Bluefield, West Virginia is located in Mercer County.  The town was incorporated in 1889.  Although the population was on 600 at the time, it grew to 25,000 by 1940.  Today, it is approximately 11,000.

Bluefield sits at the base of East River Mountain and adjacent to the Virginia state line.  It is known as "Nature's Air Conditioned City" due to the fact that the temperature rarely hits 90 degrees.

U.S. Routes 460 and 52 pass through the city and Interstate 77 is very close-by.  The Mercer County Airport is quickly accessible.  Nearby towns include Bluefield, Virginia and Princeton, West Virginia.

The city's high school is Bluefield High School and the largest college is Bluefield State College.  Also nearby are Bluefield College (in Virginia) and Concord College.  Healthcare includes the Bluefield Regional Medical Center and St. Luke's Hospital.  Two additional hospitals are in nearby Princeton and Tazewell (in Virginia).

Bluefield's annual events include the Mountain Festival (during Memorial Day), the Blue-Gray Horse Show and the Holiday of Lights (during Christmas season).  Every second year brings the Coal Show.

One of the better-known people to come from Bluefield is Dr. John Nash who won a 1994 Nobel Prize and was the subject of "A Beautiful Mind."  John S. Knight, who developed Knight Ridder Newspapers and won a 1968 Pulitzer Prize, was born in Bluefield.  Country music artist Mel Street, soap actress Anna Stuart and author Denise Giardina were also born in Bluefield.  Stan Sweet, weather director of Bluefield's television station WVVA, has been the World Fast Draw Champion several times.

Bluefield is home of the Bluefield Orioles, a farm team for the Baltimore Orioles.  Several "baby birds" have gone on to play in the majors, including Cal Ripkin, Boog Powell and Sparky Lyle.

Census Information:

The 2000 Census reported the city's population as 11,451.  Although the national ratio for male-to-female is within 2%, Bluefield has a greater number of women (54.2% female to 45.8% men).  This may help explain why the city's population has fewer married people than the national average.  Only 48.0% of the people (at least 15 years old) are married.  Nationally, the figure is 54.4%.

The media age for Bluefield, WV is 42.2 years whereas the national figure is 35.3.

Racially, the city's Caucasian population is very close to the national average.  Bluefield is 75.8% White while the country is 75.1%.  The Black population is 22.1% locally whereas the national figure is 12.3%.

Bluefield's median household income is far below the national average.  Bluefield's is $27,672 whereas the country's is $41,994.  On the other hand, housing appears to be much more affordable.  The median house is $59,500 in Bluefield while the national average is $119,600.

Miscellaneous:

Check out our other web pages at Bluefield.Net, BluefieldVA.com, PrincetonWV.net and WestVA.net.

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