The settlement may have originally been called Funkhouser Hill after Christopher Funkhouser, the local landowner who donated 60 acres (24 ha) of land to establish a seat for the newly formed Butler County in 1811.
The etymology of the city's present name (originally written Morgan Town) is uncertain.
It may have been chosen to honor a hunter named Morgan or to honor Daniel Morgan Smith, the first white child born in the town.
It was incorporated as Morgantown by the state assembly in 1813, although the post office also went by the name Butler Court House during the 19th century.

Granville Allen, a member of the 17th Kentucky Infantry, was one of the first Union soldiers to die in the Civil War, in a skirmish on October 29, 1861.
A monument was erected by the Granville Allen Post #93 GAR.
This first skirmish between the North and South took place on the Daniel Boone Johnson property.
The Johnson Cemetery is still there and is directly above the monument, which is a limestone marker cut into the side of the old Logansport road.

Morgantown has one of only two monuments in the country dedicated to soldiers of both sides who died in the Civil War.
The Confederate-Union Veterans' Monument in Morgantown is located on the grounds of the county courthouse.

The city formerly had a sister city in Tatsuruhama, Japan, but that city is now part of Nanao.
The settlement may have originally been called Funkhouser Hill after Christopher Funkhouser, the local landowner who donated 60 acres (24 ha) of land to establish a seat for the newly formed Butler County in 1811. The etymology of the city's present name (originally written Morgan Town) is uncertain. It may have been chosen to honor a hunter named Morgan or to honor Daniel Morgan Smith, the first white child born in the town. It was incorporated as Morgantown by the state assembly in 1813, although the post office also went by the name Butler Court House during the 19th century.
Granville Allen, a member of the 17th Kentucky Infantry, was one of the first Union soldiers to die in the Civil War, in a skirmish on October 29, 1861. A monument was erected by the Granville Allen Post #93 GAR. This first skirmish between the North and South took place on the Daniel Boone Johnson property. The Johnson Cemetery is still there and is directly above the monument, which is a limestone marker cut into the side of the old Logansport road.
Morgantown has one of only two monuments in the country dedicated to soldiers of both sides who died in the Civil War. The Confederate-Union Veterans' Monument in Morgantown is located on the grounds of the county courthouse.
The city formerly had a sister city in Tatsuruhama, Japan, but that city is now part of Nanao.
Morgantown, Kentucky