Editing Morgantown, West Virginia (section)

===Early schools===
While informal schools existed from Morgantown's earliest days,<ref>[[Earl L. Core|Core, Earl L.]], ''The Monongalia Story: A Bicentennial History, Vol. 3: Discord'' (Parsons, W.Virginia, McClain Printing Co., 1979), p. 97</ref>  the town established a one-story, coeducational, Virginia common school in July 1803, that students attended on a tuition basis.<ref>Ambler, Charles Henry. ''A History of Education in West Virginia from Early Colonial Times to 1949'' (Huntington, W.Virginia, Standard Printing and Publishing Co., 1951), p. 2</ref> On November 29, 1814, the Virginia General Assembly incorporated Monongalia Academy, the county's first [[Public school (government funded)|public school]].<ref>Core, pp. 26–27</ref> Supported by obligatory [[Surveyor (surveying)|surveyor]]s' fees, the male-only institution was the equivalent of a modern-day [[High school (North America)|high school]].<ref>Core, p. 45</ref> The Academy moved to a new two-story building in 1830, with principal Jonathan Haddock offering courses in [[geography]], surveying, and [[navigation]] in addition to traditional subjects. [[Presbyterian]] minister Reverend James Robertson Moore was principal during the Academy's 1852–1864 heyday, when its enrollment included students from 14 states.<ref>Core, p. 384</ref> In 1867, the Academy closed, and donated its land toward the establishment of [[West Virginia University]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}}

The Virginia Assembly in March 1831 authorized the creation of the Morgantown Female Academy. Proceeds from the sale of the original Monongalia Academy building funded construction of a two-story school at Bumbo Lane (the modern-day Fayette Street) and Long Alley (the modern-day Chestnut Street). This school opened April 1, 1834.<ref>Core, p. 114</ref> After the Assembly approved a charter change in 1838, the school became known as the [[Methodist]] Academy.<ref>Core, p. 230</ref> This prompted local Presbyterians to create the Woodburn Female Seminary, for which the Monongalia Academy's Rev. Moore also served as principal. The seminary closed in 1866, and its assets, like those of the Monongalia Academy, were donated toward the future university.{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}}

Following the 1863 creation of West Virginia, the new state's first legislature created a public-school system. The act provided for the education of "free [[African American|colored]] children", and was adapted three years later to mandate education for all African-American children. However, a two-tier system was created: White children attended a regular term (at the second former Monongalia Academy building, purchased in 1867 from West Virginia Agricultural College, the future West Virginia University), only a short term was provided for African-Americans, who met at St. Paul's African Methodist Episcopal Church, on Beechurst Avenue.<ref>Core, pp. 54, 632</ref>  In the late 19th and early 20th century, rural educational reformer [[Alexander Wade]] lived in Morgantown and was involved in establishing a system of graded education for country schools that was later adopted across the rest of the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/881|title=e-WV &#124; Alexander Luark Wade|website=www.wvencyclopedia.org|accessdate=April 13, 2021}}</ref>