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38-837: Knowles was born on September 16, 1926, in Fairmont, West Virginia , the son of James M. Knowles, a purchasing agent from Lowell, Massachusetts , and Mary Beatrice Shea Knowles from Concord, New Hampshire . His father was a coal company executive, which earned an income that afforded the family a comfortable living. As a youth, Knowles would remark that he could write just as well as the stories from The Saturday Evening Post . Knowles attended St. Peter's High School in Fairmont from 1938 to 1940, before he continued at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire , and graduated in 1945. Following his time at Phillips Exeter, Knowles spent eight months serving in

76-666: A beautiful overlook of the Monongahela River, giving it a "fair mount". The Borough of Fairmont was incorporated in 1843 by the Virginia General Assembly. In 1863, during the American Civil War , Confederate General William E. Jones and his men raided Fairmont and cut the Union's supply lines to take food and horses. They also burned the books from the personal library of Governor Francis Harrison Pierpont . Many of

114-404: A hundred miles each year from his home to pay his Monongalia County taxes and his brother's Harrison County taxes. Mrs. Madison supposedly suggested that he create his own county to save him all that travel. In 1814, Fleming circulated a petition to do precisely that, naming the proposed county Madison County in honor of Dolley and James Madison. Milford, now Rivesville , was the only town within

152-495: A male householder with no wife present, and 45.6% were non-families. 36.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.83. The median age was 36.8 years. 18% of residents were under the age of 18; 16.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25% were from 25 to 44; 24.4% were from 45 to 64; and 16.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of

190-400: A part of their father's farm to make way for the new town; this part of the farm would later become downtown Fairmont. In 1819, Fairmont was founded as Middletown, Virginia. It was named Middletown because either it was in the middle of two cities, Morgantown and Clarksburg , or Fleming's first wife, Elizabeth Hutchinson, was originally from Middletown , Delaware . That same year, a road

228-405: A school for teachers, the college was named Fairmont Normal School, and was located on the corner of Fairmont Avenue and Second Street and moved to its present location in 1917. Dunbar School is a historic building in Fairmont, West Virginia, that used to be an all-black high school. The school was designed by the architect William B Ittner. The school was built in 1928. Fairmont is located in

266-493: A summer session at Phillips Exeter Academy. Hackett was a friend of Robert F. Kennedy under whom he later served in the US Justice Department . A student, Phineas Sprague, lived in the same dormitory as Knowles during the summer session of 1943 and may have inspired the character's name. In his memoir Palimpsest , Gore Vidal acknowledged that he and Knowles simultaneously attended Phillips Exeter Academy, though Vidal

304-452: A tree during society exercises. In his essay "A Special Time, A Special Place," Knowles wrote, "The only elements in A Separate Peace which were not in that summer were anger, violence, and hatred. There was only friendship, athleticism, and loyalty." The secondary character Finny (Phineas) is the friend of the main character Gene. Knowles has stated that he modeled Finny on David Hackett from Milton Academy , whom he met when both attended

342-530: Is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, West Virginia , United States. The population was 18,313 at the 2020 census , making it the eighth-most populous city in the state. It is the principal city of the Fairmont micropolitan area , which includes all of Marion County in North Central West Virginia and had a population of 56,205 in 2020. Fairmont is also a principal city of the larger Morgantown–Fairmont combined statistical area . In

380-490: Is a region in the U.S. state of West Virginia . The region's largest cities are Morgantown , Fairmont , and Clarksburg . These counties are sometimes also included in the region. Note: These cities are sometimes included within the region. A network of intracity and intercity buses is provided in the area by three private services: CENTRA, the Fairmont Marion County Transit Authority , and

418-606: Is a service based at the southern end of the region, serving the areas around Clarksburg and Harrison County. Travel is facilitated by 16 individual lines that run weekdays from 6 AM to 6 PM, and Saturdays from 8 AM to 4 PM. The Mountain Line Transit Authority provides bus routes in and around Monongalia County and WVU campuses. When WVU is in session, 18 routes around Morgantown provide service from as early as 6 AM to as late as 2:30 AM. During summer these hours are slightly reduced, and some routes are eliminated. The Grey Line

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456-399: Is based upon Knowles's experiences at Phillips Exeter Academy . The Devon School, the book's setting, is a thinly-veiled fictionalization of Exeter, with both campus and town easily recognizable. Although the plot is not autobiographical, elements of the novel stem from personal experience, including Knowles's membership in a secret society and his suffering a foot injury while he jumped from

