Ronceverte, West Virginia
| Ronceverte, West Virginia | |
|---|---|
| City | |
| Nickname(s): The Friendly River City | |
 Location of Ronceverte, West Virginia |
|
| Coordinates: 37°44′54″N 80°28′12″W / 37.74833°N 80.47000°WCoordinates: 37°44′54″N 80°28′12″W / 37.74833°N 80.47000°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | West Virginia |
| County | Greenbrier |
| Incorporated | 1882 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1.73 sq mi (4.48 km2) |
| • Land | 1.70 sq mi (4.40 km2) |
| • Water | 0.03 sq mi (0.08 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,677 ft (511 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 1,765 |
| • Estimate (2016) | 1,736 |
| • Density | 1,038.2/sq mi (400.9/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 24970 |
| Area code(s) | 304 |
| FIPS code | 54-70156 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1546056 |
Ronceverte is a city in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, on the Greenbrier River. The population was 1,765 at the 2010 census.
Ronceverte might have been named "Edgar", for the high number of Edgars who lived in the town, but the name was settled by a leading entrepreneur of the area, Cecil Clay, president of the St. Lawrence Boom and Manufacturing Company. According to Clay, he saw the name on an old Jesuit map from Fort Duquesne. His argument was that the name "looked well in print and was euphonious in sound." As the owner of the town's site, Clay argued he had the right to decide on the name, but the residents could change the name to whatever they wanted once Ronceverte was fully established. That day has never happened. Since April 1, 1882, the town has been Ronceverte.
Ronceverte is French for "Bramble Green", which is the Gallic equivalent for "Greenbrier". Greenbriers are a common vine (Smilax rotundifolia), and a humorous myth has it the surveyors were trapped in a thicket of the painful vines when they discovered the Greenbrier River. French surveyors were likely the first cartographers for the area, although many of the details have been lost to history.
The river is still inseparable from the culture of the town itself, considered one of the earliest significant river ports in the Greenbrier River watershed.
The Hokes Mill Covered Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. The Ronceverte Historic District was listed in 2005.
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Wikipedia