Colonel Morgan, the first, permanent settler in the State of West Virginia ,was born in Wales. He was educated at Cambridge University and came to America in 1712 settling in Delaware. In 1728, he and his family blazed a trail into the West Virginia wilderness and built what is known today as the Morgan Cabin in Bunker Hill. He can lay claim to being the state’s first licensed tavern keeper and builder of its first public road. Morgan married the former Catherine Garretson, and had eight children. One son, David, became famous as an Indian fighter due to an encounter with Delaware natives at his homestead. Another son, Zackquill, founded Morgantown, West Virginia.

In February 1735, Colonel Morgan organized a militia company which evolved into the first unit of West Virginia’s National Guard and one of the oldest continuously active military units in the country. On November 12, 1735, a King’s patent for 1,000 acres on Mill Creek was acquired by Morgan. He divided his 1,000 acres among his 6 sons before he died in 1766. In 1740, Morgan was one of the leaders who established the old Mill Creek Church in Bunker Hill (Morgan Chapel) and he is buried there along with other prominent early settlers.

During the Revolutionary War, Colonel Morgan’s sons and grandsons served their country. One of the grandsons, James, while on leave as a chaplain in the Army was captured and shot by Tories at the Morgan Cabin, thus giving Torytown its name. The Tories tied Morgan to the springhouse door and by candlelight made his wife and children watch as they shot him 17 times.

The State of West Virginia recognized Colonel Morgan as its first permanent white settler and established the Morgan Morgan Park located on US Route 11 in Bunker Hill in 1924.