Editing Princeton, West Virginia

{{Other uses|Princeton (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name         = Princeton, West Virginia
| settlement_type       = [[City]]
| nickname              = The Heart of Mercer County
| motto                 = 
| image_skyline         = Princeton West Virginia.jpg
| imagesize             = 
| image_caption         = Downtown Princeton
| image_flag            = 
| image_seal            = Seal of Princeton, West Virginia.png
<!-- Maps -->
| image_map             = Mercer County West Virginia Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Princeton Highlighted.svg
| mapsize               = 260px
| map_caption           = Location of Princeton in Mercer County, West Virginia
| pushpin_map           = West Virginia#USA
| pushpin_label         = Princeton
| pushpin_map_caption   = Location in West Virginia##Location in the United States
| pushpin_relief        = yes
| subdivision_type      = Country
| subdivision_name      = United States
| subdivision_type1     = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1     = [[West Virginia]]
| subdivision_type2     = [[List of counties in West Virginia|County]]
| subdivision_name2     = [[Mercer County, West Virginia|Mercer]]

| government_footnotes  = 
| government_type       = 
| leader_title          = 
| leader_name           = 
| leader_title1         = 
| leader_name1          = 
| established_title     = Incorporated
| established_date      = 1909<ref name="West Virginia Blue Book>{{cite book|last=[[West Virginia Legislature]]|first=|title=West Virginia Blue Book, 2017-2018|url= https://www.wvlegislature.gov/legisdocs/publications/bluebook/2017-2018/0943_WVS_BlueBook.pdf|chapter=Section Ten: Municipalities|year=2018|publisher=West Virginia Legislature|location=Charleston, West Virginia|page=1017}}</ref>
| unit_pref             = Imperial
| area_footnotes        = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2019">{{cite web|title=2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_place_54.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 7, 2020}}</ref>
| area_total_km2        = 7.91
| area_land_km2         = 7.81
| area_water_km2        = 0.10
| area_total_sq_mi      = 3.05
| area_land_sq_mi       = 3.01
| area_water_sq_mi      = 0.04

| population_as_of      = [[2020 United States Census|2020]]
| population_footnotes  = <ref name=quick>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/princetoncitywestvirginia/POP010220#POP010220|title=Quick Facts - Princeton city, West Virginia|work=U.S. Census|access-date=2020-09-05}}</ref>
| population_total      = 5872
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_density_sq_mi = auto

| timezone              = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
| utc_offset            = -5
| timezone_DST          = EDT
| utc_offset_DST        = -4
| elevation_footnotes   = <ref name=gnis/>
| elevation_ft          = 2431
| coordinates           = {{coord|37|22|20|N|81|05|32|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| postal_code_type      = [[ZIP code]]
| postal_code           = 24739 & 24740
| area_code             = [[Area code 304|304]]
| blank_name            = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info            = 54-65692<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2008-01-31|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref>
| blank1_name           = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info           = 2390640<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2390640}}</ref>
| website               = {{URL|http://www.cityofprinceton.org/}}
| footnotes             = 
}}

'''Princeton''' is a city in [[Mercer County, West Virginia]], United States, and its [[county seat]].<ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|access-date=2011-06-07|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties}}</ref> The population was 5,872 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].<ref name=quick/> It is part of the [[Bluefield micropolitan area]].

==History==
===Early history===
Princeton was named after the [[Battle of Princeton]] in [[Princeton, New Jersey]], where General [[Hugh Mercer]], the namesake of Mercer County, had died. When the county was formed in 1837, William Smith donated 1.5 acres of land for the county courthouse in what would become Princeton.<ref name="ewv">{{cite web|url=https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1922 |title=Princeton |author=Hill, Raymond Thomas |publisher= e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia |date=February 23, 2023 |access-date=April 15, 2023 }}</ref> Princeton was incorporated on February 20, 1909.<ref name="West Virginia Blue Book/>

