About Morgan County


Morgan County is in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia located east of Cumberland, Maryland and about 90 miles northwest of Washington, DC. Its northern and western boundary is the Potomac River, a part of the West Virginia state border with Maryland. Part of the southern boundary line of the county is part of the West Virginia state border with Virginia. It was formed in 1820 from Berkeley and Hampshire counties. The county is named after Daniel Morgan (1736-1802), an American Revolutionary War general from Virginia who lived the latter part of his life within the county in Bath, now Berkeley Springs.

It is rural with a present territory of 230 square miles and a population of 16,022. Its county seat and major town is Berkeley Springs (pop. 663) located in the north central part of the county. The county is drained by the Potomac River and its tributaries and has a railroad line along its northern border. The other major town is Paw Paw (pop. 524) located in the western end of the county along the Potomac River. The county has two state parks, Cacapon, located in the central western section of the county, and Berkeley Springs. The latter is the site of warm springs that have been used as a spa since 1776. Also the eastern part of the county is the northern portion of the Sleepy Creek Wildlife Management Area.

Major employment is in health care and social assistance, retail, accommodation and food services, and manufacturing. Nearly all health care and social assistance employment is in general medical and surgical hospital or in nursing and residential care facilities. Hotel and motel employment is two-thirds of that in accommodation and food service. Manufacturing is in wooden household furniture, small arms ammunition, and the making of architectural and ornamental metal products. There is noticeable economic activity and some employment in the quarrying of sand and gravel. Agriculturally there is some notable production of eggs, but the major products are livestock and forage.

Morgan County is a part of the ever growing eastern panhandle of West Virginia. Berkeley Springs is home to the Apple Butter Festival each October and the Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting festival in January. This community has also been identified as one of the 100 best small art towns.