Morgantown is the county seat of Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Monongahela River. West Virginia University is in the city. The population was 30,712 at the 2020 Census Bureau, making Morgantown the largest city in North-Central West Virginia. The Morgantown metropolitan area has a population of 138,176.
Waitman Thomas Willey 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 representing first the Restored Government of Virginia and became one of the new state of West Virginia's first two Senators. He is one of only two people in U.S. History to represent more than one state in the U.S. Senate, the other being James Shields.
The Harner Homestead, is a historic home outside Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia.
The Alexander Wade House is a historic house at 256 Prairie Street in Morgantown, West Virginia. Built in 1860, it was the home of educator Alexander Wade (1832-1904) from 1872 until his death. Wade is credited with developing a system of grade promotional exams and graduations that was widely adopted in the late 19th century. The house was declared a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1965.
Cox-Morton House, also known as Home Hall, is a historic home located at Charleston, West Virginia. It was built in 1902, for Frank Cox, secretary of Republic Coal Co., the West Virginia Colliery Co., and the Carbon Coal Co. He was known in West Virginia as the "Great Wildcatter". His daughter Alice Boyd Cox married James Morton of the Morton Coal Co. It is an American Foursquare-style house. It features a ballustrated terrace around two sides of the house and a doric portico, added in the 1920s.
Cox-Parks House is a historic home located at Charleston, West Virginia. Emma Cox, the wife of Frank Cox, leader of several coal companies in the Kanawha Valley, had this home built for herself in about 1925 when she gave the old "Home Hill" to her daughter's family. It is an elaborate bungalow in the Prairie School-style. The exterior features clean white stucco and green tile and a double entrance and flanking double windows, housed by a recessed porch.
Walters House, also as known as the Walters Residence, is a historic home located in Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia. It was built about 1900–1901, and is a brick Queen Anne style brick dwelling. It features a three-story tower in the southeast corner topped with a wrought-iron balustrade. The architect is unknown. It was a single family home until 1931, after which it was a boarding house, fraternity house, home of the University Christian Council, and law offices. It is currently the location of the Morgantown Chabad Jewish Center. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. It is located in the Downtown Morgantown Historic District, listed in 1996.
Elmer F. Jacobs was a Morgantown, West Virginia-based architect.
Rogers House is a historic home located at Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia. It was originally built about 1857 and is one of the last remaining residences from this time period in downtown Morgantown. The building is a two-story, five bay brick and wood frame dwelling in the Classical Revival style. The original section of the house is in brick, whereas the addition, designed by noted Morgantown architect Elmer F. Jacobs and built in 1905-1906 is wood frame. Jacobs is also responsible for the interior design. It sits on a rough-faced coursed ashlar stone foundation. It features a front porch with four sets of triple wooden, Tuscan order columns. It was the home of the Rogers family, pioneer settlers of Morgantown. It has been the home of West Virginia University's Campus Ministry Center since 1984. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. It is located in the Downtown Morgantown Historic District, listed in 1996.
Ford House is a historic home located at Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia. It was built about 1868, and is a 1+1⁄2-story, "L" shaped Gothic Revival style cottage. It features a steeply pitched gable roof, a Gothic arched window in the center gable, and lattice work in lieu of bargeboard on the front porch.
Hackney House, also known as Hackney Place, is a historic home located at Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia. The original section was built in 1892, and is a square, 2+1⁄2-story balloon frame structure with a Queen Anne style entrance porch. A two-story, square addition was added shortly after the original construction. It sits on a cut sandstone foundation.
Old Stone House is a historic home located at Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia. The original section was built about 1796, and is a two-story stone structure measuring 26 feet, 8 inches, by 20 feet, 8 inches. A one-story, timber-frame addition built in the early 1900s and measures 16 feet, 7 inches, by 16 feet, 4 inches. The Old Stone House was the home of John W. Thompson, a potter in early Morgan's Town. He was able to create red ware and stoneware pots from the clay found in the basement of the house. It is one of the oldest surviving examples of rustic pioneer architecture in Monongalia County. In 1935, it became headquarters of the Morgantown Service League, who operates a gift shop in the house.
Purinton House is a historic home associated with the West Virginia University and located at Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia. It was built in 1904, and is a 2+1⁄2-story masonry dwelling with Classical Revival and Colonial Revival style features. It features a large wraparound porch whose hip roof is supported by Ionic order columns. The porch roof is topped by a balustrade. The roof is topped by a balustraded deck and widow's walk. It served as the on-campus residence for university presidents from 1905 to 1967. On November 2, 1911, President William Howard Taft delivered the address "World Wide Speech," from the front porch of Purinton House.
Waitman T. Willey House is a historic home located at Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia. It was built in 1839–1840, and is a 1+1⁄2-story, "L"-shaped brick residence in the Classical Revival style. The front facade features a one-story pentastyle portico with five fluted wood Doric order columns and a high pitched triangular pediment. It was built for Waitman T. Willey (1811-1900), noted lawyer, orator, and statesman.
Vance Farmhouse, also known as Meeks Farmhouse, Dean's House, and Bicentennial House, is a historic home located on a West Virginia University farm at Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia. The original section was built about 1854, and is a two-story, I house form brick dwelling. The 1+1⁄2-story rear addition was built before 1900, and the two-story side addition on the northeast elevation was added in the 1930s. It features a wrap-around porch added sometime before 1900. The property was acquired for the West Virginia University Experiment Station in 1899. It housed the dean of the College of Agriculture from 1915 to 1957. During the United States Bicentennial in 1976, it was used as a showcase for exhibits on Monongalia County history. It has housed the West Virginia University Institute for the History of Technology and Industrial Archeology and is currently home to West Virginia University Press.
Kern's Fort, also known as Michael Kern's Cabin, is a historic home located at Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia. It is a one-story log house built in 1772. It is built of chestnut logs and covered with wood clapboards. Attached to the rear is a 19th-century frame addition. It was built by Michael Kern, perhaps, the first permanent settler of what is now Morgantown. When Lord Dunmore's War started in 1774, Kern built a stockaded fort around his cabin.
The Downtown Morgantown Historic District is a federally designated historic district in Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia. The district, encompassing approximately 75 acres, has 122 contributing buildings and 2 contributing sites including commercial and public buildings, residences, and churches. The district has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since May 2, 1996. Ten of the contributing buildings are listed separately on the National Register of Historic Places. Significant structures located within the historic district are the Monongalia County Courthouse, the Metropolitan Theater, and the Old Morgantown Post Office.
Greenmont Historic District is a national historic district located at Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia. The district includes 409 contributing buildings, 4 contributing structures, and 2 contributing objects in a primarily residential area of the Greenmount neighborhood of Morgantown. Most of the dwellings were built between 1901 and 1925 and are of frame construction with brick or wood facades, one- to 2+1⁄2 stories high with gable fronts. Notable buildings include the Reformation Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Also in the district are the separately listed Kern's Fort, and Hackney House.
Frank Cox was a justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia from January 1, 1905 until his retirement January 28, 1907.