494-623: Is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . The school was established in the late 1800s, and the school was relocated in 1905 and 1928. The current iteration of the school, which is located on Loop Park Dr, was designed by the architect William B. Ittner . Fairmont State University is a public university with an approximate enrollment of 3,800 students. The institution offers master's degrees in business, education, teaching, criminal justice, and nursing, in addition to 90 baccalaureate and 50 associate degrees. Originally established as

532-559: The Hartford Courant and was assistant editor for Holiday magazine. With encouragement from Thornton Wilder , he concurrently began writing novels. Knowles died on November 29, 2001, near Fort Lauderdale, Florida . A Separate Peace was first published in London by Secker and Warburg in 1959. Published in New York in 1960 by Macmillan , it is his most celebrated work. The novel

570-512: The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites , houses more than 100 full-time employees. Fairmont has a Council-manager government , whereby the mayor serves as chairman of the city council and the city manager takes care of the day-to-day operations. The current mayor is Anne Bolyard and the current city manager is Travis L. Blosser. Fairmont Senior High School is a public high school that

608-556: The Mountain Line Transit Authority . The Fairmont Marion County Transit Authority provides bus routes focusing on Marion County, but trips to the nearby cities of Clarksburg and Morgantown are also provided for a charge of $ 2.00, one way. Free transfers are provided at the Marion County courthouse. All routes within the county have a flat rate of $ 0.75, but for all routes, children under the age of 6 ride free. CENTRA

646-636: The North-Central region of the state, along West Virginia's I-79 High Tech Corridor. Major highways include: Fairmont Municipal Airport (Frankman Field) is a public use airport located two  nautical miles (4  km ) southwest of the central business district of Fairmont. It is owned by the Fairmont-Marion County Regional Airport Authority. North Central West Virginia [REDACTED] North Central West Virginia (sometimes known as "Mountaineer Country")

684-592: The US Army Air Forces at the end of World War II . Knowles graduated from Yale University as a member of the class of 1949. At Yale, Knowles contributed stories to campus humor magazine The Yale Record and served on the board of the Yale Daily News during his sophomore, junior, and senior years, notably as editorial secretary during his senior year. He was a record-holding varsity swimmer during his sophomore year. Early in his career, Knowles wrote for

722-670: The "pepperoni roll capital of the world". The city is home to multiple offices for national agencies. Fairmont's National White Collar Crime Center provides nationwide support to law enforcement agencies involved in prevention, investigation, and prosecution of economic and high-tech crime. The NASA Katherine Johnson Independent Verification and Validation Facility , governed by the Goddard Space Flight Center , houses more than 150 full-time employees and more than 20 in-house partners and contractors. The NOAA Robert H. Mollohan Research Facility, which receives weather data from

760-572: The Gulf of Mexico to raise temperatures above 50 °F or 10 °C, which occurs on average six times each January and over eight in December and February. In contrast, when very cold air from Canada moves into West Virginia temperatures can go below 0 °F or −17.8 °C, which can be expected during 3.2 mornings each winter, but which occurred on twelve mornings during the extremely cold January 1977, whose average temperature of 16.0 °F or −8.9 °C

798-405: The average family size was 2.83. 18.4% of the population were under the age of 18, 14.9% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.3 males. The median household income was $ 25,628 and the median family income

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836-611: The borders of Fleming's proposed county, so Fleming decided to make Milford the seat of Madison County. However, Milford's citizens preferred to remain part of Monongalia County. As a result, Fleming's petition failed to gain sufficient support to be presented to the Virginia General Assembly . Fleming then focused on creating a new town near his farm, which was located on the west side of the Monongahela River . In 1817, Fleming's sons—William and David—began to clear land on

874-557: The city was 48.2% male and 51.8% female. At the 2000 census , there were 19,097 people, 8,447 households and 4,671 families living in the city. The population density was 2,438.5 per square mile (941.7/km ). There were 9,755 housing units at an average density of 1,245.6 per square mile (481.0/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 90.16% White , 7.26% African American , 0.26% Native American , 0.61% Asian , 0.02% Pacific Islander , 0.20% from other races , and 1.49% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.82% of

912-443: The city was 84.2% White , 7.3% African American , 0.6% Asian , 0.3% Native American , 0.5% from other races , and 7% from two or more races . Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 2.2% of the population. There were 7,903 households, of which 37.1% were married couples living together, 30.6% had a female householder with no spouse present, 23% had a male householder with no spouse present. The average household and family size

950-420: The city was 88.9% White , 7.5% African American , 0.2% Native American , 0.6% Asian , 0.4% from other races , and 2.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.4% of the population. There were 8,133 households, of which 24.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.7% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.2% had

