Morgantown, West Virginia

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Morgantown is a city in and the county seat of Monongalia County,

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

, United States, situated along the

Monongahela River The Monongahela River ( , )—often referred to locally as the Mon ()—is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 river on the Allegheny Plateau in North Cen ...

. The largest city in

North-Central West Virginia North Central West Virginia (sometimes known as "Mountaineer Country") is a region of the U.S. state of West Virginia. The region's largest city is Morgantown. Counties * Monongalia County * Marion County * Harrison County * Taylor County *Dod ...

, Morgantown is best known as the home of

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

. The population was 30,712 at the 2020 census. The city serves as the anchor of the

Morgantown metropolitan area The Morgantown Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in North-Central West Virginia, anchored by the city of Morgantown. As of the 2020 census, the MSA had a populati ...

, which had a population of 138,176 in 2020.

History

Morgantown's history is closely tied to the Anglo-French struggle for this territory. Until the

Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France: Treaties 1200s and 1300s * Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade * Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France * Trea ...

in 1763, what is now known as Morgantown was greatly contested by white settlers and Native Americans, and by British and French soldiers. The treaty decided the issue in favor of the British, but Indian fighting continued almost to the beginning of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

in 1775.

Zackquill Morgan Colonel Zackquill Morgan was the son of Welsh-born Colonel Morgan Morgan and Catherine Garretson, the first known white settlers in what would become the U.S. state of West Virginia. He was born in Orange ow BerkeleyCounty, est.h_...

_and_David_Morgan_(frontiersman).html" ;"title="estVirginia">est.h ...

and David_Morgan,_sons_of_Morgan_Morgan.html" ;"title="David Morgan (frontiersman)">David Morgan, sons of Morgan Morgan">David Morgan (frontiersman)">David Morgan, sons of Morgan Morgan, entered the area of Virginia that would become Morgantown around 1767, although others, such as Thomas Decker, were recorded as attempting to settle in the area a decade earlier. Zackquill and David lived here for a few years and eventually built Fort Morgan in present-day Downtown Morgantown in 1772. Several forts were built in the area during this time: Fort Pierpont near the

Cheat River The Cheat River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed August 15, 2011 tributary of the Monongahela River in eastern West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the Uni ...

, in 1769; Fort Coburn, near Dorsey's Knob, in 1770. Fort Morgan, at the present site of Morgantown, in 1772; Fort Dinwiddie, north several miles at Stewartstown, in 1772; Fort Martin, several miles north on the

, in 1773; Fort Burris in the present-day Suncrest area of Morgantown, in 1774; and Fort Kern in the present-day Greenmont area of Morgantown, in 1774, in addition to other, smaller forts. Wharf-District

Zackquill Morgan settled the area about 1772 by establishing a homestead near present-day Fayette Street and University Avenue. Morgan fought in both the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

and the

, rising to the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

. By 1783, following his wartime duties, Colonel Morgan commissioned Major William Haymond to survey his land and divide it into streets and lots. Colonel Morgan then received a legal certificate for in the area of his settlement near the mouth of Decker's Creek. were appropriated for Morgan's Town by the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

in October 1785. On February 3, 1838, the Virginia General Assembly enacted a

municipal charter A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document (''charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Traditionally the granting of a charter ...

incorporating the city, now with a population of about 700, as Morgantown, Virginia. The town became part of the newly created state of

on June 20, 1863, through the

Reorganized Government of Virginia The Restored (or Reorganized) Government of Virginia was the Unionist government of Virginia during the American Civil War (1861–1865) in opposition to the government which had approved Virginia's seceding from the United States and joini ...

Early structures

Notable early structures still standing in Morgantown, as of 2018, include the Old Stone House, built in 1795 by Jacob Nuce on Long Alley (the modern-day Chestnut Street) and the John Rogers family home on Foundry Street, built in 1840 and occupied as of 2011 by the Dering Funeral Home.

Personal Rapid Transit System

During the 1970s, the

U.S. Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States and ...

built an experimental driverless personal rapid transit system in the city, citing the area's variable seasonal

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...

and geographic elevations as factors in testing the technology's viability. The

Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit (WVU PRT) is a personal rapid transit (PRT) system in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. The system connects the three Morgantown campuses of West Virginia University (WVU) and the city's downtown are ...

