Martinsburg is a city in the Eastern Panhandle region of West Virginia, United States. The city's population was 14,972 at the 2000 census; according to a 2008 Census Bureau estimate, Martinsburg's population was 17,020, making it the largest city in the Eastern Panhandle and the eighth largest municipality in West Virginia.3 Martinsburg is the county seat of Berkeley County4 and one of the core cities in the Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. Martinsburg and Berkeley County are growing very rapidly from the influx of people moving from Washington, D.C. and Baltimore.
History
Martinsburg was founded in 1778 by General Adam Stephen who named it in honor of Colonel Thomas Bryan Martin, a nephew of Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron.
Martinsburg was incorporated by an act of the West Virginia Legislature on March 30, 1868.
The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 began July 14, 1877 in Martinsburg.
Demographics
Geography
Location and topography
Martinsburg is located at 39°27′33″N 77°58′4″W / 39.45917°N 77.96778°W / 39.45917; -77.96778 (39.459207, -77.967814)5. As per MapQuest, Martinsburg is approximately 92 miles driving distance northwest of Washington, D.C.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.1 square miles (13.1 km²), of which, 5.0 square miles (13.0 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.40%) is water.
Climate
Climate data for Martinsburg
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| Record high °F (°C) |
80
(27) |
83
(28) |
87
(31) |
96
(36) |
100
(38) |
106
(41) |
112
(44) |
108
(42) |
103
(39) |
98
(37) |
86
(30) |
78
(26) |
| Average high °F (°C) |
41
(5) |
46
(7.8) |
55
(12.8) |
66
(18.9) |
75
(23.9) |
84
(28.9) |
88
(31.1) |
86
(30) |
79
(26.1) |
68
(20) |
57
(13.9) |
46
(7.8) |
| Average low °F (°C) |
23
(-5) |
25
(-3.9) |
33
(0.6) |
42
(5.6) |
51
(10.6) |
60
(15.6) |
65
(18.3) |
63
(17.2) |
55
(12.8) |
43
(6.1) |
35
(1.7) |
27
(-2.8) |
| Record low °F (°C) |
-18
(-28) |
-10
(-23) |
-3
(-19) |
19
(-7) |
26
(-3) |
36
(2) |
41
(5) |
40
(4) |
29
(-2) |
17
(-8) |
6
(-14) |
-12
(-24) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) |
2.73
(69.3) |
2.40
(61) |
3.51
(89.2) |
3.14
(79.8) |
4.19
(106.4) |
3.49
(88.6) |
3.73
(94.7) |
3.40
(86.4) |
3.52
(89.4) |
3.40
(86.4) |
3.14
(79.8) |
2.74
(69.6) |
| Source: The Weather Channel6 2009-05-23 |
Commerce
Major private employers in and around Martinsburg include Quad/Graphics, EcoLab, Orgill, World Color, Sino-Swearingen, General Motors, and FedEx.
The city also has numerous federal government employers including the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Coast Guard Operations Systems Center, U.S. Coast Guard National Maritime Center, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Veteran Administration Center.
The Martinsburg IRS Facility is one of the two Enterprise Computing Centers of the Internal Revenue Service (the other is in Memphis, Tennessee). The Martinsburg facility processes most of the country's electronically filed tax documents from businesses, and about one-third of electronically-filed tax returns.
The area is also home to the 167th Airlift Wing of the West Virginia Air National Guard, based in Eastern WV Regional Airport.
Martinsburg had its own automobile company from 1912 to 1922, called Norwalk. The cars that were assembled here are the longest-made known cars to be built in the state of West Virginia.7
Healthcare
- City Hospital - affiliated with West Virginia University Hospitals East
- Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Shopping
Martinsburg has one Shopping Mall
- Martinsburg Mall: 551,351 square feet with approximately 50 stores and anchored by Walmart, JCPenney, Sears, and The Bon-Ton. Opened in 1991. Location: Foxcroft Avenue, Interstate 81 Exit 12 & 13.
Other retail centers/areas in Martinsburg include:
- The Commons Shopping Center: 400,000 square feet anchored by Target, Dick's Sporting Goods, Best Buy, TJ Maxx, Staples, Books A Million, Bed Bath and Beyond, Michaels, Petsmart, and Five Below. Opened in 2009. Location: Retail Commons Parkway, Interstate 81 Exit 12.
