HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 89

By Delegates Lynch, A. Evans, Sponaugle, Williams, Iaquinta, Pyles, Ferro, Hamilton, R. Romine, Rowan, Jennings, Campbell, Brewer, Byrd, Canestraro, Criss, Deem, Diserio, Gearheart, Hollen, Hornbuckle, Isner, Longstreth, Love, Marcum, McGeehan, R. Miller, Moye, Pethtel, Phillips, Robinson, Rodighiero, Rowe and Thompson

[Introduced February 27, 2018; Referred to the Committee on Roads and Transportation then Rules]

Requesting that the Division of Highways name bridge number 49-9-21.84 (49A028), locally known as Palace Valley W-beam Bridge, carrying County Route 9 over the Left Fork of Buckhannon River in Upshur County, the “Colonel Morgan Morgan Memorial Bridge”.

Whereas, Colonel Morgan was born in 1688 in Glamorganshire, Wales, and educated in London, England; and

Whereas, He emigrated to the American colonies at the age of 24 where he settled in Christina, Delaware, in 1702; and

Whereas, In 1713, he married Catherine Garretson, the love of his life, in a ceremony in New Castle County, Delaware; and

Whereas, He and his wife moved from Christina, Delaware, to Winchester, Virginia, where he became an ordained minister; and

Whereas, In 1731, he arrived in what is now the State of West Virginia; and

Whereas, In 1734, he was appointed to the “Commission of the Peace,” which was at that time the office of the magistrate; and

Whereas, Between 1735-1736 and 1753, he acquired a military commission in the First Militia (now the 201st Field Artillery Regiment of the West Virginia Army National Guard), also known as the Berkeley Rifles, and rose from captain of the militia to lieutenant colonel; and

Whereas, Colonel Morgan was in one of 13 militia companies tasked with fighting the British in the early stages of the Revolutionary War; and

Whereas, Colonel Morgan is credited with many “firsts” including: Being the first permanent European settler in present-day West Virginia; establishing the first Episcopal Church, known as the Mill Creek Church, in the Commonwealth of Virginia; being the first civil officer; being the first judicial officer; establishing the first licensed tavern and inn for pioneer travelers in the Blue Ridge Mountain area; engineering the first road built in present-day West Virginia, which was approximately 12 miles long; organizing the first militia in the area; and being the first gentlemen justice involved in the formation of two counties in Virginia; and

Whereas, Colonel Morgan and his descendants were also instrumental in the development of Virginia and present-day West Virginia. Without Colonel Morgan and his descendants, there would likely be no West Virginia, no Marion County, no Fairmont, and no Morgantown. His descendants include former West Virginia Governor Ephraim F. Morgan and Francis Harrison Pierpont (also known as the “Father of West Virginia”); and

Whereas, The naming of this bridge is an appropriate recognition of Colonel Morgan’s contributions to this country and to the place that is present-day West Virginia; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the Division of Highways is hereby requested to name bridge number 49-9-21.84 (49A028), locally known as Palace Valley W-beam Bridge, carrying County Route 9 over the Left Fork of Buckhannon River in Upshur County, the “Colonel Morgan Morgan Memorial Bridge”; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Division of Highways is hereby requested to have made and be placed signs identifying the bridge as the “Colonel Morgan Morgan Memorial Bridge”; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates, forward a copy of this resolution to the Commissioner of the Division of Highways.