(PRT) has been in use since 1975. University students use the system for free travel between the campuses.

Geography

Morgantown is south of

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, north-northwest of Washington, D.C., east of

Marietta, Ohio Marietta is a city in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Ohio, United States. It is located in southeastern Ohio at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, northeast of Parkersburg, West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, Mar ...

, and northeast of Charleston. Morgantown is just south of the

Mason–Dixon line The Mason–Dixon line, also called the Mason and Dixon line or Mason's and Dixon's line, is a demarcation line separating four U.S. states, forming part of the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and West Virginia (part of Virginia ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Terrain

Morgantown lies in the Appalachian Region. The city is hilly with several sections rising over in elevation. The highest point is on Sky Rock in Dorsey Knob Park. The lowest point is on the banks of the Monongahela River at . The area surrounding Morgantown is mountainous.

Coopers Rock State Forest Coopers Rock State Forest is a state forest in Monongalia and Preston counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Its southern edge abuts Cheat Lake and the canyon section of Cheat River, a popular whitewater rafting river in the eastern Unit ...

, east of Morgantown, has elevations between and above sea level.

Climate

Morgantown lies in the transition between a

humid subtropical A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Cfa'') and

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(Köppen ''Dfa''), with four distinct seasons. Winters are cool to cold with a January daily mean temperature of , an average annual snowfall of and 1.3 nights of sub- readings. Summers are hot and humid with a July daily mean temperature of and 13.2 days of + highs annually. Precipitation is generous, with winter being the driest period and May through July the wettest. Extreme temperatures range from on February 10, 1899, up to on August 26, 1893.

Neighborhoods

Morgantown is made up of several neighborhoods, some of which had been independent towns that were annexed by the city as it continued to grow. Neighborhoods include First Ward, Woodburn, South Park, Jerome Park, South Hills, Second Ward, Greenmont, Suncrest, Evansdale, Wiles Hill, Sunnyside, Sabraton, the Mileground, and North Hills. While some of these, such as the Mileground, Easton, and Sabraton, are in part or entirely outside the city limits, they are still considered part of Morgantown. The City of Morgantown contained an estimated 31,073 residents in 2014. Morgantown MSA enrolls over 30,000 full-time students at West Virginia University.

Suncrest

Fort Burris was erected in 1774 in what became the Suncrest area of Morgantown. The fort was a settler's blockhouse in what is, as of 2019, the Summers Masonic Lodge at the intersection of Burroughs and Windsor streets. During 1885–1888, the land in the Evansdale/Suncrest area was agricultural, with farms of . Drummond's Chapel was named after a minister who then moved to Missouri. The Evans Farm was on land near Riverview Drive and 8th Street and was named for Colonel John Evans, who fought in the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

with Morgantown founder Zack Morgan. The Krepps farmhouse was on land where the

Creative Arts Center, Engineering and Agricultural buildings would later be built. Dilley Farm was on the other side of 8th street. The Van Voorhis Farm was large. Down Collins Ferry Road was the Anderson Farm. The Jacobs Farm was below Elmhurst and Mulberry. Trolley cars determined how far people lived outside of the city, and did not reach to what is now Suncrest. By 1920, however, cars were becoming common. In 1923, the Monongahela Development Company bought land from Krepps and most others else in the area. Suncrest Park bought Sears Roebuck house plans and divided Suncrest into three areas: Fairfield Street, Suncrest Park and Suncrest. In 1928, the Suncrest Home Association developers gave for what became Krepps Park. A civic group built facilities and the park was given to Morgantown, which made some improvements. By 1937, Suncrest needed a town government to pave streets and provide water and sewer. Dr. Julian Leach, a WVU plant pathologist, was elected mayor; Bill Hart was a later mayor. Suncrest finally became part of Morgantown. In 1940 the Dupont industrial park around the Kenmore Street area built 100 homes with six different floor plans. From 1947 to 1950, Gunnison homes were built in the Mulberry and Lake Street areas. The development of the DuPont Ordnance Works during World War II in Westover resulted in a large number of prefabricated homes being constructed in Suncrest. Old Suncrest and Suncrest Addition were among the names given to subsections of this growing community. Some street names reflected the community's participation in service organizations, such as Civitan, Kiwanis, Lions and Rotary. Before Suncrest became part of Morgantown in 1949, it was first incorporated in 1937 as the town of Suncrest; the name came from a developer who looked out one morning and saw the sun crest over a hill. The area from University Avenue to the university's medical school once held a racetrack. When there was talk of building a medical school in West Virginia, Charleston and Huntington vied for it, but Morgantown offered to give and provide a county hospital. A cemetery with 200 graves near what is now

