Pruntytown
Unincorporated community
Pruntytown is located in West Virginia
Pruntytown
Pruntytown
Location within the state of West Virginia
Pruntytown is located in the United States
Pruntytown
Pruntytown
Pruntytown (the United States)
Coordinates: 39°20′2″N 80°4′36″W / 39.33389°N 80.07667°W / 39.33389; -80.07667
CountryUnited States
StateWest Virginia
CountyTaylor
Elevation
[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, United States. It is the site of the former West Virginia Industrial Home for Boys, now the Pruntytown Correctional Center.

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

References

  1. 1 2 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Pruntytown, West Virginia
  2. ↑ 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.


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