Cucumber, West Virginia

Cucumber, West Virginia
The main area of Cucumber, West Virginia, viewed from West Virginia Route 16
Cucumber
Cucumber
Coordinates: 37°16′40″N 81°37′36″W / 37.27778°N 81.62667°W / 37.27778; -81.62667
CountryUnited States
StateWest Virginia
CountyMcDowell
Area
 • Total
0.452 sq mi (1.17 km2)
 • Land0.452 sq mi (1.17 km2)
 • Water0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation
1,542 ft (470 m)
Population
 • Total
74
 • Density160/sq mi (63/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EST)
ZIP codes
24826
GNIS feature ID1554238[3]

Cucumber is a census-designated place (CDP) in McDowell County, West Virginia, United States. Its population was 74 at the 2020 census.[4] The community is centered on mining. Named either for nearby Cucumber Creek[5] or for the cucumber trees in the area,[6] it is the only community in the United States with this name. Its post office was still active as of October 2011 (see image).

Mine collapse

On January 13, 2007, a tunnel collapse at a Brooks Run Mining Company coal mine in town killed two miners.[7][8] Between 2005 and 2008, the Brooks Mining Company extracted 2,093,165 tons of coal.[9]

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
201094
202074−21.3%
U.S. Decennial Census[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  2. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  3. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Cucumber, West Virginia
  4. ^ "Cucumber CDP, West Virginia - Census Bureau Profile". data.census.gov. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  5. ^ Kenny, Hamill (1945). West Virginia Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning, Including the Nomenclature of the Streams and Mountains. Piedmont, WV: The Place Name Press. pp. 193–94.
  6. ^ Moyer, Armond; Moyer, Winifred (1958). The origins of unusual place-names. Keystone Pub. Associates. p. 30.
  7. ^ "Tunnel collapse kills 2 miners in West Virginia". CNN International. Archived from the original on January 15, 2007. Retrieved January 14, 2007.
  8. ^ "McDowell cave-in kills two miners". Sunday Gazette-Mail. Retrieved January 14, 2007.
  9. ^ Brooks Mining Company info Archived February 23, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, wvminesafety.org; accessed May 14, 2014.
  10. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.

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