Princeton, West Virginia
Encyclopedia
Princeton is a city in Mercer County
, West Virginia
, United States
. The population was 7,652 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Bluefield
, WV-VA
micropolitan area
which has a population of 111,586. It is the county seat
of Mercer County
. The town hosts the Princeton Rays baseball club of the Appalachian League
.
mining and transportation by the emerging technology of the railroads combined to form a new industry. Much of the region's bituminous coal
was sent west to the Great Lakes
, or east 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
.
The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
's coal piers were located at Newport News
. Across the harbor, the Norfolk and Western Railway
's coal piers were located on the Elizabeth River
in Norfolk
. The eastern-bound coal transported by the C&O and the N&W railroads was highly-valued for local use and for steam-powered ships, notably those of the U.S. Navy. Loaded into large ships called colliers, the West Virginia "smokeless coal" was sent in coast-wise shipping to the Northeastern
U.S. points such as New York City
and New England
, as well as exported to other countries worldwide.
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.
named William Nelson Page
came to West Virginia to help survey and build Collis P. Huntington
's C&O railroad through the valleys of the New River
and the Kanawha River
to link Virginia with the Ohio River
, a line which was completed in 1873 at the new city of Huntington
. As his career developed, Page busied himself with many enterprises to develop the natural resources which lay all around him, primarily working with iron
and coal operations, often as the manager for wealthy absentee owners. Among these was David T. Ansted
, a British geologist
who mapped many of the coalfields of southern West Virginia. Dr. Ansted became the namesake for the town of Ansted
, where William Nelson Page moved and became his protégé. Of course, with his background with the C&O, Page was also into railroads.
Page settled with his family in the Fayette County
hamlet of Ansted, located high above the New River Valley along the old James River and Kanawha Turnpike
. As president of the Gauley Mountain Coal Company, in 1890, he had company carpenters build a palatial white Victorian mansion on a knoll overlooking the town. Eight servants were employed to care for the family, which included his wife Emma, and their four children.
"Colonel" Page, as he became known, was in truth an uniformed major in a locally recruited Spanish-American War
militia. ("Colonel" was an honorific title used informally in the South for many notable men in the years following the American Civil War). A colorful character by all accounts, he was described as a slight man who was known for his handlebar mustache, pince-nez glasses, iron bowler derby, and elegant suits. He was considered to be somewhat aloof by the local population, and could frequently be seen riding a bicycle on the sloping lawn of the mansion. He found time to serve as a mayor of Ansted for ten years, rose to the rank of brigadier inspector general in the West Virginia National Guard
, and was also an incorporator and director of Sheltering Arms Hospital
in neighboring Kanawha County
.
However, William Nelson Page's consuming interest was his work. He was described by former West Virginia governor William A. MacCorkle
in his autobiography The Recollections of Fifty Years as a man who knew the geology of the area "as a farmer knows a field." Page spent long hours working in the den just off the main entrance to his resplendent home. As he studied the areas mapped out by Dr. Ansted as containing coal, he became fascinated with some of the most rugged terrain of southern West Virginia, and the fact that these lands were not yet reached by the major railroads. Years later, author and photographer H. Reid
, who wrote The Virginian Railway (Kalmbach, 1961), labeled him the "Idea Man from Ansted."
with the C&O railroad's main line at Deepwater
on the Kanawha River
. In 1898, it was rechartered as the Deepwater Railway
, with modest plans to extend to nearby coal mines at Glen Jean
. Around 1903, the new town of Page
became the location of one if 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 Huttleston Rogers
as a silent partner
to finance the expansion of the Deepwater Railway much further, about 80 miles through Mullens
to reach a N&W railroad branch line at 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.
Henry Rogers was a self-made man who had become a principal in John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil
. Even after he was well-off financially, Henry Rogers continued to be what was many year later termed "a workaholic". He was an active developer of all types of natural resources and transportation enterprises. Soon, he had investments of his own own in natural gas
, copper
, steel
, coal
, and railroad industries. By 1899, he had become one of the richest men in the United States.
