Morgantown, West Virginia

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City of Morgantown, West Virginia
Location in Monongalia County in the State of West Virginia
Location in Monongalia County in the State of West Virginia
Coordinates: 39°38′1″N 79°57′2″W / 39.63361, -79.95056
Country United States
State West Virginia
County Monongalia
Settled 1772
Incorporated 1810
Government
 - Mayor Ron Justice
Area
 - Total 10.1 sq mi (26.2 km²)
 - Land 9.8 sq mi (25.4 km²)
 - Water 0.3 sq mi (0.8 km²)  3.16%
Elevation 960 ft (293 m)
Population (2006)
 - Total 28,654
 - Density 2,736.0/sq mi (1,056.2/km²)
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes 26501-26508
Area code(s) 304
FIPS code 54-55756GR2
GNIS feature ID 1555161GR3
Website: http://www.morgantown.com/

Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County,GR6 West Virginia, on the banks of the Monongahela River. Part of the Pittsburgh Tri-State, Morgantown is the largest city in North-Central West Virginia, and is the principal city of the Morgantown, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county seat, it is best known as the home both of West Virginia University and of a one-of-a-kind, experimental personal rapid transit system.

Contents

Morgantown is closely tied to the Anglo-French struggle for this territory. Until the Treaty of Paris in 1763, what is now known as Morgantown was greatly contested among settlers and Native Americans, as well as the English and the French. The treaty decided the issue in favor of the English, but Indian fighting continued almost to the beginning of the American Revolution.

Zackquill Morgan and his brother David entered the area of Virginia that would become Morgantown in about 1767, although others such as Thomas Decker are recorded as attempting settlements in the area earlier or at about the same time. As well, several forts were built in the area during this time: Fort Pierpont near the Cheat River, in 1769; Fort Coburn, near Dorsey's Knob, in 1770. Fort Morgan, at the present site of Morgantown, in 1772; Fort Dinwiddle, north several miles at Stewartstown, in 1772; Fort Martin, several miles north on the Monongahela River, 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.

Historic warehouse in Wharf District, converted to restaurant during late-1990s/early-2000s riverfront refurbishing.
Historic warehouse in Wharf District, converted to restaurant during late-1990s/early-2000s riverfront refurbishing.

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 and the American Revolutionary War, rising to the rank of colonel. 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 400 acres in the area of his settlement near the mouth of Decker's Creek. Fifty acres were appropriated for Morgan's Town by the Virginia General Assembly in October 1785. On February 3, 1838, the General Assembly enacted a municipal charter incorporating the city, now with a population of about 700. The town became part of the newly created state of West Virginia following the 1863 secession of slave-free counties from the slave state of Virginia.

Notable early structures still standing in Morgantown in the mid-2000s 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 is now occupied by the Dering Funeral Home.

During the 1970s, the U.S. Department of Transportation built an experimental personal rapid transit system in the city, citing the area's variety of seasonal climates and geographic elevations as factors in testing the technology's viability. The Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) has been in use since 1975.

Morgantown is located at 39°38′1″N, 79°57′2″W (39.633696, -79.950670)GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 26.2 km² (10.1 mi²). 25.4 km² (9.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.8 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (3.16%) is water.

Walnut St. PRT station and part of downtown
Walnut St. PRT station and part of downtown

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 26,809 people, 10,782 households, and 4,183 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,056.2/km² (2,736.0/mi²). There were 11,721 housing units at an average density of 461.8/km² (1,196.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.48% White, 4.15% African American, 0.17% Native American, 4.15% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.51% from other races, and 1.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino 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 for the city was $14,459. About 15.0% of families and 38.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.3% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over.

Following Census 2000, Monongalia County (with county seat Morgantown) and neighboring Preston County were acknowledged as a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) by the United States government. Estimates from 2004 put the Metropolitan Statistical Area population at 113,500; as of July 2005, the estimate was 114,501. Of the 10 largest cities in West Virginia, only Morgantown and Martinsburg have shown positive population growth since the 2000 census, with Morgantown growing from 26,809 to a 2005 estimate of 28,292.[1]

West Virginia University constitutes 913 acres (3.7 km²) of the city and vicinity, and with the fall 2005 enrollment added an additional population of 27,115 students from every state, the District of Columbia, and 91 nations.

