Black Betsy | |
Settlement Type: | Unincorporated community |
Pushpin Map: | West Virginia#USA |
Pushpin Map Caption: | Location within the state of West Virginia |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Name: | United States |
Subdivision Type1: | State |
Subdivision Name1: | West Virginia |
Subdivision Type2: | County |
Subdivision Name2: | Putnam |
Unit Pref: | Imperial |
Population As Of: | 2000 |
Population Density Km2: | auto |
Timezone: | Eastern (EST) |
Utc Offset: | -5 |
Timezone Dst: | EDT |
Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
Coordinates: | 38.4997°N -81.8356°W |
Postal Code Type: | ZIP codes |
Blank Name: | FIPS code |
Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
Blank1 Info: | 1536045 |
Black Betsy is an unincorporated community in Putnam County, West Virginia, United States. The town is located on the east bank of the Kanawha River on West Virginia Route 62.
Many legends exist as to the origin of the name Black Betsy. Many claim it was named after a black woman who sold moonshine to miners while others say that "Black Betsy" was the moonshine itself. The coal from the area was supposedly named "Black Betsy" as well. All of these are rumors and each member of the community has a different variation of the story.