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36-622: Rivesville is a town and former coal town in Marion County , West Virginia , United States. The population was 830 at the 2020 census . Rivesville is located at 39°31′49″N 80°7′9″W  /  39.53028°N 80.11917°W  / 39.53028; -80.11917 (39.530276, -80.119063) in the heart of the Fairmont coal field on the north-west bank of the Monongahela River around its confluence with Paw Paw Creek . According to

72-563: A coal miner. In point of fact, the operators built towns because they had no alternative. The mining of coal requires miners; miners require houses. Since most mines were opened in virtually unsettled areas, there was no existing housing....Since the almost complete absence of all weather roads made it necessary for the miner to live close to his work, small villages (often called "camps") were built close to each mine. David Morgan (frontiersman) David Morgan (12 May 1721 – 19 May 1813), sometimes known as "The Great Indian Fighter",

108-572: A fevered dream he had, while recuperating from an illness at the fort. The house still stands there in Rivesville. Now known as the Morgan-Gold House, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. Rivesville was platted in 1837, and named after William Cabell Rives . In 1900, it was a very small town, population 164, growing to 190 in 1910. This was immediately before

144-639: A private under the command of Captain William Haymond's Co., Virginia Militia; he had previously fought with the 10th Virginia Regiment for a few months; and even earlier as Captain of 5th Co., 8th Lancaster Battalion under Col. Peter Grubb. He and the Morgan clan vowed themselves to George Washington and the American cause, and David was there willing to fight blue-coated in volley lines and frontier style. (Might have been because of his ancestral Welsh) He served in

180-699: A second mine in the area near Baxter, about a mile up Paw Paw creek. As of 1921, other mines listed as being in Rivesville included the Rivesville Coal Company's Hood Mine, the Winfield Coal Company's River Side Mine, and the Virginia & Pittsburgh Coal & Coke Co.'s Morgan mine. Coal town Usually, the coal camp, like the railroad camp and logging camps , began with temporary storage, housing and dining facilities —tents, shanties, shacks— until more permanent dwellings could be built. Often

216-429: Is currently operated by Allegheny Energy . Unit 5, installed in 1944 had a power output of 48 megawatts; Unit 6, installed in 1951, was 94 megawatts. The plant used open loop cooling, drawing up to 69.8 million gallons per day of cooling water from the Monongahela River . The coal stockpile at the plant had a capacity of 50,000 tons, and coal was delivered by barge . Earlier, coal was delivered by rail . The plant

252-456: Is directly under the older portion of the town and under the riverbed. Consolidation Coal Company Mine No. 97 was in the Pittsburgh coal seam around 100 feet below the level of the riverbed. This mine operated between 1922 and 1954, with a peak production of 670408 tons per year. The coal seam itself is 6 to 8 feet thick. The number 97 Hoist Shaft was directly west of the westernmost corner of

288-561: Is the town where West Virginia University is located. David and his brother Zackquill first came through the Morgantown area in 1767 and resided at what would be future Downtown Morgantown for a few years. (It wasn't until 1785 when Morgantown became an official city and Fort Morgan wasn't built until 1772) David lived here for two years before moving to Red Stone Creek in Pennsylvania. He then returned to live at Morgantown in 1772 and built

324-588: The American Revolution from about 1775 to the end of the war. He fought in numerous battles including Saratoga , Siege of Fort Laurens , Cowpens , skirmishes against loyalists in the Ohio Country and Native Americans at Prickett's Fort , and, according to Glenn Lough's Now and Long Ago , western campaigns such as the Brodhead Expedition . other engagements of the war. His final rank leaving service

360-555: The United States Census Bureau , the town has a total area of 0.59 square miles (1.53 km), of which 0.52 square miles (1.35 km) is land and 0.07 square miles (0.18 km) is water. As of the census of 2010, there were 934 people, 402 households, and 261 families living in the town. The population density was 1,796.2 inhabitants per square mile (693.5/km). There were 430 housing units at an average density of 826.9 per square mile (319.3/km). The racial makeup of

396-754: The Fairmont-Clarksburg Division of the Monongahela-West Pen Railways, originally the Monongahela Power and Railway Company. This electric interurban line ran from Fairmont through Rivesville to the Rivesville Power Station, just north of town. The Rivesville Elementary/Middle school, formerly Rivesville High School, is administered by the Marion County Schools. It has 37 teachers and has been affiliated with