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, and Skyview. There are four middle schools: Cheat Lake, South, Westwood, and Suncrest. The city's two high schools are University High School, the mascot of which is the Hawks, and Morgantown High School, 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, a real Native American tribe.[2] Notable Morgantown High School alumni include screenwriter-film director Lawrence Kasdan (class of 1966), actor Don Knotts (class of 1942), college football coach Tommy Bowden (class of 1972), and TV college football analyst Terry Bowden (class of 1974).

As of April 2005, Monongalia County Schools employs 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.

Other private schools include Alliance Christian School, Covenant Christian School, Maranatha Christian Academy, Morgantown Christian Academy, Trinity High School, and the alternative, non-religious Morgantown Learning Academy.

While informal schools existed from Morgantown's earliest days [3], the town established a one-story, coeducational, Virginia common school in July 1803, that students attended on a tuition basis.[4].On Nov. 29, 1814, the Virginia General Assembly incorporated Monongalia Academy, the county's first public school.[5] Supported by obligatory surveyors' fees, the male-only institution was the equivalent of a modern-day high school.[6] The Academy moved to a new two-story building in 1830, with principal Jonathan Haddock offering courses in geography, surveying, and navigation in addition to traditional subjects. Presbyterian minister Reverend James Robertson Moore was principal during the Academy's 1852-1864 heyday, when its enrollment included students from 14 states.[7] In 1867, the Academy closed, and donated its land toward the establishment of West Virginia University.

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.[8] After the Assembly approved a charter change in 1838, the school became known as the Methodist Academy.[9] 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 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 WVU), only a short term was provided for African-Americans, who met at St. Paul's African Methodist Episcopal Church, on Beechurst Avenue.[10]

St. Francis High School building, 2006
St. Francis High School building, 2006

A Catholic elementary school, 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 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.[11] Its mascot is the Falcon. The Beechurst Avenuie building was demolished in the mid-2000s.

St. Francis Central High School had existed for several decades into the 1990s, located between WVU's Towers dormitory complex and Patteson Drive in the Evansdale neighborhood. Its mascot was the Trojans. The high school's football field was named for Father Flynn. 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 recreation area.[12]

Main article: West Virginia University

This is a public, land-grant institution, founded in 1867. With an operating budget of approximately $654 million as of the mid-2000s, it also has $150 million annually in sponsored contracts and research grants conducted by faculty members.

Fall 2007 enrollment was 27,500, with students from all 55 state counties, 50 states plus the District of Columbia, and 89 other nations. Basic figures regarding the student body:

  • 59% residents, 41% nonresidents
  • 19,510 undergraduates
  • 6,541 graduate and professional students
  • 51% male, 49% female
  • 7% minorities
  • Students residing in University housing: approximately 5,535

The 2007-08 curriculum is supported by 14 colleges and schools offering 179 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.

Souce: Morgantown.com

Morgantown has two newspapers. The Dominion Post which is published daily. The university-owned and student-run college newspaper The Daily Athenaeum, published weekdays, is provided free on campus and to many businesses around Morgantown.

Call sign Channel Description
KDKA 2 CBS affiliate, Pittsburgh, Penn.
WTAE 4 ABC affiliate, Pittsburgh, Penn.
WDTV 5 CBS affiliate, Bridgeport, W.Va.
WPXI 11 NBC affiliate, Pittsburgh, Penn.
WBOY 12 NBC affiliate, Clarksburg, W.Va.
WQED 13 PBS station, Pittsburgh, Penn.
WPCW 19 CW Television Network affiliate, Pittsburgh, Penn.
WPMY 22 My Network TV affiliate, Pittsburgh, Penn.
WNPB 24 West Virginia Public Broadcasting Morgantown, WV
WVFX 46 FOX affiliate, Clarksburg, W.Va
WPGH 53 FOX affiliate, Pittsburgh, Penn.