Ruby Memorial Hospital J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital is the flagship hospital of the West Virginia University Health System, located in Morgantown, West Virginia. A 690-bed tertiary care center, Ruby is also the largest hospital in the health system and serves as the a ...

had to be moved to the West Run area. Around 1928, there was an airport near where the West Virginia University Coliseum was later built.

Sunnyside

Sunnyside, just north of downtown Morgantown, is an older neighborhood adjacent to West Virginia University's downtown campus. The neighborhood is bounded by University Avenue to the east and Campus Drive to the south. Close to the downtown campus of West Virginia University and for decades known as a neighborhood of student housing, is also the scene of many off-campus parties and post-game celebrations including, until 1995, the unsanctioned annual back-to-school

block party A block party or street party is a party in which many members of a single community congregate, either to observe an event of some importance or simply for mutual solidarity and enjoyment. The name comes from the form of the party, which ofte ...

that would annually draw upward of 10,000 revelers to celebrate the start of fall classes. The university and city put an end to the tradition that year after two students, Monica Potter of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, Pennsylvania, and Jason Callahan of Pennsauken, New Jersey, were shot in the leg the previous year. The City of Morgantown and West Virginia University jointly established the Sunnyside Up Project: Campus Neighborhoods Revitalization Corporation, dedicated to the redevelopment of this area. The first step was to create a comprehensive revitalization plan, which was published in fall 2004. The university's Summit Hall Dormitory and the Honors Hall Dormitory are in the southern part of the neighborhood.

First Ward

First Ward is south of High Street in Morgantown. First Ward Elementary School was formerly located there; however, it was demolished and the playground area converted to Jack Roberts Park, one of two parks in the area along with White Park. Both include recreational facilities. The city's reservoir is in this neighborhood and sports several biking and hiking trails on almost all sides. White Park is the location of the Morgantown Municipal Ice Arena and also features athletic fields and wooded hiking trails. The Mountaineer Mall, Morgantown's first mall, is here, as are South Middle School and the Monongalia County Technical Education Center. The Wharf District is along the west side of First Ward, on the banks of the Monongahela River.

South Park

South Park is across

Deckers Creek Deckers Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed August 15, 2011 tributary of the Monongahela River that runs through north-central West Virginia. It begins west of A ...

from downtown Morgantown. Originally farmland, it was one of the first suburbs of Morgantown. In the early 20th century, South Park experienced a housing boom, with wealthy and influential citizens settling there. The neighborhood is home to

Morgantown High School Morgantown High School is a public high school in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. It is one of three secondary schools in the Monongalia County School District. Athletic teams compete as the Morgantown Mohigans in the West Virginia Seco ...

, built in 1924 and later expanded. The neighborhood is designated a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

by the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Woodburn

Woodburn used to be farmland on the hills to the east of downtown Morgantown. It encompasses the area enclosed by Richwood Avenue in the south and Willey Street in the north. Monongalia Avenue serves as the western boundary and the eastern boundary begins in the south at the intersection of Richwood Avenue and Darst Street, and continues north until Darst intersects with Willey Street at the beginning of the Mileground. While it used to be home to small hillside farmsteads, Woodburn grew into a typical city neighborhood in the late 19th century. Many of the street names, such as Louise Avenue, James Street, and Ridgeway Avenue, are named for early farm families, and many of the original farmhouses remained standing in the first decade of the 21st century. The area saw a rapid growth in population at the beginning of the 20th century as home to tinsmiths from

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

who came to work in the tinplate mill that later became the Sterling Faucet Company plant in Sabraton. A trolley line ran the length of Richwood Avenue and originally connected downtown with Sabraton. The Welsh community was active in the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

Church at the intersection of High Street and Willey Street, and held picnics in Whitemoore Park, the main green space in Woodburn. Many of these immigrants retained the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...

