Downtown Morgantown Historic District

The Downtown Morgantown Historic District is a federally designated historic district in Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia. The district, encompassing approximately 75 acres, has 122 contributing buildings and 2 contributing sites including commercial and public buildings, residences, and churches. The district has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since May 2, 1996. Ten of the contributing buildings are listed separately on the National Register of Historic Places. Significant structures located within the historic district are the Monongalia County Courthouse, the Metropolitan Theater, and the Old Morgantown Post Office .
The historic district is representative of significant developments in architecture, social history, and industry that occurred in Morgantown and the surrounding region between 1795 and 1945. Morgantown is located along the Monongahela River which flows north to Pittsburgh and on to the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. The town's proximity to the river made it an important location in westward expansion. In the late 1750s, settlers began building small farms in the area. Zackquill Morgan, the town's founder, received a grant in 1784 for 50 acres on land at the junction of Deckers Creek and the river. Morgan had built a settlement on the land in 1772 and returned to the area after serving as a colonel in the Revolutionary War. He laid out a grid for the town on this property and received a charter for “Morgan’s Town” in 1785.

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