Onego, West Virginia Explained

Onego
Settlement Type:Unincorporated community
Pushpin Map:West Virginia#USA
Pushpin Map Caption:Location within the state of West Virginia
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:West Virginia
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Pendleton
Unit Pref:Imperial
Population As Of:2000
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone:Eastern (EST)
Utc Offset:-5
Timezone Dst:EDT
Utc Offset Dst:-4
Coordinates:38.848°N -79.4223°W
Postal Code Type:ZIP codes
Blank Name:FIPS code
Blank1 Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank1 Info:1552388

Onego (pronounced '1 go') is an unincorporated community located along U.S. Highway 33 at the confluence of Seneca Creek and Roaring Creek in Pendleton County, West Virginia, United States. Onego lies within the Monongahela National Forest in the Appalachian Mountains, near Seneca Rocks.

Several folk theories of the etymology of the name exist. The community may have been named after an Indian tribe.[1] Some residents claim that the town was so named because a previous version of the bridge through town crossing Roaring Creek was so narrow that it only allowed one car to go at a time. The name is actually a Seneca word meaning pool, found referring to the pool of Bethesda in the Seneca Gospel, John 5:2.[2]

Onego is also the site of actor Johnny Lewis' grandparents' homestead.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Kenny, Hamill. West Virginia Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning, Including the Nomenclature of the Streams and Mountains. 1945. The Place Name Press. Piedmont, WV. 460.
  2. Book: Wright, Asher. The Four Gospels in the Seneca Language. 1878. The American Bible Society. 363.