The Edwards Water Pipeline

The Edwards Water Pipeline. . , Beneath this ground rests a 30-inch raw water pipeline that extends four miles from the Flegal Dam and Reservoir along Cobun Creek to the Morgantown Water Treatment Plant. This gravity-fed pipeline is critical to ensuring a safe, clean water supply remains available throughout the Monongalia County area. In the spring of 2024, this pipeline was dedicated in the name of John Edwards in commemoration of his initiating the first water service in the Morgantown area., John Edwards , Born a slave in 1839, John Edwards gained his freedom by traveling from Virginia with the Union Army to Beverly, West Virginia. After finding his way to Morgantown, Edwards married Sarah Elizabeth Evans from neighboring Preston County in 1865. The couple would raise five sons and three daughters., In the mid-1860s, Edwards began the first water service in Morgantown using a mule-drawn cart to haul barrels of water from the Monongahela River and Deckers Creek. Businesses and residents purchased the water for 10 cents a barrel for Monongahela River water and 15 cents a barrel for water from Deckers Creek. Edwards family members from Virginia joined the operation until 1889 when the first water works system began operation in Morgantown., Having purchased property that extended from White Avenue to Deckers Creek in 1887, Edwards built a house at what was 79 White Avenue. Edwards' cousins also settled on White Avenue, establishing one of Morgantown's first African American communities. John Edwards died in 1904 and his wife Sarah died in 1926. They are buried in Mount Union Cemetery near Morgantown., Photos are courtesy of the West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, (Captions):, John Edwards, Sarah Edwards, The sons of John and Sarah Edwards sit on the wagon used to transport barrels of water.