Granville, WV

Granville is a Monongalia County town across the Monongahela River from the Morgantown and West Virginia University orbit. The place was first called Grandville, a name tied to a nearby river island, and it still has the feel of a small river town that grew into a piece of the Morgantown area. Interstate 79 puts the town near university, shopping, and highway traffic, but the river remains the geographic line that makes Granville distinct.

These days, baseball is Granville's most visible calling card. Kendrick Family Ballpark opened in 2015, seats about 3,500, and hosts the West Virginia Black Bears as well as West Virginia University baseball. The ballpark sits near the I-79 exits and gives the town a summer sports rhythm; the old name, river, and town streets supply the older layer. Granville is not far from Morgantown, yet it has its own name and its own side of the river, which is exactly the kind of small distinction locals notice.