Morgantown dates to 1772, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 98% of U.S. towns · #3 of 61 in West Virginia. What drives it
39 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Alexander Wade House, a National Historic Landmark, and seven historic districts with 1,183 buildings between them. Below: 17 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1860.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1795.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 98% of U.S. towns, #3 of 61 in West Virginia. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Morgantown’s overall grade.
West Virginia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical West Virginia town has 29.6 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Morgantown’s 405 sits above most of its state (84% of West Virginia towns have fewer) while its 1,224 historic buildings outnumber those of 99% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1772.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share (±2.9 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikidata (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.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
Morgantown's history 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 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 in 1775.
Passages that mention Morgantown, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Monongalia County, West Virginia, from its first settlements to the present time1883 · page 593Read the page →
Read the text
Morgantown Protestant Episcopal Church. — Members of this church were in Morgantown before 1819. In that year, John Rodgers and other members united with the Presbyterians in building the church that stood on the site of the. present Presbyterian Church. Morgantown was embraced in Guy Allen Parish in 1860, and on February 12, 1876, became a part of Trinity Parish (see page 447). Services of the church are held in the old Monongalia Academy. In 1860, the Rev. H. S. Kepler was Rec-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Monongalia County, West Virginia, from its first settlements to the present time1883 · page 118Read the page →
Read the text
ern Railroad, was at Morgantown in the interest of the extension of that road, via Carmichael and Mt. Morris, to the State line and to Morgantown; thence south by the proposed Iron Yalley and Morgantown Railroad.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Morgantown, 1772 to 1965
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Morgantown. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1902Morgantown 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.
Every building
Morgantown, building by building, 1892–1921
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1892Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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.
Retake this viewMorgantown Monitor, June 20, 1863, western Virginia military situation, 1863
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Morgantown’s page.
In 1772, according to Wikidata. Morgantown’s post office opened in 1795, and the census of 1860 counted 741 people here.
How does Morgantown rank for history?
Morgantown is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #3 of 61 in West Virginia. 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?
39 listings: 29 buildings, among them the Alexander Wade House (a National Historic Landmark since 1965), 7 historic districts with 1,183 contributing buildings, and 3 structures. 1,224 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Morgantown?
23% of Morgantown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 13% for a West Virginia town; the median home was built in 1966.
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 (14), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (39), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
★ Landmark
1897
1908
1908
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1908
c. 1930
1933
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1935–1943