Although Princeton did not see any major battles on its soil, there was the Battle of Pigeon Roost, or the [[Battle of Princeton Court House|Battle of Princeton Courthouse]] on May 17, 1862, a victory for the Confederates defending the Dublin railroad.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-05-17|title=May 17, 1862: The Civil War Battle of Pigeon Roost Occurs at Princeton|url=https://www.wvpublic.org/radio/2017-05-17/may-17-1862-the-civil-war-battle-of-pigeon-roost-occurs-at-princeton|access-date=2021-02-17|website=WVPB|language=en}}</ref>

[[File:BPR_Princeton,_VA_(WV).jpg|right|thumb|Battle of Pigeon's Roost roadside marker]]

Princeton had been burned a couple of weeks earlier on May 1 under the command of Captain Walter Jenifer, CSA to prevent the Union army from acquiring their supplies. The town was not burned in retaliation or anger toward the residents of Princeton. According to local history, many of the residents of Princeton torched their own homes and moved on from the area. Few structures would remain after the fire. The Robert McNutt house is the only structure that remains in Princeton which, ironically, served as headquarters for the Union army at one time. Princeton and [[Mercer County, West Virginia|Mercer County]] would remain supportive of the Confederacy, and was not included in the original counties that made up the new [[State of Kanawha]], ultimately named West Virginia.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=John Alexander |date=14 March 2023 |title=Formation of West Virginia |url=https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/2034 |access-date=25 April 2024 |website=The West Virginia Encyclopedia}}</ref>

By the end of 1865 Judge Nathaniel Harrison was appointed as circuit judge, and Princeton residents shunned him because he was a Confederate turncoat. Princeton slowly rebuilt during Reconstruction, but the railroad would eventually bring significant growth to Princeton.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bailey |first=Kenneth |date=Spring 2013 |title=The Notorious Nathaniel Harrison |url=https://archive.wvculture.org/history/wvhs/wvhs2701.pdf |journal=West Virginia Historical Society |volume=XXVII |issue=1 |pages=2 |via=West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture, & History}}</ref>

===Growth of coal industry===
{{unsourced|section|date=April 2024}}
In [[Southern West Virginia]], in the late 19th century, [[coal]] mining and transportation by the emerging technology of the [[railroad]]s combined to form a new industry. Much of the region's [[bituminous coal]] was sent northwest to the [[Great Lakes]], or northeast to the [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]]'s [[coal pier]]s at [[Baltimore]], or to the world's greatest ice-free port of [[Hampton Roads]] in eastern [[Virginia]].

Princeton's location was east of the primary coalfields, and most of the coal mining and railroad activity was initially elsewhere. However, a combination of factors would soon change that, and have profound financial and developmental impact on Princeton.

===Railway development===
In 1896, engineer [[William Nelson Page]] developed the [[Loup Creek and Deepwater Railway]], a logging railroad connecting a small sawmill on the old Loup Creek Estate at [[Robson, West Virginia|Robson]] with the C&O railroad's main line at [[Deepwater, West Virginia|Deepwater]] on the [[Kanawha River]]. In 1898, it was rechartered as the [[Deepwater Railway]], with modest plans to extend to nearby [[coal mine]]s at [[Glen Jean, West Virginia|Glen Jean]]. Around 1903, the new town of [[Page, West Virginia|Page]] became the location of one of the earliest stations on the expanding Deepwater Railway, as well as home of the Page Coal and Coke Company.

In 1902, William Page enlisted the support of [[millionaire]] industrialist [[Henry H. Rogers]] as a silent partner to finance the expansion of the Deepwater Railway much further, about 80 miles through [[Mullens, West Virginia|Mullens]] to reach a N&W railroad branch line at [[Matoaka, West Virginia|Matoaka]] to open up new territory with untapped deposits of high volatile [[bituminous coal]]. Page, Rogers, and other wealthy investors owned much of this land.

