Kenova is a city in Wayne County, West Virginia, at the confluence of the Ohio and Big Sandy Rivers. Located near a tristate border, the city's name is a portmanteau of Kentucky, Ohio, and Virginia. Founded in 1859 but not incorporated until 1894, the town's early history and development was centered on the railroad industry. It is home to a major Norfolk Southern Ohio River Bridge. CSX Transportation's former Chesapeake and Ohio Kanawha Subdivision travels through the town as well.The population was 3,216 at the 2010 census. Kenova is a part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the MSA had a population of 287,702. New definitions from February 28, 2013 placed the population at 363,000.The city is also near the site of the Southern Airways Flight 932 aviation disaster. In 1970, a plane carrying the Marshall University football team crashed on a hillside on approach to the Tri-State Airport, killing all on board.