Huntington, city in western West Virginia. Huntington is the seat of Cabell County and is also in Wayne County. The second largest city in West Virginia (after Charleston), Huntington is a port at the junction of the Ohio River and Symmes Creek, near Ohio and Kentucky, and is protected by a long floodwall. It is a commercial, transportation, and manufacturing center. Manufactures in the city include nickel alloys, railroad and mining equipment, glassware, motor-vehicle parts, and chemicals. Coal is mined nearby. Marshall University (1837) is here. Huntington was established in 1871 as the western terminus of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad and is named for the railroad's president, Collis P. Huntington; it was incorporated as a city in the same year. According to the 1990 census, whites constitute 92.5 percent of Huntington's population; blacks, 6.7 percent, people of Asian origin, 0.5 percent; and Native Americans, 0.1 percent. Hispanics, who may also be counted among other groups, represent 0.5 percent of the population. Huntington's population has declined in recent years as residents leave to pursue economic opportunities outside West Virginia, where the economy is stagnant. Population 63,684 (1980); 54,844 (1990); 52,571 (1998 estimate).
