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B−History
History · Morgantown

Morgantown’s post office opened in 1813, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 46% of U.S. towns · #89 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it

Its Register listings are the John Carson House and the Confederate-Union Veterans' Monument in Morgantown. Most of Morgantown was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1914 on, and the census since 1850.

1813first post office
2on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Morgantown’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Morgantown began

When was Morgantown founded?

1813

The Morgantown post office opened in 1813, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 89 in 18502020 census: 2,505213 years

How historic is Morgantown?

B−

More historic than 46% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Morgantown post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Morgantown’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Morgantown is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #89 of 142 in Kentucky. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Morgantown’s overall grade.
Founding era1813, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19401.8% of homes (±1.9) · typical KY town 5.9% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register2 listings, 8.1 per 10,000 residents · typical KY town 29.9 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 46%
NewerOlder
Kentucky towns of 2,500+ (142)Ahead of 38%

Kentucky towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kentucky town has 29.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Morgantown’s 8.1 sits near the middle of its state (38% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share (±1.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Morgantown’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19143 editions of the USGS map, 1914 to 1973. Watch Morgantown change.Deep rootsA post office since 1813: 213 years of Morgantown.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Morgantown’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Morgantown’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewHigh mainpic2: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Morgantown on the map, 1914 to 1973

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Morgantown. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Morgantown on the 1914 USGS mapMorgantown on the 1954 USGS mapMorgantown on the 1973 USGS map1914Little Muddy sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Morgantown.

Timeline

Morgantown, 1813 to 1917

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1813Post officeThe Morgantown post office opens
  3. 1872Born hereJohn W. Harreld is born here
  4. 1873Born hereEverette B. Howard is born here
  5. 1877Born hereJohn William Moore is born here
  6. 1890BuiltJohn Carson House is built
  7. 20th century
  8. 1914On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1917Born hereClifton Rhodes Bratcher is born here
The story

How Morgantown came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Morgantown.

Read it all →

The settlement may have originally been called Funkhouser Hill after Christopher Funkhouser, the local landowner who donated 60 acres (24 ha) of land to establish a seat for the newly formed Butler County in 1811. The etymology of the city's present name (originally written Morgan Town) is uncertain. It may have been chosen to honor a hunter named Morgan or to honor Daniel Morgan Smith, the first white child born in the town. It was incorporated as Morgantown by the state assembly in 1813, although the post office also went by the name Butler Court House during the 19th century.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Morgantown, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
High mainpic2Date?High mainpic2
Today7 recent
William H. Natcher Parkway - Morgantown exit 4-10-20142014William H. Natcher Parkway - Morgantown exit 4-10-2014Main Street2014Main StreetJohn Carson House2014John Carson HouseConcrete log cabin2014Concrete log cabinButler County, KY, USA2013Butler County, KY, USAButler County, KY, USA - panoramio (1)2013Butler County, KY, USA - panoramio (1)KYMap-doton-Morgantown2004KYMap-doton-Morgantown
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

High mainpic2
Retake this viewHigh mainpic2

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Morgantown’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Morgantown

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1991
John Carson House
John Carson House, built 1890Confederate-Union Veterans' Monument in Morgantown
BuildingsObjects

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne1
John Carson HouseQueen Anne · Built 1890
Confederate-Union Veterans' Monument in MorgantownObject

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Morgantown, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5001850190019502000Peak: 2,544

Between 89 and 2,544 people in every census since 1850.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Morgantown’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Morgantown

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
John W. HarreldAmerican politician · b. 1872
Everette B. HowardAmerican politician · b. 1873
John William MooreAmerican politician · b. 1877
Clifton Rhodes BratcherUnited States federal judge · b. 1917
T
Tyler ReedAmerican swimmer · b. 1988

Questions about Morgantown’s history

What year was Morgantown founded?

The Morgantown post office opened in 1813, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Morgantown rank for history?

Morgantown is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #89 of 142 in Kentucky. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Morgantown?

Two places: the John Carson House (listed 1991) and the Confederate-Union Veterans' Monument in Morgantown (1997).

How old are the homes in Morgantown?

2% of Morgantown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.9 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1976.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (8), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.