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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_ est.h_...

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and David Morgan (frontiersman)">David Morgan, sons of Morgan Morgan">David_Morgan_(frontiersman).html" ;"title="estVirginia">est.h ...
and 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 Francis de Sales (french: François de Sales; it, Francesco di Sales; 21 August 156728 December 1622) was a Bishop of Geneva and is revered as a saint in the Catholic Church. He became noted for his deep faith and his gentle approach to ...

, 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 A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of Father Peter Flynn arranged for Ursuline nuns from

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, and in 1918, under principal Sister M. Isadore, the school moved to a new building on Beechurst Avenue, adjacent to

St. Theresa Saints named Teresa include: *Saint Teresa of Ávila (1515–1582), or Teresa of Jesus, Spaniard, founder of the Discalced Carmelites, and Doctor of the Church *Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (1873–1897), or Teresa of the Child Jesus, French Discalce ...

'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 Intramural sports are recreational sports organized within a particular institution, usually an educational institution, or a set geographic region. The term, which is chiefly North American, derives from the Latin words ''intra muros'' meaning " ...

recreation area.

West Virginia University

West Virginia University (WVU) is a public

land-grant university A land-grant university (also called land-grant college or land-grant institution) is an institution of higher education in the United States designated by a state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Land-Grant Acts, Morrill Acts of 1862 and ...

, 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 Potomac State College is a public college in Keyser, West Virginia. It is part of the West Virginia University system. Potomac State College is located approximately 90 miles (140 km) east of West Virginia University's campus in Morgantown, West ...

and 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 A student publication is a media outlet such as a newspaper, magazine, television show, or radio station produced by students at an educational institution. These publications typically cover local and school-related news, but they may also repor ...

, ''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/

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * W ...

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 U.S. Route 119 (US 119) is a spur of US 19. It is a north–south route (on a northeast-southwest alignment) that was an original United States highway of 1926. It is Corridor G of the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) east of US ...

North Central West Virginia Airport North Central West Virginia Airport is a public/military airport a mile northeast of Bridgeport and six miles east of Clarksburg, in Harrison County, West Virginia. It is owned and operated by the Benedum Airport Authority, serving Harrison an ...

is about away by road, and

Pittsburgh International Airport Pittsburgh International Airport , formerly Greater Pittsburgh International Airport, is a civil–military international airport in Findlay Township and Moon Township, Pennsylvania. Located about 10 miles (15 km) west of downtown Pittsbur ...

is about away.

Rail

The only active rail line near Morgantown is owned by

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway (U.S.), Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the ...

with

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

trackage rights and serves a mine northwest of

Rivesville, West Virginia Rivesville is a town and former coal town in Marion County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 830 at the 2020 census. Geography Rivesville is located at (39.530276, -80.119063) in the heart of the Fairmont coal field on the no ...

. 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 Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...

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 The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

, past Morgantown upstream to Fairmont.

Morgantown Lock and Dam Morgantown Lock and Dam is a navigational lock and a gated dam on the Monongahela River at Morgantown, West Virginia. It is part of a series of dams that canalizes the Monongahela to a depth of at least for its entire length from Fairmont, Wes ...

, in the southern part of the city, helps provide a continuous pool heading upstream towards the

Hildebrand Lock and Dam Hildebrand Lock and Dam is a navigational lock and gated dam on the Monongahela River at Hilderbrand, West Virginia. (Hildebrand is a misspelling of Hilderbrand.) It is part of a series of dams that canalizes the Monongahela to a depth of at le ...

. Point Marion Lock and Dam, the next downstream dam, is responsible for most of the river's pool in Morgantown.

Major roadways

Interstate 79 Interstate 79 (I-79) is an Interstate Highway in the eastern United States, designated from I-77 in Charleston, West Virginia, north to Pennsylvania Route 5 (PA 5) and PA 290 in Erie, Pennsylvania. It is a primary thoroughfare ...

Interstate 68 Interstate 68 (I-68) is a Interstate Highway in the US states of West Virginia and Maryland, connecting I-79 in Morgantown, West Virginia, to I-70 in Hancock, Maryland. I-68 is also Corridor E of the Appalachian Development Highway Sy ...

U.S. Highway 19 * US 119

U.S. Highway 119 U.S. Route 119 (US 119) is a spur of US 19. It is a north–south route (on a northeast-southwest alignment) that was an original United States highway of 1926. It is Corridor G of the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) east of U ...

West Virginia Route 7 West Virginia Route 7 is an east–west state highway located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The western terminus of the route is at the Ohio state line in New Martinsville, where WV 7 becomes State Route 536 upon crossing the Ohio Rive ...

