Driving through Princeton, West Virginia

Princeton, is a city in and the county seat of Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The city has often been referred to as the “Jewel of the South” or the “Heart of Mercer County” more recently. The population was 6,432 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Bluefield, WV-VA micropolitan area which has a population of 107,342. The city hosts the Princeton WhistlePigs baseball club of the Appalachian League. A main tourist destination of the city is the Mercer Street Grassroots District located in Downtown Princeton. This area has been revitalized and is now home to cafes, restaurants, shops, and artistic venues.
Princeton was designated to be the headquarters of the New River Division, extending from Roanoke westward.
Roundhouses, vital for servicing the new steam locomotives, were established at Sewell's Point, Victoria, Roanoke, and Page. Princeton became site of the VGN's major shops and yards. Throughout its lifetime, the largest number of Virginian Railway employees were concentrated at Princeton. In the 1930s, the VGN even added the capacity to build railroad cars to the Princeton Shops.
The tiny Class 1 railroad was very profitable and became known as the "Richest Little Railroad in the World." Of course, the VGN's more modern gradient and facilities and profitability were all coveted by the competition. There were many attempts to acquire it. All failed throughout the first half of the 20th century. Finally, as the Interstate Commerce Commission began to realize that railroads needed to be able to compete successfully with trucking and other modes of transportation more than primarily each other, in 1959, the Norfolk and Western succeeded in reaching a merge with the VGN and gaining regulatory approvals, marking what became called the "modern merger era" in North American railroading which eventually resulted in Princeton's current service by Norfolk Southern Railway, one of only 6 large class 1 railroads operating in the United States in the 21st century.
The changes from steam to 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 N&W (and later NS) 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.
In the tiny hamlet of Ansted along the Midland Trail, the Page-Vawter House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The old Victorian mansion on the knoll overlooking the town as a testament to the area's coal mining heritage and the man who planned the railroad through Princeton: William Nelson Page.

[@williammcfadden2869]

The drive through Princeton seen in this video was quite pleasant. The square in the center of town with the building that I imagine is the county court house is attractive. There were quite a few solidly built brick homes in Princeton which were most likely built between 1900 and 1920 which was West Virginia's greatest era of prosperity. There were also quite a few attractive homes further out which were built more recently.

[@markfletcher8084]

Ya missed the downtown area, the best part of Princeton.

[@markfletcher8084]

My birth town.

[@tedlee2861]

Slow down a little bit buddy you going to fast. 😅

[@carolynmckinney3621]

I was born in south west Virginia in grafton west Virginia.

[@markfletcher8084]

The town of my birth.

[@brett.9668]

Awwww

[@tedlee2861]

My home town. 😅