Courthouse Square

Courthouse Square. Monongalia County. Named for the Monongalia River, Monongalia County was established in 1776. With the formal recognition of the Mason-Dixon line in 1783, it was determined that the first meeting place of the county court actually fell within the borders of Pennsylvania, and the court was relocated to the home of Zacquill Morgan. In 1784, a small frame courthouse was erected near the site of the present courthouse square. A new courthouse building replaced this structure in 1802, and in 1848, a fourth courthouse was constructed. The fifth and current courthouse was designed in the Romanesque Revival style by Pittsburgh architect James Baily and was completed in 1891. As the county celebrated its bicentennial in 1976, a new annex to the courthouse was completed., [A timeline runs from Walnut Street south to the marker:] , 1776 , County established, 1783 , County seat , moved, 1785 , Morgantown , established, 1863 , Statehood, 1867 , WVU , established, 1870 , First gas , street lamps, 1886 , First , passenger , train, 1891 , Courthouse , constructed, 1896 , Seneca Glass , opens, 1941 , Ordnance , Works , constructed, 1976 , County , bicentennial .