Henry Rogers was also an old hand at West Virginia short line railroads.
He had helped build and sell several earlier enterprises which were initially not a great deal different that that proposed by Page.
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
and Princeton.
, which was legally based in 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 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
. 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
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.
(VGN). 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 450 miles.
Roundhouses, vital for servicing the new steam locomotive
s, 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.
In 1837, veteran of the War of 1812
Chrispianos H. Walker was chosen by a committee to select a site for a new courthouse
for Mercer County. Princeton was selected. North and South Walker Streets are named after him.
and Southwest Virginia
. A large number of hotels, restaurants and shopping areas have developed near the intersection of the West Virginia Turnpike
and U.S. Highway 460 in recent years.
Cultural Events are found at the Chuck Mathena Center. It opened its doors in July, 2008, and to date has welcomed visitors from 38 states and 9 countries. The 1,000 seat theater hosts plays, concerts, and community gatherings. It also holds a number of meeting rooms for civic groups, receptions, and weddings. The goal of the center is to enhance cultural life of the region and to foster an appreciation of the arts in this area.
An arts movement has shaped the downtown of Princeton on its main thoroughfare, Mercer Street. The RiffRaff Arts Collective along with other creative endeavors are fueling a revitalization marked by progressive thinking and a positive outlook. The remodeled Princeton Public Library and the new Railroad Museum have been called "book ends" to a downtown that is seeing significant growth.
The Dr. James W. Hale House
, Dr. Robert B. McNutt House
, and 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 districts
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 5.1 square miles (7.8 km²), all of it land.
The average altitude of Princeton is 2400 ft, with highest points at 3100 ft and lowest points at 1700 ft, above sea level.
As of the census
of 2000, there were 6,347 people, 2,967 households, and 1,661 families residing in the city. The population density
was 2,116.6 people per square mile (816.9/km²). There were 3,371 housing units at an average density of 1,124.2 per square mile (433.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.03% White, 6.21% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.19% from other races
, and 0.84% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino 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 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.
Mercer County, West Virginia
-External links:* * * * * * *...
, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 7,652 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Bluefield
Bluefield, West Virginia
Bluefield is a city in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 10,447 at the 2010 census. It is also the core city of the Bluefield WV-VA micropolitan area which has a population of 107,342.-Geography & Climate:...
, WV-VA
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
micropolitan area
Bluefield micropolitan area
The Bluefield Micropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties – one in West Virginia and one in Virginia – anchored by the city of Bluefield, West Virginia....
which has a population of 111,586. It is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Mercer County
Mercer County, West Virginia
-External links:* * * * * * *...
. The town hosts the Princeton Rays baseball club of the Appalachian League
Appalachian League
The Appalachian League is a Rookie-class minor league that began play in 1937 with one year of inactivity in 1956. From 1937 to 1962, it was a Class D League. Teams are located in the Appalachian regions of Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia and Tennessee...
.
Coal and southern West Virginia
In southern West Virginia, in the late 19th century, coalCoal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
mining and transportation by the emerging technology of the railroads combined to form a new industry. Much of the region's bituminous coal
Bituminous coal
Bituminous coal or black coal is a relatively soft coal containing a tarlike substance called bitumen. It is of higher quality than lignite coal but of poorer quality than Anthracite...
was sent west to the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
, or east to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
's coal pier
Coal pier
A coal pier is a transloading facility designed for the transfer of coal between rail and ship.The typical facility for loading ships consists of a holding area and a system of conveyors for transferring the coal to dockside and loading it into the ship's cargo holds...
s at Baltimore, or to the world's greatest ice-free port of Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
in eastern Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P...
's coal piers were located at Newport News
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
. Across the harbor, the Norfolk and Western Railway
Norfolk and Western Railway
The Norfolk and Western Railway , a US class I railroad, was formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It had headquarters in Roanoke, Virginia for most of its 150 year existence....
