| Independence, West Virginia | |
|---|---|
| Unincorporated community | |
  Independence Location within the state of West Virginia  Independence Independence (the US) | |
| Coordinates: 38°18′45″N81°10′35″W / 38.31250°N 81.17639°W Coordinates: 38°18′45″N81°10′35″W / 38.31250°N 81.17639°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | West Virginia |
| County | Clay |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| GNIS feature ID | 1540660 [1] |
Independence is an unincorporated community on Independence Mountain in Clay County, West Virginia, United States. It is located along West Virginia Route 16.
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not governed by a local municipal corporation; similarly an unincorporated community is a settlement that is not governed by its own local municipal corporation, but rather is administered as part of larger administrative divisions, such as a township, parish, borough, county, city, canton, state, province or country. Occasionally, municipalities dissolve or disincorporate, which may happen if they become fiscally insolvent, and services become the responsibility of a higher administration. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. In most other countries of the world, there are either no unincorporated areas at all, or these are very rare; typically remote, outlying, sparsely populated or uninhabited areas.
Clay County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 9,386. Its county seat is Clay. The county was founded in 1858 and named in honor of Henry Clay, famous American statesman, member of the United States Senate from Kentucky and United States Secretary of State in the 19th century.
West Virginia is a state located in the Appalachian region in the Southern United States and is also considered to be a part of the Middle Atlantic States. It is bordered by Pennsylvania to the north, Maryland to the east and northeast, Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, and Ohio to the northwest. West Virginia is the 41st largest state by area, and is ranked 38th in population. The capital and largest city is Charleston.
