He may have had dinner within these log walls.
Between the time the Revolutionary War ended in 1783 and Morgan’s Town was chartered in 1785, George Washington passed through our region to check on his western land holdings. A log house that now stands on Stewartstown Road was a tavern near Cheat Lake at the time, and local lore has it that the soon-to-be American president stopped in for a chicken dinner.
“We have heard that about George Washington,” laughs homeowner Alana Wagoner. She doesn’t know if it’s true, but her family does have the original tavern license hanging on the wall in their “tavern room,” along with a picture of the Founding Father.
The Wagoner family bought the house—of which the log structure is only one part—not long after our story “1540 Stewartstown Road” appeared in the April / May 2014 issue of Morgantown magazine. “We always thought it was a cool house from the outside, driving by,” Wagoner says. They converted a not-quite-bedroom to a good third bedroom, and they added a second bathroom.
Wagoner asked around at some point about the distinctive wallpaper mentioned in our 2014 story and was advised not to take it down, and so, she says, it remains on the wall.
Standing on 1.25 acres well above Stewartstown Road, the house has a secluded feel and a view over the WVU farm. It’s in good hands with the Wagoners. “It’s an awesome house,” Wagoner says. “Just a very cool, cozy old house.”
The Morgantown Lowdown is revisiting historic structures Morgantown magazine covered in past issues as part of Main Street Morgantown’s celebration of National Historic Preservation Month. Our built environment embodies our community’s unique history—enjoy it!
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