Fairmont, city (2020 pop. 18,302),
seat of Marion co., N central W.Va., where the West Fork and Tygart rivers
form the Monongahela; settled 1793 around Prickett's Fort (1774), inc. as
Fairmont 1843. Coal mining has been central to Fairmont's economy, but
restrictions on the use of high-sulfur bituminous coal have caused an
industry decline; other industries make transportation and electrical
equipment, fabricated metals, machinery, and glass. A Union supply depot in
the Civil War, Fairmont was raided by Confederate cavalry in 1863. In 1907 a
mine explosion nearby resulted in almost 400 deaths. Fairmont State Univ. is
there.
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