However, as construction of the expanded Deepwater Railway line got underway, Page found he was unsuccessful in negotiating fair rates to interchange traffic with either major railroad, nor in interesting them in buying his short line railroad. This was later revealed to be caused by [[collusion]] by the leaders of the big railroads, notably [[Alexander Cassatt]], [[William Kissam Vanderbilt]], and [[Frederick J. Kimball]], who sought to control shipping rates and coal prices, and prevent any newcomers from entry. They assumed that any entrepreneurs of modest means, such as William Page appeared to be, would become discouraged and give up. In their experience, building costly enterprises such as railroads customarily meant raising large sums of money through public stock offerings and bonds.

As construction on the Deepwater Railway continued, William Page's continued efforts to establish reasonable joint rates with the big railroads continued to prove fruitless. To the puzzlement of the leaders of the big railroads, who were unaware of Rogers' financial backing, Page (and Rogers) did not give up. Instead, they quietly expanded their plans again to build to the Virginia state line. This expansion brought right-of-way for the planned the Deepwater Railway through [[Mercer County, West Virginia|Mercer County]] and Princeton.

====Tidewater Railway====
In Virginia, Page (and Rogers) formed another intrastate railroad, the new [[Tidewater Railway]], which was legally based in [[Staunton, Virginia|Staunton]], a city located along the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O). Notwithstanding its corporate location on the C&O, agents for the new Tidewater Railway quietly surveyed and secured rights-of-way many miles away from the C&O across southern Virginia, roughly paralleling the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W). With the help of Rogers' fortune, they were successful, even in the [[Roanoke, Virginia|City of Roanoke]], where the N&W had its corporate headquarters and major shops.

From Roanoke, the new line ran almost due east, missing major cities and towns, to reach [[Suffolk, Virginia|Suffolk]]. With the help of local leaders in Norfolk, (and more funds from Rogers), a route was obtained set which passed around the City of Norfolk (and the N&W) in a wide, 13-mile long circular path through rural [[Norfolk County, Virginia|Norfolk County]] to be headed almost due west again when it reached the site for a new coal pier on the harbor at Hampton Roads at [[Sewell's Point]].

By the time the leaders of the big railroads finally realized that the Deepwater and Tidewater railroads were related, the rights-of-way were secure, and the new competitor could not be blocked. In 1906, N&W president [[Lucius E. Johnson]] was brought to the Standard Oil building at [[26 Broadway]] in New York City by [[Andrew Carnegie]] to meet with one of Carnegie's old friends: Henry Huttleston Rogers. N&W corporate records only record that the meeting lasted only a few minutes. Thus, the leaders of the big railroads finally learned the source of William Nelson Page's deep pockets. Despite their collusion, there would be new player in their games.

====Virginian Railway growth and decline====
In 1907, the Deepwater and Tidewater were combined to become the [[Virginian Railway]] (VGN). [[Victoria, Virginia|Victoria]], a new town created in [[Lunenburg County, Virginia]], became the Division Headquarters east of Roanoke. Using more modern techniques than had been available to the older major railroads during the 19th century, and the Rogers fortune to build to the highest standards and acquire the finest equipment and rolling stock, it was widely considered an engineering marvel of the times when completed all the way from Deepwater to reach a port near [[Norfolk, Virginia]] on [[Hampton Roads]] in 1909, a distance of about {{convert|360|mile}}.Princeton was designated to be the headquarters of the New River Division, extending from Roanoke westward.

The changes from [[steam locomotive|steam]] to [[diesel-electric locomotive|diesel-electric]] motive power and the mergers and consolidations resulted in elimination of many shops and jobs, aggravated by a reduction in coal mining activity in West Virginia. Eventually, all but a few of these jobs in Princeton were eliminated by the late 20th century. The [[Norfolk and Western Railroad]] maintained coal piers and export facilities at a major facility near downtown Norfolk known as [[Lambert's Point]]. After the 1959 merger, the VGN's former coal piers and yards at Sewell's Point were redundant with the Lambert's Point operations. They were eventually shut down, and the land became part of the massive U.S. [[Naval Station Norfolk]], the largest Navy base in the world.

