MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The bronze sculpture of Morgantown’s namesake was unveiled on West Virginia day.
In 1771, Colonel Zackquill Morgan laid claim to land along the Monongahela River and Deckers Creek in what is now Monongalia County.
A commissioned art piece of his likeness will stand outside Morgantown’s public service building following a ceremony Monday morning at 10 on Spruce Street.
The artist, Jamie Lester, said research was time consuming to get the statue to be historically accurate.
“What you see today is a result of a lot of study and a lot of enlightenment in my mind about the historical nature of the clothing and facial hair and style of the day.”
Morgan settled in the area after fighting in the French and Indian War.
“I envisioned him standing on Sky Rock up in Dorsey’s Knob park and looking down with the river shining in the distance and imagining a town that might be here one day,” Lester imagined.
He fought in the 1777 Battle of Saratoga during the American Revolutionary War.
Eight years later, the Virginia General Assembly established Morgan’s Town – now Morgantown.
The son of Morgan Morgan, considered the state’s first white settler, has been memorialized through a bronze statue of him standing with the city charter in one hand and a muzzleloader in the other.