988-429: The city's buildings may have contributed to the fire; the large number of coal mines under Fairmont may have also played a role. Between 1891 and 1901—in a span of only 10 years—Fairmont's population had increased from 1,000 to 7,000. The City of Fairmont was chartered in 1899; as a result of the charter, the city absorbed the surrounding towns of Palatine (also known as East Side) and West Fairmont. By 1901, Fairmont

1026-659: The eighteenth century, the earliest development of Fairmont consisted of subsistence farming settlements . In 1789, Boaz Fleming, a Revolutionary War veteran , migrated to western Virginia and purchased a 254-acre farm from Jonathan Bozarth. In 1808, Fleming made his annual trek to Clarksburg to pay his brother's Harrison County taxes. While in Clarksburg, Fleming attended a social gathering that included his cousin Dolley Madison , wife of President James Madison . Fleming complained to Mrs. Madison about having to travel over

1064-428: The first buildings in Fairmont were poorly constructed. By 1852—little more than 30 years after the city's founding—a large portion of Fairmont was reported to be run-down and dilapidated. Reports from 1873 indicate that these buildings had continued to fall into disrepair. On April 2, 1876, a fire destroyed a large portion of the city's business district , as well as many houses in the area. The continuing dilapidation of

1102-483: The northern part of the city. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 9.00 square miles (23.31 km ), of which 8.62 square miles (22.33 km ) is land and 0.38 square miles (0.98 km ) is water. Fairmont has a humid continental climate ( Köppen Dfa ) with very warm summers and freezing winters. However, it is not uncommon during winter for warm air from

1140-406: The population. There were 8,447 households, of which 21.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.2% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.7% were non-families. 36.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and

1178-461: The remains of Fairmont's 19th-century coal mines were crumbling. As a result, over the following years, the federal government along with other institutions spent money to fix the subsidence issue to prevent damage to the town. The Tygart Valley River and the West Fork River join in Fairmont to form the Monongahela River . Buffalo Creek , a tributary of the Monongahela River, flows through

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1216-468: The wettest calendar year has been 1956 with 58.12 inches (1,476.2 mm) and the driest – as with all of West Virginia – 1930 with 26.25 inches (666.8 mm). The hottest temperature has been 108 °F (42.2 °C) on August 8, 1918, and the coldest −21 °F (−29.4 °C) on January 21, 1994. As of the 2020 census , there were 18,416 people and 7,903 households residing in the city. There were 9,045 housing units in Fairmont. The racial makeup of

1254-488: Was $ 37,126. Males had a median income of $ 27,944 and females $ 20,401. The per capita income was $ 16,062. About 12.6% of families and 20.1% of the population were below the poverty line , including 22.0% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over. Fairmont is home to Country Club Bakery , which is where the pepperoni roll snack originates. The bakery continues to serve the roll along with their various other baked goods. Fairmont has considered itself to be

1292-477: Was 2.83. The median age in the city was 34.4 years. With 18.3% of the city being under 18. The median household income in the city was $ 47,618 and the poverty rate was 19.9%. At the 2010 census , there were 18,704 people, 8,133 households and 4,424 families living in the city. The population density was 2,169.8 inhabitants per square mile (837.8/km ). There were 9,200 housing units at an average density of 1,067.3 per square mile (412.1/km ). The racial makeup of

1330-484: Was an important commercial center. Many railroads —including the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad on its way from Cumberland , Maryland to Wheeling —traveled through the city. By this time, Fairmont was also the leading center of the coal trade industry in northern West Virginia, employing some 10,000 workers in the coal mines around Fairmont. By 1978, an issue with Fairmont's land experiencing subsidence appeared because

1368-407: Was built between those two cities. Fleming's new town was about halfway between the two cities, which made it a resting point. The town was incorporated as Middletown on January 19, 1820. The current borders of Marion County were established in 1842, and Middletown was named the county's seat. At that time, William Haymond Jr. suggested that the town's name be changed to Fairmont because the town had

1406-478: Was the coldest month on record by 4.0 °F or 2.2 °C. Despite the abundant precipitation throughout the year, the relative dryness of cold air means that most precipitation is rain even during the winter: the most snowfall in a month being 46.5 inches (1.18 m) is November 1950, and the most in a season 77.4 inches (1.97 m) between July 1950 and June 1951. The least snow in a season has been 12.0 inches (0.30 m) between July 1918 and June 1919, whilst

1444-591: Was two years ahead of Knowles. Vidal stated that Knowles told him the character Brinker was based on him. "We have been friends for many years now," Vidal said, "and I admire the novel that he based on our school days, A Separate Peace ." Knowles won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and the Rosenthal Award of the National Institute of Arts and Letters . Fairmont, West Virginia Fairmont

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