Morgantown

Morgantown is the name of several places in the United States of America:

Places

Roads

See also

West Virginia

West Virginia ⁱ/ˌwɛst vərˈdʒɪnjə/ is a state located in the Appalachian region of the Southern United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the north (and, slightly, east), and Maryland to the northeast. West Virginia is the 41st largest by area and the 38th most populous of the 50 United States. The capital and largest city is Charleston.

West Virginia became a state following the Wheeling Conventions of 1861, in which delegates from some Unionist counties of northwestern Virginia decided to break away from Virginia during the American Civil War, although they included many secessionist counties in the new state. West Virginia was admitted to the Union on June 20, 1863, and was a key Civil War border state. West Virginia was the only state to form by separating from a Confederate state, the first to separate from any state since Maine separated from Massachusetts, and was one of two states formed during the American Civil War (the other being Nevada, which separated from Utah Territory).

Morgantown, West Virginia

Morgantown is a city in and the county seat of Monongalia County, West Virginia. Situated along the banks of the Monongahela River, Morgantown is the largest city in North-Central West Virginia, and the base of the Morgantown, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. It has a permanent population of 29,660 per the 2010 census, with West Virginia University adding several thousand seasonal residents to the city and surrounding area from September through May. Morgantown is best known as the home of West Virginia University and the one-of-a-kind Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit system.

History

Morgantown 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 settlers and Native Americans, and by the British and the French. The treaty decided the issue in favor of the British, but Indian fighting continued almost to the beginning of the American Revolution.

Zackquill Morgan, son of Morgan Morgan, and his brother David entered the area of Virginia that would become Morgantown in about 1767, although others such as Thomas Decker are recorded as attempting settlements in the area earlier or at about the same time. As well, several forts were built in the area during this time: Fort Pierpont near the Cheat River, in 1769; Fort Coburn, near Dorsey's Knob, in 1770. Fort Morgan, at the present site of Morgantown, in 1772; Fort Dinwiddle, north several miles at Stewartstown, in 1772; Fort Martin, several miles north on the Monongahela River, in 1773; Fort Burris in the present-day Suncrest area of Morgantown, in 1774; and Fort Kern in the present-day Greenmont area of Morgantown, in 1774, in addition to other, smaller forts.

The Local

The Local is an English-language digital news publisher with local editions in Sweden, Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark, Austria and Italy. Each site, while alike in appearance, has separate editorial teams, each focused on its respective market.

Coverage is purely domestic in each country, and includes current events, politics, business, sports and culture, as well as analysis and opinion. The company also owns the largest English-language discussion forums in Germany (Toytown Germany) and Switzerland (English Forum).

The original Swedish edition began in 2004 as a weekly email newsletter. The German edition was launched in 2008 and Swiss edition in 2011. In 2013 the company opened offices in France, Spain and Italy. By January 2015 the company claimed to have over 4.5 million readers per month.

The Local's founders are Managing Director Paul Rapacioli, formerly a director of reed.co.uk and Managing Editor James Savage, formerly a radio journalist and PR consultant. Shareholders include the 6th AP Fund and IQUBE.

Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit

The Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit (WVU PRT) system is a personal rapid transit/people mover system in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. The system connects the three Morgantown campuses of West Virginia University (WVU), as well as the downtown area.

Developed as the Alden staRRcar, the Morgantown system was built, starting in 1970, by a consortium led by Boeing Vertol as a government-funded experiment in personal rapid transit (PRT) systems. It had a fitful start, and entered operation in 1975, three years behind schedule. It cost three-to-four times more than had been estimated. Except for a short closure for a major expansion, the PRT operated continuously with 98.5% reliability from 1975 to 2005.

History

Origins

Morgantown is a small city with about 30,000 permanent residents. West Virginia University adds another 28,000 seasonal residents from September through May. Estimates from 2009 place the Morgantown metropolitan area population near 120,000. The city sits in a mountain valley along the Monongahela River, and as WVU expanded in the 1960s, its geographic constraints forced it to build a second campus two miles (3.2 km) away in Evansdale. Free busing was offered to move students between the campuses, but all the roads led through the city center, creating gridlock more typical of a megacity.