's coal piers were located on the Elizabeth River
Elizabeth River (Virginia)
The Elizabeth River is a tidal estuary forming an arm of Hampton Roads harbor at the southern end of Chesapeake Bay in southeast Virginia in the United States. It is located along the southern side of the mouth of the James River, between the cities of Portsmouth and Norfolk...
in Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
. The eastern-bound coal transported by the C&O and the N&W railroads was highly-valued for local use and for steam-powered ships, notably those of the U.S. Navy. Loaded into large ships called colliers, the West Virginia "smokeless coal" was sent in coast-wise shipping to the Northeastern
Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
U.S. points such as New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, as well as exported to other countries worldwide.
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.
William Nelson Page (According to local folktales)
Cehen says in the early 1870s, a young civil engineerCivil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
named William Nelson Page
William N. Page
William Nelson Page was an American civil engineer, entrepreneur, industrialist and capitalist. He was active in the Virginias following the U.S. Civil War...
came to West Virginia to help survey and build Collis P. Huntington
Collis P. Huntington
Collis Potter Huntington was one of the Big Four of western railroading who built the Central Pacific Railroad as part of the first U.S. transcontinental railroad...
's C&O railroad through the valleys of the New River
New River (West Virginia)
The New River, part of the Ohio River watershed, is a tributary of the Kanawha River about 320 mi long. The river flows through the U.S. states of North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia...
and the Kanawha River
Kanawha River
The Kanawha River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 97 mi long, in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The largest inland waterway in West Virginia, it has formed a significant industrial region of the state since the middle of the 19th century.It is formed at the town of Gauley...
to link Virginia with the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
, a line which was completed in 1873 at the new city of Huntington
Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia, along the Ohio River. Most of the city is in Cabell County, for which it is the county seat. A small portion of the city, mainly the neighborhood of Westmoreland, is in Wayne County. Its population was 49,138 at...
. As his career developed, Page busied himself with many enterprises to develop the natural resources which lay all around him, primarily working with iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
and coal operations, often as the manager for wealthy absentee owners. Among these was David T. Ansted
David T. Ansted
David Thomas Ansted was an English geologist and author.- Youth, education :Ansted was born in London on 5 February 1814. He was educated at Jesus College, Cambridge, and after taking his degree of M.A...
, a British geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
who mapped many of the coalfields of southern West Virginia. Dr. Ansted became the namesake for the town of Ansted
Ansted, West Virginia
Ansted is a town in Fayette County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is situated on high bluffs along U.S. Highway 60 on a portion of the Midland Trail a National Scenic Byway near Hawk's Nest overlooking the New River far below....
, where William Nelson Page moved and became his protégé. Of course, with his background with the C&O, Page was also into railroads.
Page settled with his family in the Fayette County
Fayette County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 47,579 people, 18,945 households, and 13,128 families residing in the county. The population density was 72 people per square mile . There were 21,616 housing units at an average density of 33 per square mile...
hamlet of Ansted, located high above the New River Valley along the old James River and Kanawha Turnpike
James River and Kanawha Turnpike
The James River and Kanawha Turnpike was built to facilitate portage of shipments of passengers and freight by water between the western reaches of the James River via the James River and Kanawha Canal and the eastern reaches of the Kanawha River....
. As president of the Gauley Mountain Coal Company, in 1890, he had company carpenters build a palatial white Victorian mansion on a knoll overlooking the town. Eight servants were employed to care for the family, which included his wife Emma, and their four children.
"Colonel" Page, as he became known, was in truth an uniformed major in a locally recruited Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
militia. ("Colonel" was an honorific title used informally in the South for many notable men in the years following the American Civil War). A colorful character by all accounts, he was described as a slight man who was known for his handlebar mustache, pince-nez glasses, iron bowler derby, and elegant suits. He was considered to be somewhat aloof by the local population, and could frequently be seen riding a bicycle on the sloping lawn of the mansion. He found time to serve as a mayor of Ansted for ten years, rose to the rank of brigadier inspector general in the West Virginia National Guard
United States National Guard
The National Guard of the United States is a reserve military force composed of state National Guard militia members or units under federally recognized active or inactive armed force service for the United States. Militia members are citizen soldiers, meaning they work part time for the National...
