Monongalia County, West Virginia

Monongalia County, West Virginia
Location in the state of West Virginia
West Virginia's location in the U.S.
Founded	1776
Seat	Morgantown
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	366 sq mi (948 km²) 361 sq mi (935 km²) 5 sq mi (13 km²), 1.29%
Population  - (2000)  - Density	81,866 228/sq mi (88/km²)
Website	www.co.monongalia.wv.us

Monongalia County, known locally as Mon County, is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 96,189. [1] Its county seat is at Morgantown^[1]. The county is included in the Morgantown, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the largest county in North-Central West Virginia.

History

Map of Ohio, Monongalia, & Yohogania Counties circa 1776. Monongalia County is in magenta.

Monongalia County takes its name from the Monongahela River. The name Monongalia may be a misspelling of Monongahela. Alternatively, the conventional Latinate ending "-ia" (designating "land of..." or "country of..." — as in Arabia, Bolivia or Columbia) may have been added to Monongahela (i.e., "Land of the Monongahela").

Monongalia County was formed in 1776 when Virginia's remote District of West Augusta was divided into three counties: Ohio, Yohogania and Monongalia, all named for their most prominent rivers. Ohio County then encompassed most of the western region of the district bordering the Ohio River, including parts of what is now southwestern Pennsylvania. Yohogania County consisted of much of what is now southwestern Pennsylvania and the present counties of Hancock and the northern part of Brooke in West Virginia. Monongalia County encompassed what are now the counties of Tucker, Randolph, Harrison and Barbour in north-central West Virginia, as well as parts of what are now Washington, Greene and Fayette Counties in Pennsylvania. In 1780, in his Notes on the State of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson gave the militia enrollment of what was then the vast Monongalia County at 1,000 troops.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 366 square miles (948 km²), of which 361 square miles (935 km²) is land and 5 square miles (12 km²) (1.29%) is water.

Major highways Interstate 68 Interstate 79 U.S. Highway 19 U.S. Highway 119 West Virginia Route 7

Adjacent counties Greene County, Pennsylvania (north) Fayette County, Pennsylvania (northeast) Preston County (east) Taylor County (southeast) Marion County (south) Wetzel County (west)

Rivers, Streams, and Lakes Monongahela River Cheat River Decker's Creek Cam Harker Spring Cheat Lake Dunkard Creek Aarons Creek

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1790	4,768		—
1800	8,540		79.1%
1810	12,793		49.8%
1820	11,060		−13.5%
1830	14,056		27.1%
1840	17,368		23.6%
1850	12,387		−28.7%
1860	13,048		5.3%
1870	13,547		3.8%
1880	14,985		10.6%
1890	15,705		4.8%
1900	19,049		21.3%
1910	24,334		27.7%
1920	33,618		38.2%
1930	50,083		49.0%
1940	51,252		2.3%
1950	60,797		18.6%
1960	55,617		−8.5%
1970	63,714		14.6%
1980	75,024		17.8%
1990	75,509		0.6%
2000	81,866		8.4%

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 81,866 people, 33,446 households, and 18,495 families residing in the county. The population density was 227 people per square mile (88/km²). There were 36,695 housing units at an average density of 102 per square mile (39/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.22% White, 3.38% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 2.45% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.32% from other races, and 1.39% from two or more races. 1.01% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 33,446 households out of which 24.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.80% were married couples living together, 8.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.70% were non-families. 31.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the county, the population was spread out with 18.20% under the age of 18, 23.40% from 18 to 24, 27.70% from 25 to 44, 20.00% from 45 to 64, and 10.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 101.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $28,625, and the median income for a family was $43,628. Males had a median income of $33,113 versus $23,828 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,106. About 11.30% of families and 22.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.90% of those under age 18 and 8.00% of those age 65 or over.

Localities

Cities Morgantown Westover

Towns Blacksville Granville Star City

Census-designated places Brookhaven Cassville Cheat Lake

Other unincorporated communities

Arnettsville Baker's Ridge Behler Bertha Hill Booth Bowlby Brewer Hill Browns Chapel Bula Canyon Cheat Neck Chestnut Ridge Clinton Furnace Core Crown Daybrook Dellslow Delmar

Easton Edna Everettsville Fieldcrest Flaggy Meadow Fort Grand Fort Martin Georgetown Greer Greystone Gum Spring Hagans Halleck Harmony Grove Hilderbrand Hoard Hog Eye Holman Hunting Hills

Jaco Jakes Run Jere Kimberly Klondike Laurel Point Little Falls Lowsville Macdale Maidsville Maple McCurdyville McMellin Miracle Run Mooresville Morgan Heights National New Hill

Opekiska Osage Osgood Pedlar Pentress Pierpont Pioneer Rocks Price Price Hill Pursglove Ragtown Randall Richard Ridgedale Ringgold Rock Forge Rosedale Sabraton

Saint Cloud Saint Leo Sandy Smithtown Stewartstown Suncrest Lake Sunset Beach Sturgisson The Mileground Triune Tyrone Uffington Van Voorhis Wadestown Wana West Sabraton West Van Voorhis Worley

Education

The county's public schools are operated by Monongalia County Schools. The county is also home to West Virginia's largest university, West Virginia University, located in Morgantown.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Monongalia County, West Virginia
• Snake Hill Wildlife Management Area
• West Virginia University

References

Citations

1. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
2. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

Other sources

• Core, Earl Lemley, The Monongalia Story: A Bicentennial History, Vol. I: Prelude (1974), [[Parsons, West Virginia|Co.
• Core, Earl Lemley, The Monongalia Story: A Bicentennial History, Vol. V: Sophistication (1984), Parsons, W.Va.: McClain Printing Co.

External links

• Monongalia County History

Coordinates: 39°38′N 80°03′W / 39.63°N 80.05°W / 39.63; -80.05