Pruntytown, West Virginia

Unincorporated community in West Virginia, United States

39°20′2″N 80°4′36″W / 39.33389°N 80.07667°W / 39.33389; -80.07667CountryUnited StatesStateWest VirginiaCounty TaylorElevation

^[1]

1,204 ft (367 m)Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)GNIS feature ID1545306^[1]

Pruntytown is an unincorporated community at the junction of the Northwestern Turnpike (U.S. Route 50) and U.S. Route 250 in Taylor County, West Virginia, USA. It is the site of the Pruntytown Correctional Center (formerly West Virginia Industrial Home for Boys).

History

The first settlement at Pruntytown (the earliest known white settlement in what is now Taylor County) was made circa 1798 with pioneers John Prunty, Sr (1745-1823) and his son David (1768-1841).^[2] It was initially known as Cross Roads, from the intersection there of the old Clarksburg Pike and the old Beverly and Fairmont Road. On January 1, 1801 Cross Roads was renamed Williamsport in honor of Abraham Williams, a local resident.

The name "Prunty Town" appears in an 1835 gazetteer, which describes the status of the town at the time:

It contains 18 dwelling houses, 1 Methodist and 1 Baptist house of worship, 1 common school, 3 miscellaneous stores, 1 tavern, 1 tanyard, 2 saddlers, 2 boot and shoe factories, 1 hatter, 1 tailor, 2 smith shops, 1 gun smith, and 1 cabinet maker. Population 110. The surrounding country is somewhat broken, but the soil is good, and well adapted to the grazing of cattle; and growing every species of small grain.^[3]

The name change was made official on January 23, 1845 to honor the Pruntys. This town served as the county seat from the county's founding in 1844 until a county election in 1878 moved it approximately three miles away, to Grafton.

Notable person

John Barton Payne (1855–1935), Pruntytown-born lawyer and U.S. Secretary of the Interior (1920–21)

External links

Pruntytown Elementary School
Pruntytown Correctional Center

References

^ ^a ^b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Pruntytown, West Virginia
^ Kenny, Hamill (1945). West Virginia Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning, Including the Nomenclature of the Streams and Mountains. Piedmont, WV: The Place Name Press. p. 511.
^ Martin, Joseph (1835), New and Comprehensive Gazetteer of Virginia; Reprinted in 1968 in West Virginia Heritage, Vol 2, pg 22; West Virginia Heritage Foundation; Richwood, W.Va.