Raleigh County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 74,591. Its county seat is Beckley. The county was founded in 1850 and is named for Sir Walter Raleigh. Raleigh County is included in the Beckley, West Virginia, Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Beckley is a city in and the county seat of Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 17,286 at the 2020 census, making it the ninth-most populous city in the state. It is the principal city of the Beckley metropolitan area of Southern West Virginia, home to 115,079 residents in 2020. Beckley was founded on April 4, 1838, and was long known for its ties to the coal mining industry. It is the home of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology, as well as an annex of Concord University and the University of Charleston.
Shady Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,998 at the 2010 census. It is a residential community, with a low crime rate.
John James Beckley was an American political campaign manager and the first Librarian of the United States Congress, from 1802 to 1807. He is credited with being the first political campaign manager in the United States and for setting the standards for the First Party System.
Concord University is a public university in Athens, West Virginia. It was founded on February 28, 1872, when the West Virginia Legislature passed "an Act to locate a Branch State Normal School, in the town of Concord Church, in the County of Mercer". This normal school was founded by veterans of both the Union and the Confederacy, Concord is named for the ideal of "harmony and sweet fellowship".
Whitby is an unincorporated community and coal town in the Winding Gulf Coalfield of southern West Virginia within Raleigh County, United States.
Woodrow Wilson High School is a high school in Beckley, West Virginia, teaching grades nine through twelve. It is one of four secondary schools in the Raleigh County Public School District. The school's colors are maroon and white, and the mascot is a Flying Eagle. The school's principal is Ryan Stafford. Feeder schools are Park Middle School and Beckley Stratton Middle School. In 1967, it moved from its original location to its current location at 400 Stanaford Road.
The Register-Herald is a six-day morning daily newspaper, Monday thru Friday with a Weekend Edition delivered on Saturday mornings, and is based in Beckley, West Virginia, and also covering surrounding communities in Fayette, Greenbrier, Raleigh, Summers and Wyoming counties, West Virginia. It has a circulation of 19,237 and is owned by Community Newspaper Newspaper Holdings.
The United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia is a federal court in the Fourth Circuit.
Howard W. Carson was an American Democratic politician. Carson was a member of the West Virginia Senate for the 11th district from 1956 to 1968. From 1961 to 1968, he served as President of the West Virginia Senate.
Joseph Luther Smith, commonly known as Joe L. Smith, was an American politician, and a member of the Democratic Party from West Virginia.
Bolt is a census-designated place (CDP) in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States. Bolt is located on West Virginia Route 99, 12 miles (19 km) west of Beckley. Bolt has a post office with ZIP code 25817. As of the 2010 census, its population is 548.
Saxon is an unincorporated community in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States. Saxon is 12.5 miles (20.1 km) west of Beckley. Saxon had a post office, which closed on June 27, 2009.
Chula is a mostly rural unincorporated community in the northeastern part of Amelia County just west of the Appomattox River in the U.S. state of Virginia. The town is centered around the T-intersection of SR 636 and SR 740 in Giles District. Chula is just west of SR 604, which includes a short bypass segment built around the town in the late 20th century. The area is served by the post office 7 miles southwest at Amelia Court House, ZIP code 23002. The nearest fire station to Chula is Amelia County Volunteer Fire Department Station 4, near Mattoax, 3 miles north.
Alfred Beckley was the founder of Beckley, West Virginia, and a brigadier general in the Virginia militia during the American Civil War. He named the city of Beckley in honor of his father, John James Beckley, who was the first librarian of the United States Congress.
The 1958 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1958 college football season. Led by ninth-year head coach Art Lewis, the Mountaineers compiled an overall record of 4–5–1 with a mark of 4–0 in conference play, winning the SoCon title for the fifth time in six seasons.
Armistead Abraham "Cousin Abe" Lilly was an American lawyer, politician, and businessperson in the U.S. state of West Virginia. A Republican, Lilly served as the 16th Attorney General of West Virginia from March 4, 1913, until March 3, 1917.
Leon Parker Miller was an American lawyer, politician, and judge, in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Miller served as U.S. Attorney for the District of the Virgin Islands from 1954 to 1962. He was appointed the first African-American judge in West Virginia in April 1968, and became the state's first elected African-American judge in November 1968.
Darl W. Poling is a judge of the 10th Circuit Court of West Virginia. Poling was appointed by Governor Jim Justice in 2019 to serve as a circuit judge on the Tenth Judicial District in Raleigh County following the appointment of Judge John A. Hutchison to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.
