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 was changed again 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
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.
Municipalities and communities of Taylor County, West Virginia, United States | ||
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| Unincorporated communities | ||
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| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also have portions in an adjacent county or counties | |