Kingwood

History of Kingwood

Kingwood, the county seat of Preston County, was founded in 1811 and officially chartered in 1853. Named for its location near a grove of tall, stately trees, Kingwood is home to the first organized Court of Quarter Sessions, a group of justices who initially met at the home of William Price. Preston County was formed from Monongalia County by the act of Assembly passed on January 19, 1818. County court justices convened at the house, known as the “Herndon Hotel,” of William Price in Kingwood. The warm community is recognized for the many hard-working leaders and families who live there.

Kingwood Today: What Makes Us Unique

Kingwood is a safe community where you can take a relaxing walk or attend social outings. Children play with friends at neighborhood parks and neighbors create lifelong relationships. Neighbors come together to meet the needs of the community, including food drives, donations for causes and church mission projects for school supplies. Kingwood encourages and celebrates community members’ talents and interests.

Surrounded by many unusual and rare trees and shrubs imported by the builder, McGrew House invites all to witness Preston County’s place in West Virginia’s history. As a rich resource for students, McGrew House offers the Bill Williams Gallery, the Bill Prince photo gallery and the Leo Kotchek Museum as well as Civil War area artifacts. Aspiring architects can experience two contrasting styles of architecture that Mr. McGrew was involved in constructing his house. The McGrew House is listed on the National Register of Historical Places.

Hovatter’s Wildlife Zoo

Nestled in the woods, the Kingwood treasure began with a small array of black bear, deer, tigers and cougars that has blossomed into an eclectic display of grizzlies, chimpanzees, white and orange tigers, spotted leopards and more.

WV Northern Rail-Trail

Kingwood is one terminus of the WV Northern Rail-Trail. The scenic greenway runs 10 miles to Tunnelton for walking, biking, cross-country skiing, and more along the former West Virginia Northern Railroad.

Kingwood City Pool

What’s more inviting on a warm, sunshine-filled day, than a refreshing pool with all of the amenities? Kingwood proudly supports youth sports and exercise. Bring your family and friends for day and night swimming, lessons, and private pool parties. Dressing rooms and concessions are offered.

McGrew House

The home of one of Preston County’s most influential citizens and one of its founding fathers, James Clark McGrew, is available for tours, parties, and receptions. The McGrew Society’s mission includes preserving James C. McGrew House and its place in West Virginia’s history as a State Founder who led through obstacles of his day, including the Civil War and its aftermath. Deep historical and moral lessons come from their courage and persistence in the face of adversity and destruction.

Preston County Senior Center

Those 60+ years of age will find the Preston County Senior Center as the place to be for healthy activities and camaraderie. In addition, services are offered for health, medical and financial needs.

Preston Country Club

Kingwood is home to the pristine 18-hole golf course offering beautiful scenery along the Cheat River. Highlighted as one of West Virginia’s longest golf courses at 7001 yards from the tips, Preston County Country Club has proudly hosted the Men’s and Women’s Tri-State for more than 20 years, the Senior Tri-State and other tournaments. End your unforgettable round of golf with dinner at Rosemary’s Thyme Mexican Restaurant.

Trout for Cheat

As a non-profit organization, Trout for Cheat stocks Rainbow Trout in an eight-mile section of the Cheat River. Multiple stockings in the Spring and Fall keep the river plentiful. Come cast your line for fresh trout, ranging from 2-8 pounds.

Preston County Buckwheat Festival

The Kingwood Volunteer Fire Department hosts the Preston County Buckwheat Festival each year! The four-day event serves up mouthwatering Buckwheat Cake dinners all weekend and is filled with events, including a carnival, arts and crafts, parades, livestock and a celebrated pageant.

Local Schools

The Preston County School District operates several schools in Kingwood, including Kingwood Elementary, Central Preston Middle School and Preston High School.

Kingwood Public Library

The Kingwood Public Library is an excellent community resource. Beyond standard reading materials, it has a tremendous collection of genealogical information on West Virginia history in the form of cemetery record books, census records and microfilms.

Preston Memorial Hospital (PMH)

Originally opened in 1955, Kingwood’s Preston Memorial Hospital (PMH) is a nonprofit, 25-bed, Critical Access Hospital with a new facility dedicated in 2015. PMH operates a 24/7 Emergency Department with a Level IV Trauma designation and has two nationally recognized Centers of Excellence in Bariatrics and Sleep Medicine.

Population

Population	2000	2010	2026	2031
Kingwood	2,953	2,939	2,962	2,958

Source: ESRI, 2026-09-09

Population by Age

Population	2026
0-4	171
5-9	190
10-14	135
15-19	178
20-24	124
25-29	138
30-34	159
35-39	179
40-44	186
45-49	168
50-54	178
55-59	182
60-64	190
65-69	189
70-74	189
75-79	164
80-84	123
85+	119
18+	2,357
Median Age	46

Source: ESRI, 2026-09-09

Population by Race

Kingwood	2026
Total	2,962.00
White Alone	94.09%
Black Alone	0.61%
American Indian Alone	0.07%
Asian Alone	0.34%
Pacific Islander Alone	0.03%
Some Other Race	0.17%
Two or More Races	4.69%
Hispanic Origin	1.05%
Diversity Index	13.10

Source: ESRI, 2026-09-09

Growth Rate

Kingwood	2026 - 2031
Population	-0.03%
Households	0.28%
Families	0.22%
Median Household Income	3%
Per Capita Income	2%