- Old Courthouse Square: 201,350 square feet anchored by Food Lion, Schewels, and Auto Zone. Opened in 1987. Location: Edwin Miller Blvd.
- Apple Harvest Drive: K-Mart, Food Lion, Lowes, and Advance Auto.
- North Queen Street: Weis Markets, Tractor Supply, Big Lots, and Aarons.
- Other shopping areas in the city are the Berkeley Plaza on Williamsport Pike and Martinsburg Plaza on Winchester Ave.
Education
High Schools
Colleges and universities
Transportation
B&O Roundhouse and Station Complex
Major highways
Mass transportation
Amtrak provides service to Martinsburg. The city's passenger rail station is located downtown at 229 East Martin Street. MARC, Maryland's commuter rail system, operates trains on weekdays on its Brunswick Line which terminates in Martinsburg. Service is provided to Union Station in Washington, D.C.
Eastern Panhandle Transit Authority, known more popularly as "Pan Tran," operates bus routes in Martinsburg, surrounding Berkeley County, and neighboring Jefferson County, West Virginia.
Eastern WV Regional Airport, south of the city, handles general aviation. The closest airport with commercial air service is Hagerstown Regional Airport, that is about 25 miles driving distance north. The closest international airport is Washington Dulles International Airport, which is about 60 miles driving distance east.
Media
Print
- Martinsburg has one daily community newspaper, The Journal.
Radio
- The city is home to WEPM and WLTF radio stations. The following box details all of the radio stations in the Eastern Panhandle market.
Television
- Martinsburg is home to WWPX 60 (ION), which is part of the Hagerstown sub-market that is further grouped under the Nielsen-designated Washington, D.C.-Hagerstown, Md. market, the ninth largest market in the nation.8 The box below lists television stations available in the region.
|
Broadcast television in the greater Washington, D.C. area |
|
| Local stations |
|
|
| Public television |
WMPT/WFPT (22.1/62.1 PBS/MPT, 22.2/62.2 MPT2, 22.3/62.3 V-me) • WETA (26.1 PBS HD, 26.2 Create, 26.3 Kids, 26.4 SD) •
WNVC (30.1 MHzWV, 30.2 NHK, 30.3 MCN, 30.4 RT, 30.5 AJ) • WNVT (30.6 SABC, 30.7 F24, 30.8 NTA, 30.9 VTV4, 30.10 Euronews) • WHUT (32.1 PBS HD, 32.2 SD)
|
|
| Spanish language |
|
|
| Cable channels |
|
|
Baltimore locals
visible in DC |
|
|
| Hagerstown locals |
|
|
| Winchester locals |
|
|
| West Virginia locals |
|
|
| Silent station |
|
|
| Virginia Broadcast television: Bristol • Bluefield • Charlottesville • Hampton Roads • Harrisonburg • Richmond • Roanoke • Washington, DC
West Virginia Broadcast television: Bluefield • Clarksburg/Weston • Huntington/Charleston • Parkersburg • Washington, DC • Wheeling
Pennsylvania Broadcast television: Binghamton, NY • Buffalo, NY • Elmira, NY • Erie • Johnstown/Altoona/State College • New York City • Philadelphia • Pittsburgh • Scranton/Wilkes-Barre • Susquehanna Valley (Harrisburg) • Washington, DC • Youngstown, OH
See also Baltimore TV |
|
Notable natives and residents
- Newton D. Baker, Secretary of War
- Belle Boyd, Confederate spy in the American Civil War
- Scott Bullett, Former outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs
- Vicky Bullett, Olympic gold medalist in women's basketball
- Harry Flood Byrd, Sr., United States Senator and Governor of Virginia
- Robert Lee Castleman, Grammy-winning singer/songwriter
- Charles James Faulkner, United States Representative from Virginia
- Karl Hess, former D.C. insider turned Libertarian and appropriate technology activist, relocated to the Martinsburg area in the 1970s.
- Shannon Larkin, drummer for the hard rock band Godsmack
- Walter Dean Myers, author
- John Quincy Adams Nadenbousch, colonel in Confederate States Army
- Cecil B. Perkins, former pitcher for the New York Yankees
- Kevin Pittsnogle, former pro basketball player, former West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball player
- Absalom Willis Robertson, United States Senator from Virginia
- David Hunter Strother (aka Porte Crayon), artist
- Hack Wilson, Hall of Fame baseball player
- Fulton Walker, former football player for the Miami Dolphins
References
External links
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