Most of the unused former VGN Princeton Shops facilities were demolished by 2006. The local residents of Princeton were devastated. However, despite the community's loss, a new replica of the VGN's two-story Princeton Passenger Station and Offices had been recently built, the largest such effort in the entire state. A modern structure functionally, while appearing like the original built 100 about years earlier, the new Princeton Station Museum should last for future generations. It hosts a [[museum]] to the town's rich railroading heritage and the [[Virginian Railway]].

==Geography and climate==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|3.05|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, of which {{convert|3.01|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is land and {{convert|0.04|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is water.<ref name="Gazetteer files">{{cite web|title=US Gazetteer files 2010|url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2013-01-24|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125061959/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt|archive-date=2012-01-25}}</ref>

The average altitude of Princeton is 2400&nbsp;ft, with highest points at 3100&nbsp;ft and lowest points at 1700&nbsp;ft, above sea level.

<div style="width: 75%;">{{Weather box
|location = Princeton, West Virginia
|single line = Y
|Jan high F = 42
|Feb high F = 46
|Mar high F = 54
|Apr high F = 65
|May high F = 72
|Jun high F = 79
|Jul high F = 81
|Aug high F = 81
|Sep high F = 75
|Oct high F = 66
|Nov high F = 56
|Dec high F = 45
|year high F= 
|Jan low F = 26
|Feb low F = 29
|Mar low F = 36
|Apr low F = 45
|May low F = 53
|Jun low F = 61
|Jul low F = 65
|Aug low F = 64
|Sep low F = 57
|Oct low F = 47
|Nov low F = 39
|Dec low F = 30
|year low F= 
|Jan record high F = 72
|Feb record high F = 75
|Mar record high F = 83
|Apr record high F = 88
|May record high F = 89
|Jun record high F = 97
|Jul record high F = 96
|Aug record high F = 95
|Sep record high F = 93
|Oct record high F = 88
|Nov record high F = 81
|Dec record high F = 74
|year record high F= 97
|Jan record low F = −21
|Feb record low F = −9
|Mar record low F = −2
|Apr record low F = 15
|May record low F = 24
|Jun record low F = 37
|Jul record low F = 40
|Aug record low F = 39
|Sep record low F = 30
|Oct record low F = 18
|Nov record low F = 7
|Dec record low F = −13
|year record low F= −21
|source 1 = The Weather Channel<ref name=NCDC>{{Cite web |url=http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/USWV0607 |title=Monthly Averages for Princeton, WV |publisher=[[The Weather Channel]] |access-date=2011-05-17}}</ref>
|date=May 2011
source 2= NWS Blacksburg http://www.erh.noaa.gov/rnk/climate/Normals/Spreadsheet/cumulative_normal_1981_2010.htm
}}
</div>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1890= 320
|1910= 3027
|1920= 6224
|1930= 6955
|1940= 7426
|1950= 8279
|1960= 8393
|1970= 7253
|1980= 7538
|1990= 7043
|2000= 6347
|2010= 6432
|2020=5872
|estref=
|align-fn=center
|footnote=[https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html U.S. Decennial Census]{{failed verification|reason=No mention of Princeton at the given link|date=February 2022}} 2020<ref name=quick/>
}}

===2010 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="wwwcensusgov">{{cite web|title=U.S. Census website|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2013-01-24}}</ref> of 2010, there were 6,432 people, 3,030 households, and 1,683 families residing in the city. The [[population density]] was {{convert|2136.9|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 3,489 housing units at an average density of {{convert|1159.1|/sqmi|/km2|1}}. The racial makeup of the city was 90.7% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 6.3% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.3% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.8% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.2% from [[Race (U.S. Census)|other races]], and 1.8% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] people of any race were 1.1% of the population.

There were 3,030 households, of which 24.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.5% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 44.5% were non-families. 38.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.12 and the average family size was 2.79.

The median age in the city was 42.6 years. 19.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.4% were from 25 to 44; 26.6% were from 45 to 64; and 20.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.5% male and 53.5% female.

