Paw Paw, West Virginia

Paw Paw, West Virginia
Paw Paw, West Virginia
Town
	WV 9 in Paw Paw
	Location of Paw Paw in Morgan County, West Virginia.
	Coordinates: 39°31′53″N 78°27′19″W / 39.53139°N 78.45528°W
Country	United States
State	West Virginia
County	Morgan
Area
• Total	0.53 sq mi (1.37 km2)
• Land	0.53 sq mi (1.37 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation	561 ft (171 m)
Population (2020)
• Total	410
• Density	928.30/sq mi (358.32/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	25434
Area code	304
FIPS code	54-62332
GNIS feature ID	2391352
Website	www.townofpawpaw.com

Paw Paw is a town in Morgan County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 410 at the 2020 census. The town is known for the nearby Paw Paw Tunnel. Paw Paw was incorporated by the Circuit Court of Morgan County on April 8, 1891, and named after pawpaw,^[5] a wild fruit that grows in abundance throughout this region. Paw Paw is the westernmost incorporated community in Morgan County, and the Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Paw Paw is located along the section of the Potomac River known as the Paw Paw Bends. The Paw Paw Valley is surrounded by the ridges of Sideling Hill, Green Ridge, Purslane Mountain and Town Hill.^[6]

The town is the namesake of the Paw Paw Tunnel which was part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. Construction of the tunnel began in 1836 and was completed in 1850, 12 years behind schedule.^[7] Today, the tunnel and nearby canal are part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park.

^ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
^ ^a ^b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Paw Paw, West Virginia
^ Cite error: The named reference wwwcensusgov was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
^ Kenny, Hamill (1945). West Virginia Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning, Including the Nomenclature of the Streams and Mountains. Piedmont, WV: The Place Name Press. p. 476.
^ Stanton, Richard L. (1993). Potomac Journey: Fairfax Stone to Tidewater. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 15.
^ Morgan County, West Virginia, and Its People. Berkeley Springs, WV: Morgan County Historical and Genealogical Society. 1981. p. 12.

[CenPopGazetteer2019-1] "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 7, 2020.

[gnis-2] U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Paw Paw, West Virginia

[wwwcensusgov-3] Cite error: The named reference wwwcensusgov was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[GR2-4] "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.

[5] Kenny, Hamill (1945). West Virginia Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning, Including the Nomenclature of the Streams and Mountains. Piedmont, WV: The Place Name Press. p. 476.

[6] Stanton, Richard L. (1993). Potomac Journey: Fairfax Stone to Tidewater. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 15.

[Morgan_County,_West_Virginia,_and_It-7] Morgan County, West Virginia, and Its People. Berkeley Springs, WV: Morgan County Historical and Genealogical Society. 1981. p. 12.

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