West Virginia Route 705

Transit

Most of Morgantown is accessible by

Mountain Line Transit Authority Mountain Line Transit Authority is the main provider of public transportation located in Morgantown, West Virginia and the surrounding area. It is also the provider of bus service on the campus of West Virginia University. Inter-city bus service ...

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 Clarksburg is a city in and the county seat of Harrison County, West Virginia, United States, in the north-central region of the state. The population of the city was 16,039 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Clarksburg micro ...

and

. Morgantown also has the

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

Utilities

Electric service is provided by Mon Power,

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

services by

Dominion Resources Dominion Energy, Inc., commonly referred to as Dominion, is a North American power and energy company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia that supplies electricity in parts of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina and supplies natural gas t ...

, and water and sewage by the Morgantown Utility Board.

Cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...

and

cable Internet In telecommunications, cable Internet access, shortened to cable Internet, is a form of broadband Internet access which uses the same infrastructure as a cable television. Like digital subscriber line and fiber to the premises services, cable In ...

are provided by

Comcast Communications Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...

. Landline

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

and

DSL Digital subscriber line (DSL; originally digital subscriber loop) is a family of technologies that are used to transmit digital data over telephone lines. In telecommunications marketing, the term DSL is widely understood to mean asymmetric dig ...

services are offered by

Frontier Communications Frontier Communications Parent, Inc. (known as Citizens Utilities Company until May 2000 and Citizens Communications Company until July 31, 2008) is an American telecommunications company. The company previously served primarily rural areas and s ...

, with West Side Telecommunications telephone and DSL service available in some areas. Trash pickup in the Morgantown area is provided by

Republic Services Republic Services is an American waste disposal company whose services include non-hazardous solid waste collection, waste transfer, waste disposal, recycling, and energy services. It is the second largest provider of waste disposal in the Unite ...

. 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.

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

, youngest active-duty

Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

to become General * John O. Bennett, New Jersey state senator * Thomas Bennett, U.S. Army medic and conscientious objector, awarded Medal of Honor *

Jeff Bowden Jeff Bowden () is an American college football coach. He served as the special teams coordinator and the outside wide receivers coach at Akron. Before that he served as the offensive coordinator for the Florida State Seminoles under his father ...

, college football coaches *

Necro Butcher Dylan Keith Summers (born July 13, 1973), better known by the ring name Necro Butcher, is an American professional wrestler. Throughout the years he has worked for various promotions, including Ring of Honor, Full Impact Pro, IWA Mid-South, Pro W ...

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

Rich Braham Rich Braham (born November 6, 1970) is a former National Football League center who played for the Cincinnati Bengals. Rich now lives in Morgantown West Virginia. He has 3 kids. 2 of which are twins, Rylee and Luke. High school career Braham atte ...

, professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player * Emily Calandrelli: TV host, actor, and engineer *

Marion Cannon Marion Cannon (October 30, 1834 – August 27, 1920) was a United States representative from California. He was born near Morgantown, Virginia (now in West Virginia) where he learned the blacksmith trade as a teenager and left home, carryin ...

, U.S. Representative from California *

Earl Lemley Core Earl Lemley Core (January 20, 1902 – December 8, 1984) was a botanist and botanical educator, researcher, and author as well as a local West Virginia historian. He was founder of the Southern Appalachian Botanical Club and editor of its journa ...

, botanist and local historian *

Lowell Cowell Lowell Arthur Cowell (October 10, 1945 - November 12, 2018) was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver. He drove in ten total Winston Cup races from 1981 to 1983. Racing career Debuting in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series in 1981, Cowell drove four rac ...

, NASCAR Cup Series driver * John Douglas, conductor and educator *

William Easterly William Russell Easterly (born September 7, 1957) is an American economist, specializing in economic development. He is a professor of economics at New York University, joint with Africa House, and co-director of NYU’s Development Research Insti ...

, economist *

Shelia Eddy Shelia may refer to: * Shelia Burrell (born 1972), retired American heptathlete * Shelia Conover (born 1963), American sprint canoeist * Shelia Eddy (born 1995), American convicted of murder *Shelia Goss (born 1968), American author, freelance writ ...

, convicted of murdering

Skylar Neese Skylar Annette Neese (February 10, 1996July 6, 2012) was an American teenage girl who disappeared from her home in Star City, West Virginia, around midnight on July 6, 2012. Neese's body was found on January 16, 2013, in Wayne Township, Greene ...

Jack Fleming Leo W. "Jack" Fleming Jr. (February 3, 1923 – January 3, 2001) was an American sports announcer for the National Football League's Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls in professional sports, and als ...

