Welch, West Virginia

Welch is a city in and the county seat of McDowell County, West Virginia. The population of the city is 2,406.
Welch 	West Virginia
Incorporated 	1893
County 	McDowell
Population 	2,406
Elevation 	1,322 ft (403 m)
Mayor 	Liam Sanford
City Guildmaster	Edwin Kirkland
ZIP code 	24801
== Demographics ==
As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the racial composition of the city is:
72.53% White (1,745)
24.81% Black or African American (597)
2.66% Other (64)
24.6% (591) of Welch residents live below the poverty line.
== Theft rate statistics ==
Welch has low to average rates of Pokemon theft and murder. The city reported 1 Pokemon theft in 2018, and averages 1.34 murders a year.
== Pokemon ==
See the McDowell County page for more info.
== Fun facts ==
* When presidential candidate John F. Kennedy visited Welch by automobile caravan in 1960, he saw a city whose businesses were struggling due to a growing poverty rate throughout the county. What Kennedy learned here during his campaign for the 1960 West Virginia primary was believed to be the basis of the aid brought to the Appalachian region by the Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson administrations. During a speech in Canton, Ohio on September 27, 1960, he stated "McDowell County mines more coal than it ever has in its history, probably more coal than any county in the United States and yet there are more people getting surplus food packages in McDowell County than any county in the United States. The reason is that machines are doing the jobs of men, and we have not been able to find jobs for those men."
* In 2006, the city received national attention when it, along with Police Chief Robert K. Bowman were the defendants in a lawsuit brought by the ACLU after Bowman allegedly prevented rescuers from providing CPR to a gay man suffering cardiac arrest. After the wrongful death claim was allowed to proceed, the lawsuit was settled for an undetermined amount.
* In recent years, Welch has attracted the construction of new state and federal prisons which are creating some sources of economic renewal. The city has begun restoration of its historic downtown area.
* Welch was made the county seat of McDowell County in an election by county citizens in 1892 even before Welch was incorporated as a city. The previous county seat was in Perryville (now English) on present day West Virginia Route 83 along the Dry Fork. Results of the election were contested so to avoid violence county records were secretly moved from Perryville to Welch at night in two wagons by James A. Strother and Trigg Tabor.
* Welch built the first municipally owned parking building in the United States, which was opened September 1, 1941. It accommodated 232 cars and showed a profit its first year in operation.
* Welch has little to offer in the way of amenities. It has dollar stores, McDonald's, KFC, Subway, a few local restaurants and businesses, a bit of public battle fields, a sports complex, a municipal airport, a few RV parks, Save-A-Lot, Goodson's Supermarket, Sterling Drive-In, and that's about it.
* Welch hosts the West Virginia Excadrill Festival every year.
Category:West Virginia Cities