Read this sentence aloud – if you’re brave. — “The Monongahela River flows through Monongalia County.”

Stumble a bit? You’re not alone.

The Anglicized version of a Native American phrase, “Monongahela” (muh non guh HE la) translates loosely as “river with slippery banks” or “river whose banks fall in.” The word wandered further from its indigenous roots when the Virginia Assembly chartered its vast northwestern territory as “Monongalia” (mon un GAIL ya) County in 1785.

Sound like a native Monongalian in no time by adopting the verbal shorthand of referring to both as the “Mon” River and “Mon” County.

Both Mon (or Monongalia) and Preston Counties offer history buffs ample opportunities to explore the Greater Morgantown Area’s rich and diverse architectural, commercial and social heritage.