Near Morgantown in Monongalia County, West Virginia — The American South (Appalachia)
Who Wants Clean Water?
Interpreting History
Photographed by Bradley Owen, May 13, 2021
1. Who Wants Clean Water? Marker
We all need water, but Morgantown area residents did not always have access to clean water. As you walk along the reservoir loop trail, you will learn about how this land played a very important role in providing clean water for Morgantown.
Water Delivery at Just 10 Cents a Barrel!
The Borough of Morgantown first discussed providing water to its residents in 1859, long before there was a reservoir here. Sometime after May 1865, John Edwards, an African-American, started a water-hauling business. Water from the Monongahela River cost 10 cents a barrel, while water from Deckers Creek cost 15 cents a barrel. Edwards provided water until 1889, outlasting several attempts to establish water companies.
A Call for "Comfort and Health in Every Home"
In 1885, the newly established Morgantown Improvement Company (MIC) proposed establishing a public water works system that would supply clean water via pipes to residents. There was a great deal of public support surrounding the effort. The Morgantown Weekly Post and New Dominion reported:
There would be "No danger of drinking nasty woolly water worms in Water Works water!"Despite the enthusiastic support of residents, the 1885 effort to develop a water works failed. Of course, this is not the end of the story....
"Our people will hereafter take pure water from the bowels of the earth, in preference to impure drainage from the bowels of humanity — so to speak."
"A town that has been drinking and washing in the hardest kind of water for fifty or one hundred years is entitled to a change."… The ladies were "a little fastidious about their houses, about their cooking, about their complexions-soft water [was] essential to all these things." (The water works water would be soft.)
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A water works would increase property values "quite as much as a railroad," while bringing "comfort and health to every home."
[Captions:]
Children sitting on John Edwards's water wagon.
Photo courtesy of West Virginia and Regional History Collection WVU Libraries.
John Edwards supplied water to Morgantown residents for about 24 years.
Photo courtesy of West Virginia and Regional History Collection, WVU Libraries.
For more information, please see the pamphlet "Bringing Clean Water to Morgantown" available on our website at www.wvbg.org.
Erected 2014 by West Virginia Botanic Garden and West Virginia Humanities Council.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Charity & Public Work • Natural Resources. A significant historical year for this entry is 1859.
Location. This marker has been replaced by another marker nearby.
Photographed by Bradley Owen, May 13, 2021
2. Who Wants Clean Water? Marker
Reservoir Loop Trail, looking east.
Regionally, this marker was in North Central West Virginia. It was also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, in Appalachia, and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it was in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it found itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location: A different marker also named Who Wants Clean Water? (a few steps from this marker); 351 Commercial Street: Blanche Lazzell's Provincetown Studio (a few steps from this marker); The WVBG Labyrinth (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Prehistoric Garden (about 500 feet away); The Dam and the Bowl (about 500 feet away); Rooted in Monongalia County: Home as Inspiration (about 500 feet away); Clean Water Comes to Morgantown (about 600 feet away); Building the Basin (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Morgantown.
Other markers no longer nearby. A Small Dam and a Big "Bowl" Meet the Need for Clean Water (was about 500 feet away but has been replaced with another marker now near it); Strong Men and Horses Build the Basin (was about 500 feet away but has been replaced with another marker now near it); Clean Water Comes To Morgantown (was about 600 feet away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).
More about this marker. The Reservoir Loop is a 0.72 mile walking trail.
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. This marker has been replaced by another at this location.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 29, 2026. It was originally submitted on May 22, 2021, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia. This page has been viewed 227 times since then and 17 times this year. Last updated on May 27, 2021, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 22, 2021, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