Call sign Frequency Format Owner
WCLG 100.1 FM/1300 AM Rock/Oldies Bowers Broadcasting Corp.
WAJR 1440 AM News/Talk West Virginia Radio Corporation
WVAQ 101.9 FM Top 40 West Virginia Radio Corporation
WWVU 91.7 FM Campus West Virginia University Board Of Governors
WGYE 102.7 FM Country Burbach of de, LLC
WZST 100.9 FM Country Tschudy Broadcasting Corp
WFGM 93.1 FM Oldies West Virginia Radio Corporation

Morgantown Municipal Airport is one of West Virginia's few commercial airports. It is located seven miles east of Interstate 79 just off the Pierpont Road exit on Interstate 68, accessible via WV 857 by turning left onto US 119.

Morgantown is not served by local railways services other than a freight train carrying coal and other industrial goods to Pittsburgh, PA. This line is called the Norfolk Southern's Loveridge Secondary that runs From Brownsville, Pennsylvania to Rievesville, West Virginia where it branches at a wye and heads to the Loveridge mine.

Morgantown relies heavily on the Monongahela River for shipping coal and other products to the nearest large city, Pittsburgh, PA. The United States Army Corps of Engineers regulates and patrol the Morgantown Locks.

Interstate 79 travels north to its endpoint in Erie, Pennsylvania and south to its endpoint in Charleston, West Virginia. There are four exit ramps to Morgantown and environs. Interstate 68 breaks off from Interstate 79 just east of Morgantown, and also has five nearby exit ramps.

Most of Morgantown is accessible by MountainLine bus system.[13] Most service operates Monday-Saturday from 7am-6pm with very limited service operating on Sunday during the WVU school year. MountainLine's Grey Line bus operates everyday of the year between Clarksburg, West Virginia and the Pittsburgh Airport. Morgantown also has the Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system. The system has five stations (Walnut, Beechurst, Engineering, Towers, and Medical) covering 8.65 miles (13.9 kilometers).

Electric service is provided by Allegheny 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, with Landline telephone and DSL services by Verizon.

Trash pickup is provided by BFI.

The cable television network MTV announced in October 2006 that it would tape an eight-episode reality TV series, Show Choir, following Morgantown High School'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.[14][15][16]

The Joni Mitchell song "Morning Morgantown" is popularly believed to be written about Morgantown, West Virginia.[17] [18] [19]

The 2006 film We Are Marshall has two brief scenes set in, but not filmed in, Morgantown.

Caperton Trail
Decker's Creek Trail

  1. ^ City-Data.com: Morgantown, West Virginia
  2. ^ Morgantown High School - Mohigan Facts - The Mohigan (3/18/04). Retrieved on 15 December 2006.
  3. ^ Core, Earl L. The Monongalia Story: A Bicentennial History, Vol. 3: Discord (Parsons, W.Va., McClain Printing Co., 1979), p. 97
  4. ^ Ambler, Charles Henry. A History of Education in West Virginia from Early Colonial Times to 1949 (Huntington, W.Va., Standard Printing and Publishing Co., 1951), p. 2
  5. ^ Core, Ibid., pp. 26-27
  6. ^ Ibid., p. 45
  7. ^ Ibid., p. 384
  8. ^ Ibid., p. 114
  9. ^ Ibid., p. 230
  10. ^ Ibid., pp. 54, 632
  11. ^ Morgantown Times: "St. Francis de Sales Central Catholic School Dedication: Bishop Michael Bransfield to Bless New Building" (press release, no date)
  12. ^ WVU Today: (Sept. 2, 2004): "WVU board authorizes salary increase package, facility plans" (press release)
  13. ^ Busride.org
  14. ^ Reuters/Hollywood Reporter via Yahoo! (Oct. 4, 2006): "MTV to probe 'Underage' newlyweds, 'Show Choir'
  15. ^ [http://wboy.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=11170&catid=79 WBOY.com (May 25, 2006) "Lights, Camera, Action at MHS!" by Lauren Hills]
  16. ^ Monongalia County Schools (untitled article on Show Choir)
  17. ^ The Courier-Post Online (July 11, 2005): "My America" (column), by Sean McCann
  18. ^ IGoUGo: Morgantown Overview
  19. ^ Author Doris Haddock, Speech "The Efficacy of Sacrifice-Based Protest" (Jan. 8, 2000)
  20. ^ "F.A.Q. - Conscientious Objector Status" (Version 1.2, April 16, 2003), by Gregory Gadow
  21. ^ Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 26 (Feb. 22, 2002)
  22. ^ 32CFR578.9


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