Rand is a census-designated place (CDP) on the Kanawha River in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 1,631.[2] It is surrounded by the communities of Malden and DuPont City.
Rand | |
|---|---|
 Street scene in Rand in the 1970s | |
 Location in Kanawha County and state of West Virginia. | |
| Coordinates: 38°16′57″N 81°33′44″W / 38.28250°N 81.56222°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | West Virginia |
| County | Kanawha |
| Area | |
• Total | 0.461 sq mi (1.19 km2) |
| • Land | 0.461 sq mi (1.19 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) |
| Population | |
• Total | 1,631 |
| • Density | 3,500/sq mi (1,400/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
History
editThe unincorporated community within the historic Kanawha Salines area, was named after Plus Rand Levi, son of Mordecai Levi, patent holder of the Brick Road. It was originally named "Plus" from 1907 to 1909, when a large tract was purchased from the Dickinson family. Because there was already a town already called Plus, the community changed its name to Levi. Around the 1930s or 1940s, due to a town in Braxton County being named Levi, the community changed its name again, to Rand.[3][4]
Notable people
editPro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver and ESPN analyst Randy Moss was born and raised in Rand, as well as Samuel Singleton Jr, a former minor league baseball player.[5][6]
The ESPN Films production Rand University, which chronicled Moss’ journey from Rand to the National Football League, was largely filmed in Rand; the title refers to the area behind the town’s only hangout spot, a 7-Eleven store where many locals openly drink alcohol behind the store’s dumpsters.[6]
References
edit- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ^ a b "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
- ^ 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. p. 493.
- ^ Year: 1940; Census Place: Malden, Kanawha, West Virginia; Roll: T627_4416; Page: 32B; Enumeration District: 20-111
- ^ Bieler, Des (November 12, 2014). "What we learned from ESPN's '30 for 30′ on Randy Moss". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
- ^ a b McGarry, Tim (September 17, 2012). "Randy Moss remembers his roots with Rand University". USA Today. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
External links
edit- Picture history: "A Family Living in Poverty in Rand, West Virginia"
- https://web.archive.org/web/20080709025325/http://www.picturehistory.com/product/id/13000
- https://web.archive.org/web/20110209112717/http://www.wvculture.org/history/placnamr.html
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