| Shanks, West Virginia | |
|---|---|
| Unincorporated community | |
Old Shanks Store and Post Office | |
  Shanks  Shanks | |
| Coordinates: 39°18′51″N78°41′16″W / 39.31417°N 78.68778°W Coordinates: 39°18′51″N78°41′16″W / 39.31417°N 78.68778°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | West Virginia |
| County | Hampshire |
| Elevation [1] | 1,125 ft (343 m) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 26761 |
| Area code(s) | 304 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1555598 [1] |
Shanks is an unincorporated community in Hampshire County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. According to the 2000 census, the Shanks community has a population of 806. [2]
Hampshire County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 23,964. Its county seat is Romney, West Virginia's oldest town (1762). The county was created by the Virginia General Assembly in 1754, from parts of Frederick and Augusta Counties (Virginia) and is the state's oldest county. The county lies in both West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle and Potomac Highlands regions.
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are currently 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory and shares its sovereignty with the federal government. Due to this shared sovereignty, Americans are citizens both of the federal republic and of the state in which they reside. State citizenship and residency are flexible, and no government approval is required to move between states, except for persons restricted by certain types of court orders. Four states use the term commonwealth rather than state in their full official names.
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.
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Shanks is located east of Romney along the Northwestern Turnpike (U.S. Route 50) on the eastern flanks of South Branch Mountain. The community is centered on the intersection of U.S. Route 50 and Allen Hill Road (County Route 50/7). Shanks Roadside Park is located directly to its west on U.S. Route 50. The North Fork Little Cacapon River runs through the community.
Romney is a city in and the county seat of Hampshire County, West Virginia, USA. The population was 1,940 at the 2000 census, while the area covered by the city's ZIP code had a population of 5,873. The population was 1,848 at the 2010 census.
The Northwestern Turnpike is a historic road in West Virginia, important for being historically one of the major roads crossing the Appalachians, financed by the Virginia Board of Public Works in the 1830s. In modern times, west of Winchester, Virginia, U.S. Route 50 follows the path of the Northwestern Turnpike into West Virginia, whose major Corridor D project follows the western section of the original Northwestern Turnpike.
U.S. Route 50 in West Virginia runs from the border with Ohio to Virginia, passing briefly through Garrett County, Maryland, and following the Northwestern Turnpike. Prior to the U.S. Highway System it was West Virginia Route 1 and in the 1930s, the road was not finished in Maryland. At that time, motorists had to open a gate at the state line and drive on a dirt path until again reaching the other state line. Today the section of US 50 from Clarksburg to Parkersburg on the Ohio River is part of Corridor D of the Appalachian Development Highway System.
Abraham Shank, an early postmaster and local merchant, gave the community his name. [3]