, and as late as the 1930s it was common to hear Welsh spoken on the streets of Woodburn and the community was known for carrying on a traditional

eisteddfod In Welsh culture, an ''eisteddfod'' is an institution and festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry and music. The term ''eisteddfod'', which is formed from the Welsh morphemes: , meaning 'sit', and , meaning 'be', means, a ...

every year. Woodburn Elementary School was the neighborhood school built in 1910. Following World War II, many new families came to Woodburn, attracted by the parkland, close proximity to downtown, community atmosphere, and nearby school. In 1950, Tom and Anna Torch opened the Richwood Avenue Confectionery, a corner store and lunch counter that served beer in large Weiss goblets from the Morgantown Glassworks. When they sold the operation in 1963 to Mario and Rose Spina, the establishment was nicknamed "Marios Fishbowl" in honor of the goblets. A neighborhood newspaper was published here in the 1980s.

Jerome Park

Primarily residential Jerome Park is to the east of Woodburn. In 2012, the city bought two acres that include the old Jerome Park Elementary School playground, and made it a park called the Paul Preserve. The neighborhood also contains Whitemoore Park.

Sabraton

''Location: '' Located in the southeastern part of Morgantown, Sabraton is a former

coal town A coal town, also known as a coal camp or patch, is a type of company town or mining community established by the employer, a mining company, which imports workers to the site to work the mineral find. The company develops it and provides residen ...

and was previously known as Sturgiss City and Sabraton Station. The community was named after Sabra Vance Sturgiss, the wife of a local judge. Part of Sabraton was home to a tin plate mill, which later become a manufacturing plant for Sterling Faucet. In its early days, Sabraton was connected to downtown Morgantown by a trolley line that ran the length of Richwood Avenue. Its amenities include Marilla Park.

Demographics

Following the 2010 census, Monongalia County and neighboring

Preston County Preston County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the population was 34,216. Its county seat is Kingwood, West Virginia, Kingwood. The county was form ...

were acknowledged as a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) by the United States government. Estimates from 2010 put the

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

population at 129,709; as of July 2013, the estimate was 136,133. Of the 10 largest cities in West Virginia, only Morgantown and Martinsburg have shown positive population growth since the 2010 census, with Morgantown growing from 29,660 to a 2012 estimate of 31,000. West Virginia University constitutes of the city and vicinity, and with the fall 2012 enrollment added an additional population of 29,707 students. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Morgantown had some of the lowest unemployment rates in the United States as of early 2009.

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2010, there were 29,660 people, 11,701 households, and 3,827 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 12,664 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 89.7%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 4.1%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.1% Native American, 3.4%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 0.6% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 2.0% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 2.6% of the population. There were 11,701 households, of which 12.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 23.1% were married couples living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 67.3% were non-families. 36.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.05 and the average family size was 2.71. The median age in the city was 22.6 years. 8.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 52.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 18.4% were from 25 to 44; 13.1% were from 45 to 64; and 8.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 53.5% male and 46.5% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 26,809 people, 10,782 households, and 4,183 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,736.0 people per square mile (1,056.2/km²). There were 11,721 housing units at an average density of 1,196.2 per square mile (461.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.48%

, 4.15%

, 0.17% Native American, 4.15%

, 0.05%

, 0.51% from

, and 1.48% from two or more races.

of any race were 1.54% of the population. There were 10,782 households, out of which 15.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 29.1% were married couples living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 61.2% were non-families. 37.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.08 and the average family size was 2.76. Morgantown's age distribution, which is heavily influenced by the presence of West Virginia University, is: 11.1% under the age of 18, 44.7% from 18 to 24, 20.4% from 25 to 44, 13.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $20,649, and the median income for a family was $44,622. Males had a median income of $33,268 versus $24,944 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $14,459. About 15.0% of families and 38.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 23.3% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Points of interest

* Core Arboretum *

Dorsey Knob Dorsey Knob is a mountain summit located off U.S. Route 119 at the southern edge of Morgantown in Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States. Dorsey Knob is contained within a park spanning 71 acres (29 ha) that features the mountain's la ...