, and was also an incorporator and director of Sheltering Arms Hospital
Sheltering Arms Hospital (West Virginia)
Sheltering Arms Hospital was located at Hansford in Kanawha County, West Virginia, east of Charleston on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway along Paint Creek. It was open from 1888 until 1923. The nursing school was added in 1902....
in neighboring Kanawha County
Kanawha County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 200,073 people, 86,226 households, and 55,960 families residing in the county. The population density was 222 people per square mile . There were 93,788 housing units at an average density of 104 per square mile...
.
However, William Nelson Page's consuming interest was his work. He was described by former West Virginia governor William A. MacCorkle
William A. MacCorkle
William Alexander MacCorkle , was a United States teacher, lawyer, prosecutor, the ninth Governor of West Virginia and state legislator of West Virginia, and financier.-Biography:...
in his autobiography The Recollections of Fifty Years as a man who knew the geology of the area "as a farmer knows a field." Page spent long hours working in the den just off the main entrance to his resplendent home. As he studied the areas mapped out by Dr. Ansted as containing coal, he became fascinated with some of the most rugged terrain of southern West Virginia, and the fact that these lands were not yet reached by the major railroads. Years later, author and photographer H. Reid
H. Reid
Harold A. Reid was an American writer, photographer, and historian. Reid is best known for his lifelong love of railroading and related photography and published work...
, who wrote The Virginian Railway (Kalmbach, 1961), labeled him the "Idea Man from Ansted."
1902: Deepwater Railway
In 1896, Page developed the Loup Creek and Deepwater Railway, a logging railroad connecting a small sawmill on the old Loup Creek Estate at RobsonRobson, West Virginia
Robson is an unincorporated village in Fayette County, West Virginia, United States, situated primarily on the banks of Loup Creek. Robson is served by State Highway 61, and is located from Montgomery and to from Oak Hill. Robson's Post Office serves the smaller communities of Beards Fork and...
with the C&O railroad's main line at Deepwater
Deepwater, West Virginia
Deep Water, also known historically as Deepwater, is an unincorporated census-designated place on the Kanawha River in Fayette County, West Virginia, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 280. It is best known as the starting point of the Deepwater Railway founded in 1898 by...
on the Kanawha River
Kanawha River
The Kanawha River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 97 mi long, in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The largest inland waterway in West Virginia, it has formed a significant industrial region of the state since the middle of the 19th century.It is formed at the town of Gauley...
. In 1898, it was rechartered as the Deepwater Railway
Deepwater Railway
The Deepwater Railway was an intrastate short line railroad located in West Virginia in the United States which operated from 1898 to 1907.William N. Page, a civil engineer and entrepreneur, had begun a small logging railroad in Fayette County in 1896, sometimes called the Loup Creek and Deepwater...
, with modest plans to extend to nearby coal mines at Glen Jean
Glen Jean, West Virginia
Glen Jean is an unincorporated census-designated place in Fayette County, West Virginia, United States, near Oak Hill. As of the 2010 census, its population is 210....
. Around 1903, the new town of Page
Page, West Virginia
Page is an unincorporated census-designated place in Fayette County, West Virginia, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 224. It was named for William Nelson Page , a civil engineer and industrialist who lived in nearby Ansted, where he managed Gauley Mountain Coal Company and...
became the location of one if 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
Millionaire
A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. It can also be a person who owns one million units of currency in a bank account or savings account...
industrialist Henry Huttleston Rogers
Henry H. Rogers
Henry Huttleston Rogers was a United States capitalist, businessman, industrialist, financier, and philanthropist. He made his fortune in the oil refinery business, becoming a leader at Standard Oil....
as a silent partner
Silent partner
Silent partner may refer to:*An anonymous member of a business partnership, or one uninvolved in management*The Silent Partner, the name of several films*Silent partner , a piece of climbing equipment...
