Mingo County, West Virginia

Mingo County is a county in West Virginia, United States, about 45 miles southwest of
Charleston along the Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River. It had a population of 23,568 at the 2020
census, an estimated 21,455 by 2025, and covers 424 square miles (1,100 km2) centred near
37°44′N 82°08′W.

Williamson is the county seat and largest city; its postal code is 25661. The county holds 1
city, 4 incorporated towns and 4 census-designated places, and it runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS
code is 54059.

Towns & Villages in Mingo County

Mingo County has 9 named places on record: 5 incorporated cities and towns and 4
census-designated places (CDPs) with no local government of their own. West Virginia has no
functioning civil townships, so the table below skips that column. Dozens of smaller unincorporated
communities and former coal camps — Ajax, Sprigg, Vulcan, Thacker and others — have no
Census Bureau population count of their own and are not listed as separate rows.

Gilbert and Gilbert Creek are two different places despite the shared name — Gilbert is the
incorporated town on WV Route 80, while Gilbert Creek CDP is a separate, more populous
unincorporated cluster of coal-camp settlements strung along the creek of the same name a few
miles away. Do not confuse the two when mailing anything to either.

ZIP Codes

• 25661 — Williamson (also covers Gilbert Creek and East Williamson)
• 25667 — Chattaroy
• 25650 — Red Jacket
• 25670 — Delbarton
• 25678 — Matewan
• 25674 — Kermit
• 25621 — Gilbert

Justice CDP has no ZIP code of its own; mail there is delivered under the Williamson or Delbarton
codes depending on the address.

Geography

Mingo County sits in the Appalachian Plateau of southern West Virginia, a landscape of steep,
narrow ridges and hollows cut by the Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River, which forms the county’s
entire southwestern border with Kentucky. Of its 424 square miles, 423 are land and 0.9 are water,
about 0.2 percent — there is no natural lake of any size, and the Tug Fork and its
tributaries, including Pigeonroost Fork and Marrowbone Creek, drain nearly the whole county.

Lincoln County lies to the north, Logan County to the northeast, Wyoming County to the east,
McDowell County and Buchanan County, Virginia, to the southeast, Pike County and Martin County,
Kentucky, to the west across the Tug Fork, and Wayne County to the northwest. Lincoln County, Logan County, Wyoming County, McDowell County, Buchanan County, Pike County, Martin County and Wayne County all border Mingo
directly.

Demographics

Mingo County had a population of 23,568 at the 2020 census, and the latest Census Bureau
estimate puts the county near 21,455 residents, a decline of about 9 percent driven mainly by the
continued contraction of coal-sector jobs. Williamson and Gilbert Creek are the two largest
communities, together holding roughly a fifth of the county’s population. Median household
income runs about $38,119, well below West Virginia’s statewide figure of $55,948 (2023 ACS).
Population density works out to roughly 56 people per square mile of land, well below the
statewide average and among the lower densities in southern West Virginia’s coalfield
counties.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance employs the most workers in the county, about 986 people,
followed by mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction at 854 and accommodation and food
services at 707. Mining remains the highest-paying sector by far, with average earnings near
$78,571, even as total mining employment has fallen sharply over the past two decades. Williamson
is home to Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College and to a large Norfolk Southern
rail yard that once served the county’s coal tipples and still moves freight through the Tug
Valley. Mingo County High School, in Williamson, is the county’s only public high school after
a series of school consolidations. Matewan holds its Matewan Massacre Reenactment each May, staging
the 1920 gunfight for visitors on the same downtown street where it happened.

History

The West Virginia Legislature created Mingo County on 30 January 1895, carving it out of Logan
County — it is the newest of the state’s 55 counties. It was named for the historic
Mingo people, an Iroquoian-speaking group that once lived along the upper Ohio Valley. Williamson,
incorporated in 1905 and named for landowner Wallace J. Williamson, grew from 688 residents in 1900
to 9,410 by 1930 once the railroad arrived and coal mining expanded rapidly through the valley.

In May 1920, coal miners attempting to unionize clashed with Baldwin-Felts detectives hired by
mine operators to evict striking families in Matewan — the Battle of Matewan, part of the
broader West Virginia Coal Wars and the inspiration for the 1987 film Matewan. Ten men, including
Matewan’s pro-union police chief Sid Hatfield, died in the shootout. A floodwall completed in
1991 now protects Williamson from the Tug Fork, which has flooded the town repeatedly, most
severely in 1977.

Getting There

US 52 and US 119 run through the county along the Tug Fork valley; WV Routes 49, 65 and 80
branch off into the side hollows. No interstate highway crosses Mingo County.

• Charleston, WV — about 75 miles northeast
• Huntington, WV — about 60 miles north
• Pikeville, KY — about 25 miles southwest
• Logan, WV — about 25 miles northeast

Yeager Airport in Charleston, roughly 75 miles northeast of Williamson, is the nearest major
commercial airport. Tri-State Airport near Huntington is a closer regional alternative for some
county residents. Amtrak does not serve Mingo County; the nearest station is in Huntington on the
Cardinal line.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Mingo County located?
It sits in southern West Virginia’s Appalachian Plateau, about 45 miles southwest of
Charleston, bordered by Kentucky and Virginia along its western and southeastern edges.

What is the population of Mingo County?
23,568 at the 2020 census, with a recent estimate near 21,455.

How big is Mingo County?
424 square miles (1,100 km2), of which 423 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Mingo County?
Williamson is the county seat and largest city, incorporated in 1905.

How many towns are in Mingo County?
Five incorporated places — Williamson, Delbarton, Gilbert, Kermit and Matewan — plus
four census-designated places: Gilbert Creek, Chattaroy, Red Jacket and Justice.

What ZIP codes does Mingo County use?
25661 for Williamson, 25670 for Delbarton, 25621 for Gilbert, 25674 for Kermit, 25678 for
Matewan, 25667 for Chattaroy and 25650 for Red Jacket.

What is Mingo County known for?
The 1920 Battle of Matewan, one of the defining clashes of the West Virginia Coal Wars, and its
long history as a coal-mining and rail-freight county along the Tug Fork.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in West Virginia.