* Hazel Ruby McQuain Riverfront Park * The Metropolitan Theatre (former vaudeville house) * Monongalia Arts Center (MAC) *

Monongalia County Courthouse Monongalia County Courthouse is a historic courthouse building located in Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia. The courthouse was erected in 1784 with the current structure built in 1891. This Romanesque style building consists of a two ...

Mountaineer Field Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium is an American football stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia, on the campus of West Virginia University. It opened in 1980 and serves as the home field for the West Virginia Mountaineers football team. T ...

WVU Coliseum The WVU Coliseum is a 14,000-seat multi-purpose arena located on the Evansdale campus of West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia. The circular arena features a poured concrete roof. It was built with state funds and replaced the W ...

* Caperton and Deckers Creek Rail-Trails * Personal Rapid Transit system (PRT) * West Virginia University Art Museum * Morgantown History Museum

Sports

Baseball

The

West Virginia Black Bears The West Virginia Black Bears are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Granville, West Virginia, and play their home games at Monongalia County Ballpark, which is across the Monongahela River from Morganto ...

are a

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

team based in Morgantown. The team is part of the

MLB Draft League The MLB Draft League is a collegiate summer baseball league that began play in 2021. Created by Major League Baseball (MLB) and ''Prep Baseball Report'', the league serves as a showcase for top draft-eligible prospects leading up to each summer' ...

. Games are played at the

Monongalia County Ballpark Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark is a baseball stadium in Granville, West Virginia. The stadium, opened April 10, 2015, is the home of the baseball team of West Virginia University (WVU), a member of the Big 12 Conference, and the West ...

in nearby Granville.

Running

The inaugural

Morgantown Marathon The Morgantown Marathon is a 42.195 km (26.2 mi) race run through the seven wards of Morgantown, West Virginia. Its inaugural run was held in 2015. An official time from the Morgantown Marathon can be used as a qualifying event for the ...

was held in September 2015. The course winds through Morgantown's seven wards and is characterized by its elevation changes. Official times from the Morgantown Marathon can be used for

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by several cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was i ...

qualification. In addition to the full marathon race, the Morgantown Marathon also includes The Mountain Mama 8k and a half-marathon.

Education

The city is served by Monongalia County Schools. Public elementary schools in Morgantown and its surrounding area include Cheat Lake, North, Brookhaven, Ridgedale, Mountainview, Mylan Park, Skyview, Suncrest Elementary, and Eastwood. There are four middle schools: Mountaineer Middle, South, Westwood, and Suncrest Middle. The city's two high schools are University High School, the mascot of which is the

Hawks Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. This subfamily a ...

, and

, whose mascot is the Mohigans. The latter's name is that of a non-existent Native American tribe whose name is a combination of the words Morgantown (MO) High (HIG) Annual (AN), which was the school's yearbook. The Native American mascot and logo were adopted because of the close relation to the name

Mohican The Mohican ( or , alternate spelling: Mahican) are an Eastern Algonquian Native American tribe that historically spoke an Algonquian language. As part of the Eastern Algonquian family of tribes, they are related to the neighboring Lenape, who ...

, a real Native American tribe. Notable Morgantown High School alumni include

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

–

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

Lawrence Kasdan Lawrence Edward Kasdan (born January 14, 1949) is an American filmmaker. He is the co-writer of the ''Star Wars'' films ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980), ''Return of the Jedi'' (1983), ''The Force Awakens'' (2015), and ''Solo: A Star Wars Stor ...

(class of 1966), actor

Don Knotts Jesse Donald Knotts (July 21, 1924February 24, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on ''The Andy Griffith Show'', a 1960s sitcom for which he earned five Emmy Awards. He also ...

(class of 1942),

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

coach

Tommy Bowden Tommy Pearce Bowden (; born July 10, 1954) is a former American football coach. He served as the head coach at Clemson University from 1999 until October 13, 2008. He is a son of Bobby Bowden, former head football coach of Florida State Universi ...