, American sports announcer *

Robert C. Frasure Robert C. Frasure (April 20, 1942 – August 19, 1995) was an American diplomat and the first United States Ambassador to Estonia following Estonia's regained independence from the Soviet Union. Biography Born in Morgantown, West Virginia to par ...

, first U.S. Ambassador to

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

following its independence from Soviet Union *

Robert P. George Robert Peter George (born July 10, 1955) is an American legal scholar, political philosopher, and public intellectual who serves as the sixth McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and ...

, founder of American Principles Project *

Linda Goodman Mary Alice Kemery, popularly known as Linda Goodman (April 9, 1925 – October 21, 1995), was a ''New York Times'' bestselling American astrologer and poet. She wrote the first astrology book to make the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list. ...

, astrologer and poet *

Jedd Gyorko Jedd Lindon Gyorko ( ; born September 23, 1988) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers. He is curr ...

, baseball player *

Edgar F. Heiskell III Edgar Frank "Hike" Heiskell III (October 10, 1940 – November 20, 2016) was an American lawyer and politician. Heiskell was born in Morgantown, West Virginia and graduated from Morgantown High School. He received his bachelor's degree from ...

, West West Virginia Secretary of State and lawyer *

Alan Henderson Alan Lybrooks Henderson (born December 2, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He stands 6'9" (2.06 m) tall. Born in Morgantown, West Virginia, Henderson attended Brebeuf Jesuit ...

, professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player *

Charlie Hickman Charles Taylor Hickman (May 4, 1876 – April 19, 1934) was an American professional baseball player and college baseball coach. He played all or part of 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a utility player for seven different franchis ...

, baseball player, made Morgantown his home * Walter Hough, curator of

United States National Museum The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

Bob Huggins Robert Edward Huggins (born September 21, 1953) is an American college basketball coach. Nicknamed “Huggy Bear,” he is currently the head coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team. Huggins previously held the head coach ...

head

coach * Dwayne Jones, professional basketball player *

Josh Judy Josh Steven Judy (born February 9, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians. Amateur career Judy played his high school baseball for University High School ...

, professional baseball player *

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

* Moses Kinkaid, congressman, sponsor of Kinkaid Land Act *

Hoda Kotb Hoda Kotb ( ; arz, هدى قطب, ''Hudā Quṭb''; ; born August 9, 1964) is an American broadcast journalist, television personality, and author. She is a main co-anchor of the NBC News morning show ''Today'' and co-host of its entertainment ...

broadcast journalist Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...

, actor (City unveiled statue in 2016) *

John Laidley John Laidley (1791–1863) was a prominent Virginia lawyer and politician. Laidley was born in Morgantown, (West) Virginia and at age twenty-one served as a militia Colonel in the War of 1812. As an adult, Laidley made his home in Cabell Coun ...

, a founder of

Marshall University Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States. The university is currently composed of nine colleges: L ...

Blanche Lazzell Blanche Lazzell (October 10, 1878 – June 1, 1956) was an American painter, printmaking, printmaker and designer. Known especially for her Woodcut#White-line woodcut, white-line woodcuts, she was an early modernism, modernist American artist, ...

, modern artist, printmaker, and painter *

Frank Lovece Frank Lovece () is an American journalist and author, and a comic book writer primarily for Marvel Comics, where he and artist Mike Okamoto created the miniseries ''Atomic Age''. His longest affiliation has been with the New York metropolitan ar ...

, journalist and author *

Paul Mainieri Paul Mainieri (born August 29, 1957) is a former baseball coach and second baseman. He played college baseball at LSU, Miami-Dade CC and New Orleans before pursuing a professional baseball career. He then served as the head coach of the St. Tho ...

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

baseball coach * William Matheny, singer-songwriter * Herbert Morrison (journalist), journalist *

Asra Nomani Asra Quratulain Nomani (born September 7, 1965) is an American author and former Georgetown University professor. Born in India to Muslim parents, she earned a BA from West Virginia University in liberal arts in 1986 and an MA from the American U ...

, journalist, political activist *

Francis Harrison Pierpont Francis Harrison Pierpont (January 25, 1814March 24, 1899), called the "Father of West Virginia," was an American lawyer and politician who achieved prominence during the American Civil War. During the conflict's first two years, Pierpont served ...

, 19th century Governor *

Elliott Portnoy Elliott I. Portnoy (born November 1, 1965) is an American attorney and the Global chief executive officer of Dentons—a law firm that launched March 28, 2013 with the combination of US/UKMEA firm SNR Denton, Canada's Fraser Milner Casgrain and ...

