Living in Despard, WV: what to set up and who to call
Despard has no town government of its own, so Harrison County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Harrison County School District. The closest ER is United Hospital Center, 4.9 miles away.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Despard, and who provides it. Tap an answer for the details and where they come from.
Power, water and internet
Who to call to start service at a new address in Despard.
Power comes from Mon Power
Mon Power (Monongahela Power Co.), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Despard. Its homes paid an average of 14.3¢ per kWh in 2025, about $133 a month (its average across West Virginia).
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Clarksburg Water Board
Clarksburg Water Board supplies Despard: about 70% of residents live in its service area. City of Bridgeport serves another 24%. About 11% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It draws surface water and serves 19,072 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 83% of the 3,525 systems serving 10,001–50,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan–Jun 2026, was 1.3 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. The highest in five years was 13.0 ppb. That’s higher than 54% of similar systems’ latest results.
The system’s full record: EPA ECHO report
EPA SDWIS via Envirofacts (violations pulled Oct 9, 2026) and ECHO (lead samples, 2026Q3); service area: EPA Community Water System Service Area Boundaries v3.0. Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. WV3301705.
7 home internet providers serve Despard
97% of 516 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 73% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spectrum | Cable | 88% | 1,000/1,000 |
| Frontier | Fiber, DSL | 70% | 5,000/5,000 |
| Citynet | Fiber | 2% | 1,000/1,000 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 78% | 25/3 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 73% | 100/20 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 62% | 300/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Despard’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Despard.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Despard is in Harrison County School District.
Test scores and every school: see Schools →U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25. Enrollment rules and registration are the district’s.
No town hall: the county runs things
Despard is unincorporated, so Harrison County is the local government.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Oct 2023; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Despard is in ZIP code 26301
ZIP codes where Despard residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Despard | ZIP’s residents in Despard |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26301 | Clarksburg, WV | 100% | 3% |
Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, by census block; post office names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). ZIPs created since 2020 are missing.
Getting around, the ER and the library
One line each; the subject pages have the rest.
ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.
Questions about living in Despard
Who supplies Despard’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Clarksburg Water Board (EPA ID WV3301705). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 83% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 1.3 ppb (Jan–Jun 2026), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Despard?
Mon Power (Monongahela Power Co.), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 14.3¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Despard?
Spectrum, Frontier, Citynet, AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Despard?
26301. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Despard in?
Harrison County School District.
How do I register to vote in Despard?
In West Virginia you can register online until 21 days before Election Day, in person until 21 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 21 days before). Elections here are run by the Harrison Clerk of the County Commission. Check your registration at apps.sos.wv.gov.
Sources & dates
Every answer above names its source. Here they are with their dates.
- Water: EPA SDWIS (Envirofacts, pulled Oct 9, 2026), ECHO SDWA 2026Q3, EPA CWS Service Area Boundaries v3.0.
- Power: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map Aug 2023); EIA-861 final 2025.
- Trash: OpenStreetMap, Geofabrik extract of Oct 9, 2026. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
- ZIP codes: Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files; GeoNames postal codes (CC BY 4.0).
- Schools: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25.
- Registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026 (read Oct 10, 2026). Official sites and area codes: Wikidata.
- Election office: FVAP local election office directory (fetched Oct 10, 2026; each record dated), EAC EAVS 2024 jurisdictions; registration and lookup links from vote.gov’s state data, checked Oct 10, 2026.
- Internet: FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025.