to finance the expansion of the Deepwater Railway much further, about 80 miles through Mullens
Mullens, West Virginia
Mullens is a city in Wyoming County, West Virginia. As of the 2000 census, it had a population of 1,769.Located in a valley along the Guyandotte River within a mountainous region of southern West Virginia, the town was nearly destroyed by flash flooding in July 2001...
to reach a N&W railroad branch line at Matoaka
Matoaka, West Virginia
Matoaka is a small town in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 317 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Bluefield, WV-VA micropolitan area which has a population of 107,578...
to open up new territory with untapped deposits of high volatile bituminous coal
Bituminous coal
Bituminous coal or black coal is a relatively soft coal containing a tarlike substance called bitumen. It is of higher quality than lignite coal but of poorer quality than Anthracite...
. Page, Rogers, and other wealthy investors owned much of this land.
Henry Rogers was a self-made man who had become a principal in John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil
Standard Oil
Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
. Even after he was well-off financially, Henry Rogers continued to be what was many year later termed "a workaholic". He was an active developer of all types of natural resources and transportation enterprises. Soon, he had investments of his own own in natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
, copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
, steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
, coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, and railroad industries. By 1899, he had become one of the richest men in the United States.
Henry Rogers was also an old hand at West Virginia short line railroads.
He had helped build and sell several earlier enterprises which were initially not a great deal different that that proposed by Page.
Overcoming collusion of the big railroads
However, as construction of the expanded Deepwater Railway line got underway, William 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 collusionCollusion
Collusion is an agreement between two or more persons, sometimes illegal and therefore secretive, to limit open competition by deceiving, misleading, or defrauding others of their legal rights, or to obtain an objective forbidden by law typically by defrauding or gaining an unfair advantage...
by the leaders of the big railroads, notably Alexander Cassatt
Alexander Cassatt
Alexander Johnston Cassatt was the 7th president of the Pennsylvania Railroad , serving from June 9, 1899 to December 28, 1906. Frequently referred to as A. J. Cassatt, the great accomplishment under his stewardship was the planning and construction of tunnels under the Hudson River to finally...
, William Kissam Vanderbilt
William Kissam Vanderbilt
William Kissam Vanderbilt was a member of the prominent American Vanderbilt family. He managed railroads and was a horse breeder.-Biography:...
, and Frederick J. Kimball
Frederick J. Kimball
Frederick James Kimball was a civil engineer. He was an early president of the Norfolk and Western Railway and helped develop the Pocahontas coalfields in Virginia and West Virginia....
, 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
Mercer County, West Virginia
-External links:* * * * * * *...
and Princeton.
1904: Tidewater Railway
In Virginia, Page (and Rogers) formed another intrastate railroad, the new Tidewater RailwayTidewater Railway
The Tidewater Railway was formed in 1904 as an intrastate railroad in Virginia, in the United States, by William N. Page, a civil engineer and entrepreneur, and his silent partner, millionaire industrialist Henry Huttleston Rogers of Standard Oil fame...
, which was legally based in Staunton
Staunton, Virginia
Staunton is an independent city within the confines of Augusta County in the commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 23,746 as of 2010. It is the county seat of Augusta County....
, 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 City of Roanoke
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke is an independent city in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. state of Virginia and is the tenth-largest city in the Commonwealth. It is located in the Roanoke Valley of the Roanoke Region of Virginia. The population within the city limits was 97,032 as of 2010...
, 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
Suffolk, Virginia
Suffolk is the largest city by area in Virginia, United States, and is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 84,585. Its median household income was $57,546.-History:...
. 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
Norfolk County, Virginia
Norfolk County was a county of the South Hampton Roads in eastern Virginia in the United States that was created in 1691. After the American Civil War, for a period of about 100 years, portions of Norfolk County were lost and the territory of the county reduced as they became parts of the separate...
