranormal enthusiasts flock to Point Pleasant in search of Mothman, a creature said to inhabit an abandoned TNT plant from World War II. It has become more than an urban legend, and it is believed to be a harbinger of imminent disaster, now being seen around the globe before great tragedies. John A. Keel published a book in 1975 entitled The Mothman Prophecies, and a film inspired by the novel was released in January 2002. There is even a Mothman Museum, run by Jeffrey Wamsley.

[Kristin Moore]

Photo taken by TJive in 2005, in Point Pleasant, West Virginia.