(class of 1972), and TV

analyst

Terry Bowden Terry Wilson Bowden (; born February 24, 1956) is an American college football coach, currently the head coach at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. Bowden was previously head coach at Salem University (1983–1985), Samford University (1987 ...

(class of 1974). As of April 2005, Monongalia County Schools employed 897 professional personnel and 490 service personnel, and carries an enrollment of 10,076 students, including 156 adult students at the Monongalia County Technical Education Center. Three of Monongalia County's 23 schools have earned Exemplary Achievement status, according to the West Virginia Office of Educational Performance Audits' (OEPA) report issued November 2004. In 2004, Suncrest Middle became a National Blue Ribbon School for the

No Child Left Behind Act The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a U.S. Act of Congress that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; it included Title I provisions applying to disadvantaged students. It supported standards-based education ...

. Other private schools include: Morgantown Christian Academy, Maranatha Christian Academy, Covenant Christian School, Trinity Christian School, St. Francis Elementary/Middle School, and the alternative, non-religious Morgantown Learning Academy.

Early schools

While informal schools existed from Morgantown's earliest days, the town established a one-story, coeducational, Virginia common school in July 1803, that students attended on a tuition basis. On Nov. 29, 1814, the Virginia General Assembly incorporated Monongalia Academy, the county's first

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

. Supported by obligatory

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

s' fees, the male-only institution was the equivalent of a modern-day

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

. The Academy moved to a new two-story building in 1830, with principal Jonathan Haddock offering courses in

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

, surveying, and

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

in addition to traditional subjects.

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

minister Reverend James Robertson Moore was principal during the Academy's 1852–1864 heyday, when its enrollment included students from 14 states. In 1867, the Academy closed, and donated its land toward the establishment of

. The Virginia Assembly in March 1831 authorized the creation of the Morgantown Female Academy. Proceeds from the sale of the original Monongalia Academy building funded construction of a two-story school at Bumbo Lane (the modern-day Fayette Street) and Long Alley (the modern-day Chestnut Street). This school opened April 1, 1834. After the Assembly approved a charter change in 1838, the school became known as the

Academy. This prompted local Presbyterians to create the Woodburn Female Seminary, for which the Monongalia Academy's Rev. Moore also served as principal. The seminary closed in 1866, and its assets, like those of the Monongalia Academy, were donated toward the future university. Following the 1863 creation of West Virginia, the new state's first legislature created a public-school system. The act provided for the education of "free

colored ''Colored'' (or ''coloured'') is a racial descriptor historically used in the United States during the Jim Crow, Jim Crow Era to refer to an African Americans, African American. In many places, it may be considered a Pejorative, slur, though it ...

children", and was adapted three years later to mandate education for all African-American children. However, a two-tier system was created: White children attended a regular term (at the second former Monongalia Academy building, purchased in 1867 from West Virginia Agricultural College, the future West Virginia University), only a short term was provided for African-Americans, who met at St. Paul's African Methodist Episcopal Church, on Beechurst Avenue. In the late 19th and early 20th century, rural educational reformer

Alexander Wade Alexander L. Wade (February 1, 1832 – May 2, 1904) was an American educator. Alexander Luark Wade was born in Rushville, Indiana, to George Wade III and Ann Luark Wade on February 1, 1832. He moved to Monongalia County (then Virginia) wh ...

lived in Morgantown and was involved in establishing a system of graded education for country schools that was later adopted across the rest of the United States.

Roman Catholic schools

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

, Saint Francis de Sales, began sometime prior to 1915 as a two-room school in a house on McLane Avenue in the Seneca neighborhood, and run by lay teacher Miss Sterbutsal, who became Sister M. Isabelle of the Sisters of St. Joseph. In October 1915, the pastorate of Father Peter Flynn arranged for Ursuline Nuns of the Immaculate Conception, Ursuline nuns from Louisville, Kentucky, and in 1918, under principal Sister M. Isadore, the school moved to a new building on Beechurst Avenue, adjacent to St. Theresa's Church. On June 9, 1990, the grade school moved into the former St. Francis Central High School building, and eventually into newly built facility at 41 Guthrie Lane. Its mascot is the Trojan. St. Francis Central High School existed for several decades on Birch Street in the Evansdale neighborhood until that campus was taken over by the elementary school on June 9, 1990. The West Virginia University Foundation purchased its building and land in July 2003, formally selling it to WVU for $11 million in August 2004, with the university then announcing it intended to use the football and adjacent baseball fields as intramural sports, intramural recreation area.

