Coeburn, Virginia

Coeburn is a coal town in Wise County, Virginia, United States, along the Guest River. The population was 2,139 at the 2010 census.

The Town of Coeburn was originally named Guest Station after explorer and surveyor Christopher Gist. Gist writes about the area of Coeburn in his trip journals of making camp in the area with his son, Tom.

Incorporated in 1894, the Town changed its name from Guest Station to Coeburn after W. W. Coe, Chief Engineer of the N&W Railroad, and Judge W. E. Burns.

The Tacoma School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

Coeburn is located at 36°56′38″N 82°27′58″W / 36.943872°N 82.466069°W / 36.943872; -82.466069 (36.943872, −82.466069). The town lies along U.S. Route 58 Alternate, east of Norton and west of St. Paul. Virginia State Route 72 passes through the downtown area. The community of Riverview is located across the Guest River to the south.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.0 square miles (5.3 km²), all land. Coeburn has many mountains and hills.

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,996 people, 810 households, and 575 families living in the town. The population density was 973.8 people per square mile (375.9/km²). There were 923 housing units at an average density of 450.3 per square mile (173.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 95.29% White, 2.81% African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.05% from other races, and 1.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.60% of the population.

There were 810 households, out of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% were married couples living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.9% were non-families. 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.92.