Beckley, WV

Beckley is a town of 17,000 in southern West Virginia and the county seat of Raleigh County. The town takes its name from John James Beckley, who served as the first Librarian of Congress. Historically, Beckley has been closely connected to the coal industry; today, it serves as one of the state's most important centers of culture and education. As the home of Mountain State University and several well-respected museums, Beckley is a key cultural center in the southern end of West Virginia, where many towns have faced serious development issues.

Beckley's comparatively greater number of educational and economic opportunities has encouraged regional migration to the area, particularly in the years after the opening of the Tamarack craft distribution center. The resulting growth initially strained the town's transportation infrastructure, prompting the construction of new highways.

Beckley Renaissance, a private organization that works in conjunction with the city to promote local culture and economic development, sponsors a wide variety of civic events each year, ranging from a chili cook-off to a car show to weekly lunchtime concerts in the summer months.

ECONOMY AND INDUSTRIES

The leading industries in Beckley are educational, health and social services, retail trade, arts, entertainment, recreation, and accommodation and food services. Beckley has an unemployment rate of 7.9 percent, which is higher than the national average. The most common professions in Beckley include management and related occupations, sales occupations and service professions.

Top employers include Raleigh General Hospital and Mountain State University.

NEIGHBORHOODS AND DISTRICTS

Most of the population in Beckley is urban. Neighborhoods and districts of Beckley accommodate around 8,700 houses, out of which more than 7,600 are occupied. Of the occupied houses, more than 4,800 are owner-occupied while renters occupy around 2,700 houses. On average, a house in Beckley costs slightly more than the statewide median price.

Beckley comprises 16 different neighborhoods spread out between five wards:

• Ward 1 includes the thriving neighborhoods of Maxwell Hill, West Harper Rd., and Crescent Rd., as well as the transitional neighborhood of Northwestern.
• Ward 2 includes Woodlawn and West of Byrd Dr. Uptown (South).
• Ward 3 is home to Harper Hill, New River Park, Uptown (North), and East Park.
• Ward 4 comprises Woodcrest and Bowling Addition.
• Ward 5 includes Froggy Bottom, East Beckley, Bibb Ave Area, and Redbrush.

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

• Tamarack: The Best of West Virginia: Tamarack is a unique tourist attraction and works-project centered on the state's art and culture, bringing in an estimated half-million visitors each year. The facility offers for sale a wide range of crafts made by the state's artisans, some of whom work within its five resident studios. Arts-and-craft demonstrations are another popular draw. Operated by the West Virginia Parkways Authority as a means of promoting economic development in the state and developing the tourism industry, the center is the first of its kind in the nation. Tamarack's resident theater serves as a multipurpose venue for music, dance and other performances, and the food court offers a distinctive selection of Appalachian cuisine.
• Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine: This restored coal mine and education center covers the science, history and general culture of the American coal mining industry in general and that of West Virginia in particular. Visitors ride a rail that extends 1,500 feet underground through what previously served as the coal mine's working areas. The tours are conducted by veteran coal miners, who make a number of stops at points of interest and explain key facets of the mine, its history and the evolution of coal-extraction technologies. Back at ground level, a restored Coal Camp made up of authentic early-20th-century buildings provides visitors with a glimpse into a bygone era. The on-site Wildwood House Museum, dating to 1836, was the home of the town's founder, who himself conceived the idea of forming Raleigh County, and is open summer weekends and by special arrangement during the rest of the year.
• Youth Museum of Southern West Virginia: Beckley's Youth Museum officially joined up with the nearby coal museum in 2002, two years after being presented with an award by President Bill Clinton on behalf of the Institute of Museum and Library Services for its exemplary range of offerings. The main exhibit consists of four railroad boxcars, emblematic of the region's industrial heritage. Three other major exhibits are held annually, generally covering such kid-friendly topics as dinosaurs and bats. A rotating exhibit on popular children's authors has won several awards.
• Mountain Homestead Exhibit: Operated in conjunction with the Youth Museum, the Mountain Homestead Exhibit serves as a recreation of Appalachian frontier settlements of the 18th and 19th centuries. The site is made up of several buildings, including a two-story log house, a traditional one-room school, a barn, a blacksmith's workshop, and more. Each site is presided over by historical interpreters, who pose as settlers and give talks and demonstrations geared toward educating visitors about Appalachian life in frontier times.

FOR VISITORS

• Shoemaker Square: Beckley's town center includes a fountain and other traditional amenities, and serves as a prime people-watching location. The area also serves as the location of many of the city's traditional festivals.
• Lewis McMannus Memorial Honor Trail: This paved hiking and biking trail extends about three and a half miles through the hilly West Virginia scenery.
• New River Park: Among other things, New River Park sports an Olympic-sized swimming pool, several basketball courts, picnic and grilling areas, and horseshoe pits.

EDUCATION

• Mountain State University: As Beckley's main institution of higher learning, Mountain State University caters to the region's students with both undergraduate and master's degree programs with a particular emphasis on business, medicine and technical training. The not-for-profit, nonsectarian university also offers independent and distance learning programs in addition to traditional classroom-based work.
• Concord University: Located in nearby Athens, West Virginia, Concord was founded by both Union and Confederate Civil War veterans in 1872 as a means of promoting "harmony and sweet fellowship." In contrast to Mountain State, Concord focuses on a traditional liberal arts education.