About Marion County
Marion County is in north central West Virginia located 15 miles south of Morgantown, and 88 miles south of Pittsburgh. The county was formed in 1842 from parts of Harrison and Monongalia counties and named after the Francis Marion (1732-1795), a Revolutionary War general. Fairmont became the county seat in 1843. The name was an abbreviated form of “Fair Mountain.”
Fairmont’s name was changed from “Middletown” since this town already existed in Virginia. Two events spurred future growth in the 1850’s—building of The B&O Railroad to export coal and the building of Suspension Bridge to connect Fairmont with Palatine.
Its present territory is 456 square miles with a population of 56,509. Its county seat and major city is Fairmont (pop. 19,097) which is located in the east-central part of the county. Its other major cities and towns are Barrackville (pop. 1,288); Fairview (pop. 435); Farmington (pop. 387): Grant Town (pop. 657); Mannington (pop. 2,124); Monongah (pop. 939); Pleasant Valley (pop. 3,124); Rivesville (pop. 913); Whitehall (pop. 595); and Worthington (pop. 170). For more on Demographics, see QuickFacts for Marion County.
At Fairmont the West Fork River and the Tygart River meet to form the Monongahela River which is navigable. There are two state parks in the county:
Prickett’s Fort State Park along the Monongahela River immediately north of Fairmont and part of
Valley Falls State Park along the Tygart River on its southern border with Taylor County. Interstate 79 runs northeast to southwest through the eastern part of the county. Fairmont and the county have rail connections.
Major employment is in retail, health care and social assistance, manufacturing, construction, and accommodation and food service. General medical and surgical hospital employment and that of ambulatory health care services are over half of the employees in health care and social assistance. Most manufacturing employment is in fabricated metal products, machinery, primary aluminum production, and in the making of electric lamp bulbs and parts. Fabricated metal production employs more than any other type of manufacturing, but it equals only two-thirds of those employed in coal mining. Electric power transmission employs about as many as coal mining. Most coal mining production is from bituminous underground mines with only some tonnage produced by surface mining. Education employment is noticeable since Fairmont is the home of a public school of higher education,
Fairmont State University. There is some notable agricultural production of eggs and raising of horses, but the major products are livestock and forage.