West Virginia University

West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant university, founded in 1867. With an operating budget of approximately $1.2 billion as of 2022, it also has $150 million annually in sponsored contracts and research grants conducted by faculty members. Fall 2021 enrollment was 28,267, with students from all 55 West Virginia counties, 49 states plus the District of Columbia, and 112 countries. Some basic 2021 figures regarding the student body are: * 46% residents, 54% nonresidents * 21,086 undergraduates * 5,753 graduate and professional students * 53% female, 47% male * 18% minorities The 2022–2023 curriculum is supported by 13 colleges and schools offering 350 bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and professional degree programs in the arts and sciences; business and economics; creative arts; engineering and mineral resources; human resources and education; journalism; law; agriculture, forestry, and consumer sciences; dentistry; medicine; nursing; pharmacy; physical education; plus programs at Potomac State College of West Virginia University, Potomac State College and West Virginia University Institute of Technology, WVU Tech.

Media

Print

Morgantown has two newspapers. ''The Dominion Post'' is a privately owned newspaper which is published daily. The university-owned and student-run college newspaper, ''The Daily Athenaeum'', is published on weekdays while classes are in session, and is provided free of charge on campus and to many businesses around Morgantown. There are also other local quasi-newspapers such as the ''Post Extra'' and the ''Morgantown Times'', which typically feature a few local news stories and an abundance of advertisements. Both are free of charge and mass-mailed throughout the Morgantown area.

Television

Morgantown is part of the Pittsburgh television market, though stations in the Clarksburg, West Virginia, Clarksburg/Weston, West Virginia, Weston market claim Morgantown as part of their primary coverage area.

Radio

Infrastructure

Transportation

Airports

Morgantown Municipal Airport is one of West Virginia's few commercial airports. It is approximately northeast of the downtown along U.S. Route 119 in West Virginia, U.S. Route 119. North Central West Virginia Airport is about away by road, and Pittsburgh International Airport is about away.

Rail

The only active rail line near Morgantown is owned by Norfolk Southern with CSX trackage rights and serves a mine northwest of Rivesville, West Virginia. Coal is the major commodity, with a train serving local chemical industries such as Tanner and Addivant (formerly Chemtura) that require tank cars. These are trucked in and then loaded onto high side gondolas or bulkhead flat cars. Conrail was split by Norfolk Southern and CSX in 1999. CSX pays for half of the cost of maintenance for the line. CSX uses it mostly to bring trains from Grafton to load at Consol's Bailey Mine and for direct access to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

River

Morgantown relies heavily on the

for shipping coal and other products. The river is fully navigable from its mouth at the Ohio River in

, past Morgantown upstream to Fairmont, West Virginia, Fairmont. Morgantown Lock and Dam, in the southern part of the city, helps provide a continuous pool heading upstream towards the Hildebrand Lock and Dam. Point Marion Lock and Dam, the next downstream dam, is responsible for most of the river's pool in Morgantown.

Major roadways

Interstate 79#West Virginia, Interstate 79 * I-68

Interstate 68 * US 19

U.S. Route 19#West Virginia, U.S. Highway 19 * US 119

U.S. Highway 119 * WV-7

West Virginia Route 7 * WV-705

West Virginia Route 705

Transit

Most of Morgantown is accessible by Mountain Line Transit Authority bus system. Most service operates Monday-Saturday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. with a very limited service operating on Sunday during the WVU school year. Mountain Line's Grey Line bus operates every day of the year between Clarksburg, West Virginia and Pittsburgh International Airport. Morgantown also has the

(PRT) system. The system has five stations (Walnut, Beechurst, Engineering, Towers, and Medical) covering .

