John Edwards: A man of motivation and courage

Born a slave in Danville, Virginia in 1839, John Edwards was the son of slaves Daner and Sofa Edwards. After traveling to Beverly, West Virginia with the Union Army, he moved to Morgantown at the age of 25. In 1865 Edwards married Sarah Elizabeth Evans who resided in nearby Preston County.

In 1877 Edwards purchased a piece of property in Morgantown along White Avenue that stretched to Deckers Creek. Edwards eventually built a house at what was then 79 White Avenue (now 477 White Avenue). Unfortunately, the home was demolished in 1989.

John Edwards passed away in 1904. Sarah Edwards died in 1926. They had five sons and three daughters.

A man of vision and ambition

Edwards founded a water-hauling business sometime around May 1865 and operated it until 1889 when a water works was established in Morgantown.

During that time, Edwards hauled water from Deckers Creek and the Monongahela River using a mule-driven cart. He sold water from the Monongahela River for 10 cents a barrel and water from Deckers Creek for 15 cents a barrel.

The service was invaluable to the residents of the area because prior to Edward’s service, people had three options for obtaining fresh water. The first was to collect and haul the water themselves, which was impractical for most people. The second was to collect rain water in barrels, which many people did. The third was to use the water from private cisterns.

While catching rain water for washing clothes, bathing, etc. was viable, sitting water was problematic in that it served as breeding grounds for insects. So common was this problem that it was referred to as ‘wiggle-tail water’ due to the presence of mosquito larva. Of course, the barrels also needed repaired or replaced as they would eventually leak.

Meanwhile, cisterns faced a much dire contamination threat.

Prior to the installation of a city-wide sanitary system, residents of Morgantown maintained private sewage pits. These pits eventually failed and sewage leached into the water cisterns. This issue of leaching is best described in two Morgantown Weekly Post articles on May 16, 1885 following a vote to develop a public water works (from The Story of Bringing Clean Water to Morgantown by Michael Caplinger and Barb Howe). The articles stated that with a public water works there would be….

“No danger of drinking nasty woolly water worms in Water Works water!”

“No more washing in ‘wiggle-tail water’ now. How nice to have sprinkled streets and pavements! Washerwomen will save hundreds of dollars every year for soft water. Poor John Edwards! His occupation will soon be gone; but, John can hitch to a cart and work on the railroad. Step this way into our new bath room, please, you old fogy who voted against Water Works, and let us wash the moss off your back! Throw away that brick-bat that you use to hammer on the hoops of leaky old barrels at the approach of a rain storm. Our people will hereafter take pure water from the bowels of the earth, in preference to impure drainage from the bowels of humanity – so to speak. . . .”

This is not to say that Deckers Creek and river water didn't face their own set of challenges, but it certainly beat the alternatives.

An inspiration to us all

In today’s world, it’s difficult to fully appreciate the mettle of John Edwards. Here was a man that traveled from the Virginia-North Carolina border all the way to Morgantown, without any sort of safety net on which to depend, in search of one thing: Freedom. Here is a man that shook off the bounds of slavery and unimaginable racism to establish a successful business that spanned decades. Edwards is a man that had nothing on which to depend but his own grit and determination yet worked his way into the history of our area.

Edwards’ story is more than some historical tale. It’s a story of inspiration and perseverance for us all. This is why we’re proud to not only share his story but share in his story.

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James Arthur was born August 24, 1880 in Morgantown, WV. He died at the age of 84 years on July 7, 1965 in Morgantown, WV. J.A.G. Edwards possessed many of his father’s entrepreneurial traits. He went into the garbage collection business, using horses and a wagon to haul refuse. His business prospered until the City of Morgantown took over garbage collection.

The website Forever Greenmont includes additional information about the Edwards family at https://forevergreenmont.com/history-post/edwards/.