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Morgan County

Extending south from the Potomac River in the Eastern Panhandle, Morgan County is 229.6 square miles of mostly parallel north-south ridges. It lies within the foothills of the Appalachian mountain chain. The wild and scenic Cacapon River snakes north through the county, emptying into the Potomac at the unincorporated hamlet of Great Cacapon.

Mapped Points

• Berkeley Springs

  Berkeley Springs, the county seat of Morgan County, was originally called Bath, after the English resort city of the same name, but in the early 1800s the post office name was changed to Berkeley Springs. The town still answers to both names, however, and the official name remains Bath. Overlooking Berkeley Springs is Berkeley Castle, built in the 19th century by Colonel Samuel Taylor Suit as a summer cottage for his young bride, Rosa Pelham.
  

  

• Berkeley Springs State Park

  The warm springs that give Berkeley Springs State Park its name have attracted visitors from before the time of white settlement. In 1748, 16-year old George Washington visited the location as part of a surveying party and later returned many times.
  

  

• Prospect Rock

  Prospect Rock, 1,300 feet high, overlooks the juncture of the Potomac River and Cacapon River and the states of West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. The well-known landmark was renowned for its fine view as early as the 18th century. George Washington was a frequent visitor, traveling there with his wife, Lord Fairfax, and others.

• Paw Paw

  Paw Paw was named for the banana-like pawpaw fruit that grows in the area. It was incorporated as a town on April 8, 1891.

• Cacapon State Park

  Cacapon State Park occupies a long, 6,000-acre strip of land stretching from just south of the Potomac River, which is the border between West Virginia and Maryland, southward to the Virginia state line.
  

  

• Potomac River

  The Potomac River forms the boundary between West Virginia and Maryland from the Fairfax Stone to Harpers Ferry, and from Harpers Ferry to the Chesapeake Bay it is the boundary between Maryland and Virginia.

• Cacapon River

  The Cacapon River flows north-northeasterly for 112 miles through Hardy, Hampshire, and Morgan counties of West Virginia.