Morgan County, West Virginia

Morgan County, West Virginia
Morgan County Courthouse Complex, July 2011
Location in the U.S. state of West Virginia
West Virginia's location in the U.S.
Founded	February 9, 1820
Named for	Daniel Morgan
Seat	Berkeley Springs
Largest town	Berkeley Springs
Area
• Total	230 sq mi (596 km2)
• Land	229 sq mi (593 km2)
• Water	0.5 sq mi (1 km2), 0.2%
Population (est.)
• (2015)	17,524
• Density	76/sq mi (29/km²)
Congressional district	2nd
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website	www.morgancountywv.gov

Morgan County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 17,541. Its county seat is Berkeley Springs. The county was formed in 1820 from parts of Hampshire and Berkeley Counties and named in honor of General Daniel Morgan, prominent soldier of the American Revolutionary War.

Morgan County is the home of an important mine producing special sand for the glass industry.

Morgan County was created by an act of the Virginia General Assembly in March 1820 from parts of Berkeley and Hampshire counties. It was named in honor of General Daniel Morgan (1736–1802). He was born in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, and moved to Winchester, Virginia as a youth. He served as a wagoner in Braddock's Army during the campaign against the Native Americans in 1755. During the campaign, a British Lieutenant became angry with him and hit him with the flat of his sword. Morgan punched the Lieutenant, knocking him unconscious. Morgan was court-martialed for striking a British officer and was sentenced to 500 lashes. Morgan later joked that the drummer who counted out the lashes miscounted and he received only 499 lashes. For the rest of his life he claimed the British still owed him one.