Hidden creek has been running through a tunnel under WVU for 100 years

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) — In 1924, during the construction of old Mountaineer Field in downtown Morgantown, a culvert was built to move Falling Run underground, and it has been flowing under the city and West Virginia University ever since.

Falling Run starts near the WVU Organic Farm and runs through the Falling Run Greenspace before disappearing off the map along Falling Run Road. Originally, it flowed through the area behind Woodburn hall where old Mountaineer Field used to be and what is now the WVU Business and Economics building to the Monongahela River. There were even waterfalls along the creek, according to WVU photo records .

A photo from the West Virginia & Regional History Center at WVU taken 100 years ago during the construction of the old Mountaineer field on May 1, 1924, shows the 5×5-foot cement culverts that now hold Falling Run, according to the Morgantown Utility Board .

Before the stadium was built and the creek was moved underground, the Falling Run Bridge was a major landmark of the WVU Downtown Campus.

In fact, the strange layout of the main roads in downtown Morgantown is a product of Falling Run: W.Va. 705 goes north of the Falling Run’s headwaters, and the Falling Run Bridge created the route for University Avenue.

Today, 100 years later, the main part of Falling Run is hidden to the campus as the culverts are still in use, but part of the tunnel where the creek runs into the Monongahela River is accessible from the Caperton Rail Trail.

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