Utilities

Electric service is provided by FirstEnergy, Mon Power, natural gas services by Dominion Resources, and water and sewage by the Morgantown Utility Board. Cable television and cable Internet are provided by Comcast Communications. Landline telephone and DSL services are offered by Frontier Communications, with West Side Telecommunications telephone and DSL service available in some areas. Trash pickup in the Morgantown area is provided by Republic Services. The City of Morgantown has adopted a weekly recycling program, as part of the Clean Community Concept, an initiative by the city government.

Notable people

* Earl E. Anderson, Ret. U.S. Marines#Rank structure, General, youngest active-duty U.S. Marines, Marine to become General * John O. Bennett, New Jersey state senator * Thomas W. Bennett (conscientious objector), Thomas Bennett, U.S. Army medic and conscientious objector, awarded Medal of Honor * Jeff Bowden,

, college football coaches * Necro Butcher, Professional wrestling, professional wrestler * Rich Braham, professional American football, football player * Emily Calandrelli: TV host, actor, and engineer * Marion Cannon, U.S. Representative from California * Earl Lemley Core, botanist and local historian * Lowell Cowell, NASCAR Cup Series driver * John Douglas (conductor), John Douglas, conductor and educator * William Easterly, economist * Shelia Eddy, convicted of murdering Skylar Neese * Jack Fleming, American sports announcer * Robert C. Frasure, first U.S. Ambassador to Estonia following its independence from Soviet Union * Robert P. George, founder of American Principles Project * Linda Goodman, astrologer and poet * Jedd Gyorko, baseball player * Edgar F. Heiskell III, West West Virginia Secretary of State and lawyer * Alan Henderson, professional basketball player * Charlie Hickman, baseball player, made Morgantown his home * Walter Hough, curator of United States National Museum * Bob Huggins,

head basketball coach * Dwayne Jones (basketball player), Dwayne Jones, professional basketball player * Josh Judy, professional baseball player *

/film director, director * Moses Kinkaid, congressman, sponsor of Kinkaid Act, Kinkaid Land Act * Hoda Kotb, broadcast journalist *

, actor (City unveiled statue in 2016) * John Laidley, a founder of Marshall University * Blanche Lazzell, modern artist, printmaker, and painter * Frank Lovece, journalist and author * Paul Mainieri, LSU baseball coach * William Matheny (musician), William Matheny, singer-songwriter * Herbert Morrison (journalist), journalist * Asra Nomani, journalist, political activist * Francis Harrison Pierpont, 19th century Governor * Elliott Portnoy, attorney * Xavier Proctor, football player * Freddy Quinn, German film star and singer * David Selby, actor * Zach Spiker, college basketball coach * Kimberley Starr, novelist * Michael Tomasky, journalist and author * Dorothy Vaughan, mathematician *

, educational reformer * Michael Wardian, marathoner and ultra-marathoner * Kim Weaver, astrophysicist * Waitman T. Willey, U.S. Senator * Franklin White (dancer), Franklin White, British ballet dancer * Israel C. White, geologist and professor * Allison Williams (Miss West Virginia), Allison Williams, Miss West Virginia (2003) * Gene Arden Vance Jr., a Special Operations soldier with the West Virginia National Guard that was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2002.

Sister cities

Morgantown is a sister city of: * Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico Morgantown established Friendship City relations with Quanshan District, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China, in 2012.

In popular culture

The cable television network MTV announced in October 2006, that it would tape an eight-episode reality TV series, ''Show Choir'', following

's show choir, which performs songs in four-part harmony, with costumes and choreography, on a competitive circuit. The show was scheduled to premiere Spring 2007, but as of 2018 has yet to air. The Joni Mitchell song "Morning Morgantown" is popularly believed to be written about Morgantown, West Virginia.

Notes

References

External links

City of Morgantown, West Virginia

Greater Morgantown Convention & Visitors Bureau

Ancestry.com
{{Authority control Morgantown, West Virginia, Cities in West Virginia County seats in West Virginia Cities in Monongalia County, West Virginia West Virginia University Morgantown metropolitan area West Virginia populated places on the Monongahela River