Monongalia County, West Virginia

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The Monongalia County Courthouse is located at 243 High Street, Morgantown, WV 26505; phone: 304-291-7230.

Monongalia County was formed in 1776 (along with Ohio and Yohogania counties) from the "District of West Augusta," and named (though spelled differently) from its principal river, the Monongahela.

Beginnings [1]

During the fall of 1758, Thomas Decker established the first settlement in present-day Monongalia County. He led a group of settlers to Decker's Creek, in present-day Morgantown. The settlement was destroyed the following spring by a party of Delaware and Mingo Indians. All but one of the original settlers, including Thomas Decker, were killed or captured in the attack.

Monongalia County government's first organizational meeting took place at Jonathan Coburn's home on December 8, 1776. His home was located about two miles east of present-day Morgantown. Captain John Dent was named the county's sheriff. Because the new county's population was concentrated in the county's northern portion, it was decided to hold the county court meetings at Theophilus Phillips' plantation, Phillips' Choice, a few miles from New Geneva, in present-day Springhill Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania.

  1. West Virginia University, Monongalia County History, www.polsci.wvu.edu, accessed August, 2011.

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