, attorney * Xavier Proctor, football player *

Freddy Quinn Freddy Quinn (born Franz Eugen Helmut Manfred Nidl; 27 September 1931) is an Austrian singer and actor whose popularity in the German-speaking world soared in the late 1950s and 1960s. As Hans Albers had done two generations before him, Quinn ...

, German film star and singer *

David Selby David Lynn Selby is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for playing Quentin Collins on the daytime soap ''Dark Shadows'' (1968–71) and Richard Channing on the prime-time soap ''Falcon Crest'' (1982–90). ...

, actor *

Zach Spiker Zachary John Spiker (born September 30, 1976) is an American college basketball coach and the current head basketball coach for the Drexel Dragons men's basketball, Drexel Dragons. A native of Morgantown, West Virginia, Spiker played college bask ...

, college basketball coach * Kimberley Starr, novelist *

Michael Tomasky Michael John Tomasky (born October 13, 1960) is an American columnist, progressive commentator, and author. He is the editor of ''The New Republic'' and editor in chief of ''Democracy''. He has been a special correspondent for ''Newsweek'', ''T ...

, journalist and author *

Dorothy Vaughan Dorothy Jean Johnson Vaughan (September 20, 1910 – November 10, 2008) was an American mathematician and human computer who worked for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), and NASA, at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Vir ...

, mathematician *

, educational reformer *

Michael Wardian Michael Wardian (born April 12, 1974) is an American marathoner and ultra-marathoner. He won the 2008, 2009 and 2010 US 50 km championships and the 2011 US 50 mile championship. In 2008, he won the U.S. National 100 km championship. W ...

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

er and

ultra-marathon An ultramarathon, also called ultra distance or ultra running, is any footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of . Various distances are raced competitively, from the shortest common ultramarathon of to over . 50k and 100k are bot ...

er *

Kim Weaver Dr. Kimberly A. Weaver (born April 19, 1964 in Morgantown, West Virginia) is an American astrophysics astronomer and professor. She has worked with NASA on several research projects. She is often seen on television programs about astronomy. She i ...

, astrophysicist *

Waitman T. Willey Waitman Thomas Willey (October 18, 1811May 2, 1900) was an American lawyer and politician from Morgantown, West Virginia. One of the founders of the state of West Virginia during the American Civil War, he served in the United States Senate r ...

, U.S. Senator *

Franklin White Franklin Marshall Matthews White (born 1946) is a Canadian public health scientist focused on capacity building for international and global education, research and development. He advocates:"Public health...must not be left to the international ...

, British ballet dancer *

Israel C. White Israel Charles White (November 1, 1848 – November 24, 1927) was an eminent geologist and professor, internationally known, and the first state geologist of West Virginia. White was born on a farm in the Battelle district of Monongalia County, W ...

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

* Allison Williams,

Miss West Virginia The Miss West Virginia competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the U.S. state of West Virginia in the Miss America Pageant. In the fall of 2018, the Miss America Organization terminated the Miss West Virginia organizatio ...

(2003) *

Gene Arden Vance Jr. Gene Arden (“Buddy”) Vance Jr. (November 30, 1963 – May 18, 2002) was an American soldier, a member of a US Special Forces Airborne Army National Guard Unit who, despite being critically wounded, saved the lives of two fellow Americans and 1 ...

, a Special Operations soldier with the

West Virginia National Guard The West Virginia National Guard is a part of the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety. It comprises the West Virginia Army National Guard and the West Virginia Air National Guard. Unlike some states, West Virginia does ...

that was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2002.

Sister cities

Morgantown is a

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

of: *

Guanajuato Guanajuato (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato), is one of the 32 states that make up the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 46 municipalities and its capital city i ...

, Mexico Morgantown established Friendship City relations with

Quanshan District Quanshan District () is one of six districts of Xuzhou, Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading prov ...

Xuzhou Xuzhou (徐州), also known as Pengcheng (彭城) in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in the built-up area ma ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

, China, in 2012.

In popular culture

The

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...

network

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

announced in October 2006, that it would tape an eight-episode

reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

series, ''Show Choir'', following

show choir A show choir (originally known as a "swing choir") is a musical ensemble that combines choral singing with choreographed dance, often with an overarching theme. It is most relevant in the Midwestern United States and was popularized by the America ...

, which performs songs in four-part

harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

, with costumes and

choreography Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design ...

, on a competitive circuit. The show was scheduled to premiere Spring 2007, but as of 2018 has yet to air. The

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

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 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