Marion County created to avoid long trip to pay taxes

Marion County was created so that Dolly Madison’s cousin, Boaz Fleming, wouldn’t have to travel more than a hundred miles each year from his home to pay his Monongalia County taxes and his brother's Harrison County taxes.

In 1808, Boaz was at a social gathering and complained about the long trip to pay his taxes.

 Dolly’s solution: Create your own county.

Boaz circulated a petition to do that, naming the proposed county Madison County, in honor of Dolly and her husband,  President James Madison. The petition failed to gain sufficient support to be presented to the Virginia General Assembly.

So Boaz focused on creating a town near his farm. In 1819, a road was built from Clarksburg to Morgantown. His farm was about halfway between the two, making a good resting point.

He laid out the town on the west side of the Monongahela River in 1819. It was incorporated on January 19, 1820 as Middletown – either because it was midway between Clarksburg and Morgantown or because Boaz's first wife, Elizabeth Hutchinson, was from Middletown, Delaware.

Middletown was named newly formed Marion County's first county seat on February 18, 1842. At that time, William Haymond, Jr. suggested that the town's name be changed to Fairmont, a contraction of "Fair Mountain,"  because it overlooked the Monongahela River.

The Borough of Fairmont was incorporated in 1843 by the Virginia General Assembly.

Today, 18,704 live in Fairmont, which is 3 miles from Monongah.