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432-592: The Fort Morgan stockade before he finally moved to area of Fairmont, West Virginia . In 1745, Morgan built a log cabin at Bunker Hill , Frederick (now Berkeley) County, (West) Virginia . (This structure was later expanded and became the Morgan-Gold House ; it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. ) In 1772, he moved to Marion County, (West) Virginia . David also built and lived in

468-660: The Pittsburgh seam. Mines in the Sewickley seam were opened earlier and mined out earlier than the mines in the Pittsburgh Seam. In 1913, the Monongahela Valley Traction Company had a mine in the even shallower Waynesburg coal seam about a mile southwest of Rivesville near Dakota. This coal seam was about 5 feet thick, including an intermediate shale bed one foot thick. By 1921, Monongahela Traction had opened

504-479: The Power Plant, with the hoisting engines to the north across the tracks. Consol. Mine No. 24 was directly across the river, with its shaft in the company town of Montana Mines, and in 1943, plans were filed to connect these mines with an under-river crossing. In 1934, Consol. No. 97 employed 412 men, all of whom were UMWA members. The daily wage ranged from $ 6.37 for loaders to $ 9.29 for cutters. Other mines in

540-492: The West Virginia University Benedum Collaborative as a Professional Development School since 1997. Tyson Furgason is currently principal. Based on 2007 test scores, the school ranked close to average for the state of West Virginia. In 2007, the school enrolled 338 students between kindergarten and grade 8. The Rivesville Power Plant was built by Monongahela Power and Railway Company in 1919 and

576-421: The age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.80. In the town, the population was spread out, with 19.1% under

612-460: The age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 27.8% from 45 to 64, and 20.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $ 25,700, and the median income for a family was $ 35,417. Males had a median income of $ 26,875 versus $ 19,063 for females. The per capita income for

648-504: The area exploited the shallower Sewickley Coal Seam, largely above the river level to the north and east. Between 1901 and 1913, for example, the Parker Run Coal and Coke Company operated a mine just east of Rivesville, shipping coal by rail and barge. In 1910, this mine employed 60 miners. In 1913, it employed 10 laborers and 25 miners to take 500 tons of coal a day. The coal in this seam was over 6 feet thick, but higher in sulfur than

684-616: The development of large-scale coal mining in the area and the subsequent population growth. In the early 20th century, Rivesville was at the junction between the Pawpaw branch of the B&;O Railroad and the Buckhannon & Northern Railroad, a branch of the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie a predecessor that was incorporated into the Monongahela Railway formed in 1915. Rivesville was also served by

720-740: The disastrous march on Fort Duquesne , present-day Pittsburgh . It was at Fort Duquesne that he received his famous Sabre scar on his left cheek from fighting the French. David also was a part of the Forbes Expedition that successfully captured Fort Duquesne. Other battles he fought in include the Battle of Jumonville Glen , Battle of the Wilderness , Battle of Great Cacapon , possibly the Sandy Creek Expedition , and several other important battles of

756-423: The first structures to be built were log cabin storehouses, followed by kitchens, a lumber mill and smithies, management offices, and housing. Gradually, within a year or so, the camp would be developed as a community with a variety of housing types, including boardinghouses for transients and new hires. Typically the community was organized around a Company Store . The company would often give credit to workers in

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792-424: The form of scrip , a form of token money that would discourage workers from purchasing items in stores outside the town. For the wives and families who joined the miners in such a community, the company store was perhaps "the most essential structure in the town...". The coal operator would normally divest unprofitable lands as soon as possible, rather than paying land taxes. It recouped some capital by sub-dividing

828-463: The fort, but David deflected it with his hand losing two fingers. He turned around to the Indian, fought hand to hand with him, and finally stabbed the Indian with the Indian's own knife. After a while, they tracked down the injured Indian and found him bounding his stomach wound which had corn seeping from it. The Indian told David “how do broder, how do broder,” trying to talk English peacefully to David and

864-565: The lands of Lord Fairfax 's Virginia land holdings in 1746 and establish the northern border of Fairfax estate. This boundary became the border between Maryland and Pennsylvania. A monument placed at the northern branch of the Potomac River is known as Fairfax Stone . Afterwards, Washington hired David to survey his land on the Ohio River . The Morgan Family Bible states that he killed seven Indians in self-defense. The most famous Indian fight he