Source: ESRI, 2026-09-09

Housing

Households

Population	2000	2010	2026	2031
Households	1,286	1,291	1,295	1,313
Housing Units	1,419	1,454	1,537	1,554
Owner Occupied Units			890	902
Renter Occupied Units			405	411
Vacant Units			242	241

Source: ESRI, 2026-09-09

Home Value

Kingwood	2026	2031
Median Home Value	$179,200	$218,421
Average Home Value	$197,913	$260,136
<$50,000	66	63
$50,000 - $99,999	115	69
$100,000 - $149,999	132	76
$150,000 - $199,999	236	194
$200,000 - $249,999	125	133
$250,000 - $299,999	103	141
$300,000 - $399,999	64	118
$400,000 - $499,999	23	31
$500,000 - $749,999	20	43
$1,000,000 +	1	8

Source: ESRI, 2026-09-09

Housing Year Built

Year Range	Houses Built
2010 or Later	42
2000-2009	60
1990-1999	133
1980-1989	198
1970-1979	269
1960-1969	176
1950-1959	305
1940-1949	11
1939 or Before	369

Source: ESRI, 2026-09-09

Income

Kingwood	2026	2031
Median Household	$72,798	$85,073
Average Household	$84,618	$94,177
Per Capita	$37,252	$42,067

Source: ESRI, 2026-09-09

Household Income

Kingwood	2026
<$15,000	102
$15,000 - $24,999	96
$25,000 - $34,999	155
$35,000 - $49,999	113
$50,000 - $74,999	196
$75,000 - $99,999	148
$100,000 - $149,999	325
$150,000 - $199,999	115
$200,000+	45

Source: ESRI, 2026-09-09

Employees

Commute

Category	Commuters
Workers 16+	1,308
In-County Residents	820
Out-of-County Residents	405
Drive Alone	1,080
Carpooled	146
Public Transport	0
Work at Home	36
Motorcycle	0
Bicycle	0
Walked	46
Other	0
Less than 5 minutes	167
5-9 minutes	221
10-14 minutes	158
15-19 minutes	69
20-24 minutes	89
25-29 minutes	10
30-34 minutes	71
35-39 minutes	31
40-44 minutes	70
45-59 minutes	145
60-89 minutes	228
90+ minutes	13
Average Travel Time	0

Source: ESRI, 2026-09-09

Employees by NAICS

Category	Number
Total Employees	1,917
Agr/Forestry/Fish/Hunt	0
Mining	14
Utilities	4
Construction	12
Manufacturing	192
Wholesale Trade	30

Retail Trade	257
Motor Veh/Parts Dealers	26
Furn & Home Furnish Str	0
Electronics & Appl Store	0
Bldg Matl/Garden Equip	9
Food & Beverage Stores	67
Health/Pers Care Stores	19
Gasoline Stations	0
Clothing/Accessory Store	1
Sports/Hobby/Book/Music	24
General Merchandise Str	111

Transportation/Warehouse	26
Information	21

Finance & Insurance	67
Cntrl Bank/Crdt Intrmdtn	42
Sec/Cmdty Cntrct/Oth Inv	5
Insur/Funds/Trusts/Other	20

Real Estate/Rent/Leasing	14
Prof/Scientific/Tech Srv	54
Legal Services	14
Mgmt of Comp/Enterprises	0
Admin/Support/Waste Mgmt	10
Educational Services	88
HealthCare/Social Assist	633
Arts/Entertainment/Rec	15

Accommodation/Food Srvcs	183
Accommodation	3
Food Srv/Drinking Places	180

Other Srv excl Pub Admin	101
Auto Repair/Maintenance	4
Public Administration Emp	196

Source: ESRI, 2026-09-09

Educational Attainment (25+)

Kingwood	2026
<9th Grade	24
Some High School	94
GED	160
Graduated High School	761
Some College/No Degree	378
Associates Degree	128
Bachelor's Degree	249
Graduate Degree	370

Source: ESRI, 2026-09-09

Businesses

Businesses by NAICS

Category	Number
Total Businesses	176
Agr/Forestry/Fish/Hunt Bus	0
Mining Bus	1
Utilities Bus	1
Construction Bus	4
Manufacturing Bus	2
Wholesale Trade Bus	5

Retail Trade Bus	20
Motor Veh/Parts Dealers Bus	3
Furn & Home Furnish Str Bus	0
Electronics & Appl Store Bus	0
Bldg Matl/Garden Equip Bus	1
Food & Beverage Stores Bus	5
Health/Pers Care Stores Bus	2
Gasoline Stations Bus	0
Clothing/Accessory Store Bus	1
Sports/Hobby/Book/Music Bus	5
General Merchandise Str Bus	3

Transportation/Warehouse Bus	2
Information Bus	5

Finance & Insurance Bus	14
Cntrl Bank/Crdt Intrmdtn Bus	6
Sec/Cmdty Cntrct/Oth Inv Bus	2
Insur/Funds/Trusts/Other Bus	6

Real Estate/Rent/Leasing Bus	5
Prof/Scientific/Tech Srv Bus	15
Legal Services Bus	7
Mgmt of Comp/Enterprises Bus	0
Admin/Support/Waste Mgmt Bus	4
Educational Services Bus	2
HealthCare/Social Assist Bus	18
Arts/Entertainment/Rec Bus	4

Accommodation/Food Srvcs Bus	13
Accommodation Bus	1
Food Srv/Drinking Places Bus	12

Other Srv excl Pub Admin Bus	26
Auto Repair/Maintenance Bus	1
Public Administration Bus	24

Source: ESRI, 2026-09-09