| Willow Island, West Virginia | |
|---|---|
| Unincorporated community | |
  Willow Island, West Virginia  Willow Island, West Virginia | |
| Coordinates: 39°21′30″N81°18′29″W / 39.35833°N 81.30806°W Coordinates: 39°21′30″N81°18′29″W / 39.35833°N 81.30806°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | West Virginia |
| County | Pleasants |
| Elevation | 640 ft (200 m) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| Area code(s) | 304 & 681 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1555993 [1] |
Willow Island is an unincorporated community in Pleasants County, West Virginia, United States. Willow Island is located on the Ohio River at the junction of West Virginia Route 2 and County Highway 10, 3 miles (4.8 km) west-southwest of Belmont. [2] Willow Island had a post office, which opened on October 17, 1946, and closed on May 25, 1991. [3] The Pleasants Power Station, site of the 1978 Willow Island disaster, is located in Willow Island. [4]
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.
Pleasants County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. At the 2010 census, the population was 7,605, making it the third-least populous county in the state. Its county seat is St. Marys. The county was created by the Virginia General Assembly in 1851 and named for US Senator and Virginia Governor James Pleasants, Jr..
West Virginia is a state located in the Appalachian region in the Southern United States that 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.
