Cucumber, West Virginia

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).

The U.S. Post Office in Cucumber

A postmark from the Cucumber Post Office

Cucumber, West Virginia
Census-designated place
The main area of Cucumber, West Virginia, viewed from West Virginia Route 16
Cucumber Show map of West Virginia Cucumber Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 37°16′40″N 81°37′36″W
Country	United States
State	West Virginia
County	McDowell
Area [1]
• Total	0.452 sq mi (1.17 km2)
• Land	0.452 sq mi (1.17 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation	1,542 ft (470 m)
Population  (2020)[2]
• Total	74
• Density	160/sq mi (63/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EST)
ZIP codes	24826
GNIS feature ID	1554238[3]

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

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
2010	94		—
2020	74		−21.3%
U.S. Decennial Census[10]

See also

• List of census-designated places in West Virginia

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.

External links

Media related to Cucumber, West Virginia at Wikimedia Commons