===2000 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 6,347 people,<ref name=quick/> 2,967 households, and 1,661 families residing in the city. The [[population density]] was 2,116.6 people per square mile (816.9/km<sup>2</sup>). There were 3,371 housing units at an average density of 1,124.2 per square mile (433.9/km<sup>2</sup>). The racial makeup of the city was 92.03% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 6.21% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.30% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.43% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.02% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 0.19% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.84% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] people of any race were 0.52% of the population.

There were 2,967 households, out of which 20.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.8% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.0% were non-families. 39.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 2.79.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 18.4% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 25.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $21,736, and the median income for a family was $32,443. Males had a median income of $25,347 versus $19,750 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $14,931. About 16.0% of families and 24.1% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 35.9% of those under age 18 and 15.9% of those age 65 or over.

==Education==
All county residents are in the [[Mercer County Schools (West Virginia)|Mercer County School District]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st54_wv/schooldistrict_maps/c54055_mercer/DC20SD_C54055.pdf|title=2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Mercer County, WV|publisher=[[U.S. Census Bureau]]|access-date=2024-05-30}} - [https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st54_wv/schooldistrict_maps/c54055_mercer/DC20SD_C54055_SD2MS.txt Text list]</ref>

==Culture==
[[File:Mercer County Courthouse West Virginia.jpg|thumb|[[Mercer County Courthouse (West Virginia)|Mercer County Courthouse]]]]

The cultural hub the Chuck Mathena Center, which opened in July 2008, contains a 1,000-seat theater and meeting rooms for civic groups and events.<ref>[http://www.chuckmathenacenter.org Chuck Mathena Center]</ref> Other cultural endeavors include the RiffRaff Arts Collective,<ref>[http://www.theriffraff.net RiffRaff Arts Collective]</ref> the remodeled Princeton Public Library and a Railroad Museum.<ref>[https://www.princetonrailroadmuseum.com/ Princeton Railroad Museum]</ref>

The [[Dr. James W. Hale House]], [[Dr. Robert B. McNutt House]], and [[Mercer County Courthouse (West Virginia)|Mercer County Courthouse]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].  The [[Mercer Street Historic District]] and [[Virginian Railway Yard Historic District]] are nationally recognized [[historic district (United States)|historic districts]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>

==Sports==
The Princeton Whistlepigs is the town's Minor league baseball team. They are now discontinued. The team played its home games at [[H. P. Hunnicutt Field]]. In conjunction with a contraction of Minor League Baseball beginning with the 2021 season, the Appalachian League was reorganized as a [[Collegiate summer baseball|collegiate summer baseball league]], and the Rays were replaced by a new franchise, the Whistlepigs, in the revamped league designed for rising college freshmen and sophomores.<ref>{{cite web|title=MLB, USA Baseball Announce New Format for Appalachian League|url=https://www.mlb.com/press-release/press-release-mlb-usa-baseball-announce-new-format-for-appalachian-league|website=Major League Baseball|date=September 29, 2020|access-date=September 29, 2020}}</ref>

==Twin town==
*{{flagicon|Russia}} [[Yoshkar-Ola]], Russia

==Notable people==
*[[Bob Denver]], television actor.
*[[William Eskridge]], American legal scholar.
*[[Lee Patton]], legendary Hall of Fame coach.
*[[Joseph Shrader]], retired United States Marine Corps major general
*[[Rod Thorn]], Hall of Fame basketball player and executive.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{wikivoyage inline|Princeton (West Virginia)|Princeton, West Virginia}}
* [http://www.cityofprinceton.org/home/ Princeton, West Virginia]

{{Mercer County, West Virginia}}
{{West Virginia municipalities}}
{{West Virginia county seats}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Princeton, West Virginia| ]]
[[Category:1909 establishments in West Virginia]]
[[Category:Bluefield micropolitan area]]
[[Category:Cities in Mercer County, West Virginia]]
[[Category:Cities in West Virginia]]
[[Category:County seats in West Virginia]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1909]]