900-489: The original Prickett's Fort State Park helping protect the bastion from Indians and British soldiers alongside Jacob Prickett. During his time in Fairmont, West Virginia he founded and established the community of Pettyjohn on the West side of Fairmont. The community had its own ferry, salt works, mail drop, and trading post, all thanks to David. Even though he may not have a large rank or as remembered as his brother Zackquill, he

936-598: The other settlers. However the Indian died of his wounds. Another account tells that he killed another Indian and the settlers in Prickett's Fort made the Indian's skin into a shot pouch, and presented it to David as a souvenir. Morgan participated in many battles of the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War . He and a younger brother Zackquill (Zackwell) Morgan first settled Morgantown, West Virginia in 1767, which

972-480: The town was $ 14,085. About 16.4% of families and 19.9% of the population were below the poverty line , including 32.9% of those under age 18 and 12.9% of those age 65 or over. The area was populated by some of the earliest settlers to the area, with the safety of Prickett's Fort sitting directly across the Monongahela River . David Morgan (frontiersman) moved there in 1772. That's also the location where he saved his family from an attack by Indians in 1778, based on

1008-537: The town was 98.7% White , 0.6% African American , 0.5% Native American , and 0.1% from other races . Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.3% of the population. There were 402 households, of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.3% were married couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.1% were non-families. 29.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.1% had someone living alone who

1044-456: The town. The population density was 1,602.5 inhabitants per square mile (618.4/km). There were 450 housing units at an average density of 789.8 per square mile (304.8/km). The racial makeup of the town was 98.80% White , 0.11% African American , 0.11% Native American , 0.33% Asian , and 0.66% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.55% of the population. There were 400 households, out of which 24.8% had children under

1080-408: The tract and selling lots and eventually the housing it had built. Structures such as churches and schools were built as the community grew. The employer might donate funds to aid these, but typically they were financed by residents of the community. Given the typically remote locations of mines and the absence of any travel infrastructure serving the mines, 'coal camps' often became a part of being

1116-618: The war. Then David, along with many other acquaintances, also helped to track and fight Indians and French soldiers. They tracked them from Buffalo Creek , to the West Fork River , to Cheat River , to the Allegheny Mountains , and Deckers Creek until they skirmished against the Indians and French, lost their trail, and finally had to camp along Deckers Creek. David served in a militia company under his brother Zackquill , then served as

Rivesville, West Virginia - Misplaced Pages Continue

1152-484: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.83. The median age in the town was 42.1 years. 21.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.3% were from 25 to 44; 30.1% were from 45 to 64; and 16.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 46.6% male and 53.4% female. As of the census of 2000, there were 913 people, 400 households, and 268 families living in

1188-543: Was a soldier , mountaineer , pioneer , and frontiersman in what is now the state of West Virginia . He was born in Christiana, New Castle, Delaware, the third child of Morgan Morgan and Catherine Garretson Morgan, traditionally stated to be the first white settler in West Virginia. Family tradition claims he was a friend of George Washington and Patrick Henry . Morgan was hired to help George Washington to survey

1224-428: Was connected to the grid by 138Kv transmission lines. In the mid 1970s, this was the first commercial power plant to use fluidized bed combustion to fire its boilers. As of 2007, this power plant employed 33 people. New environmental regulations forced the company to shut down the plant in 2012, along with two others elsewhere in the state. About the only area around Rivesville where the coal has not been mined out

1260-490: Was in occurs in 1778 when he was bedridden in Prickett's Fort , he had a dream that his children were running around scalped. He grabbed his gun, ran outside, and found his children chasing a cow near two Indians on his land in present-day Rivesville, West Virginia . David sent them back to the fort, and as this happened, he shot and killed one Indian. Then, a second one threw a tomahawk at the back of his head as he ran back towards

1296-498: Was still courageous, smart, and proud to fight for his family and his country. Morgan is the 3rd great grandfather of West Virginia Governor Ephraim F. Morgan (1869–1950) and Congressman William S. Morgan (1801–1878). During the French and Indian War , David fought under the command of Captain Charles Lewis with the 1st Virginia Regiment . He was also a defender at Fort Necessity and served under General Edward Braddock in

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