Doris Marion Mark

Doris Marion Marks - First Mayor of Carpendale, West Virginia

The Town of Carpendale, West Virginia is located directly across the Potomac River from Cumberland, Maryland. It was officially established on January 2, 1990 and is the newest incorporated town in Mineral County, West Virginia. According to the 2010 census the town has a population of 977 people.

Doris Marks played the leading role in getting the town incorporated. She was elected its first Mayor on March 3, 1990, was sworn into office on March 24, 1990 and served as Mayor of Carpendale until April 17, 2003. Among other accomplishments, during her Mayorship the town secured a sewerage system and new water system. She received numerous recognitions including the "Distinguished West Virginian Award", and in June 1993 was honored by having the Carpendale Bridge renamed in her honor.

Doris was born in 1927 and passed away in April 2003 at the age of seventy-five. A plaque in her honor in front of town hall reads as follows:

"What you do for yourself dies with you; What you do for others lives on and becomes immortal."