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
Sewell's Point
Sewells Point is a peninsula of land in the independent city of Norfolk, Virginia in the United States, located at the mouth of the salt-water port of Hampton Roads. Sewells Point is bordered by water on three sides, with Willoughby Bay to the north, Hampton Roads to the west, and the Lafayette...
.
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
Lucius E. Johnson
Lucius E. Johnson was a president of the Norfolk and Western Railway from 1904 until his death in 1921, with the exception of 5 months in 1918 when he served as Chairman of its Board. He lived in Roanoke, Virginia....
was brought to the Standard Oil building at 26 Broadway
26 Broadway
26 Broadway is a 31-story, 159 m, 520 ft New York City Designated Landmark at the southern tip of Manhattan at Bowling Green...
in New York City by Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
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.
1907: Virginian Railway is born
In 1907, The Deepwater and Tidewater were combined to become the Virginian RailwayVirginian Railway
The Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads....
(VGN). Victoria
Victoria, Virginia
Victoria is an incorporated town in Lunenburg County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,821 at the 2000 census.- History :Lunenburg County in the Southside region was established on May 1, 1746 in Great Britain's Virginia Colony from Brunswick County...
, a new town created in Lunenburg County, Virginia
Lunenburg County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 13,146 people, 4,998 households, and 3,383 families residing in the county. The population density was 30 people per square mile . There were 5,736 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile...
, 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
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
on Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
in 1909, a distance of about 450 miles.
Virginian Railway: Division headquarters and Shops
Princeton was designated to be the headquarters of the New River Division, extending from Roanoke westward.Roundhouses, vital for servicing the new steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
s, 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
Interstate Commerce Commission
The Interstate Commerce Commission was a regulatory body in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads to ensure fair rates, to eliminate rate discrimination, and to regulate other aspects of common carriers, including...
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
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...
, one of only 6 large class 1 railroads operating in the United States in the 21st century.
The changes from steam
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
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
Lambert's Point
Lamberts Point is a point of land on the south shore of the Elizabeth River near the downtown area of the independent city of Norfolk in the South Hampton Roads region of eastern Virginia, United States...
. 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
Naval Station Norfolk
Naval Station Norfolk, in Norfolk, Virginia, is a base of the United States Navy, supporting naval forces in the United States Fleet Forces Command, those operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean...
, 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
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
to the town's rich railroading heritage and the Virginian Railway
Virginian Railway
The Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads....
.
In the tiny hamlet of Ansted along the Midland Trail
Midland Trail
For the trail's section in West Virginia see: The Midland Trail in West Virginia.The Midland Trail, also called the Roosevelt Midland Trail, was a national auto trail spanning the United States from Washington, D.C...
, the Page-Vawter House
Page-Vawter House
Page-Vawter House in the town of Ansted in Fayette County, West Virginia was built in 1889-90 by company carpenters of the Gauley Mountain Coal Company for the family of William Nelson Page, who was company president. The palatial white Victorian mansion is located on a knoll in the middle of town...
is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. 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.
Origin of North and South Walker Streets
According to burned documents:In 1837, veteran of the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
Chrispianos H. Walker was chosen by a committee to select a site for a new courthouse
Courthouse
A courthouse is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English speaking countries, buildings which house courts of law are simply...
for Mercer County. Princeton was selected. North and South Walker Streets are named after him.
Present day
Princeton currently boasts a population of 7,562. The city is a hub of the Four Seasons Country area of Southern West VirginiaSouthern West Virginia
Southern West Virginia is a culturally and geographically distinct region in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Generally considered the heart of Appalachia, Southern West Virginia is known for its coal mining heritage and southern affinity...
and Southwest Virginia
Southwest Virginia
Southwest Virginia, often abbreviated as SWVA, is a mountainous region of Virginia in the westernmost part of the commonwealth. Southwest Virginia has been defined alternatively as all Virginia counties on the Appalachian Plateau, all Virginia counties west of the Eastern Continental Divide, or...
. A large number of hotels, restaurants and shopping areas have developed near the intersection of the West Virginia Turnpike
West Virginia Turnpike
The West Virginia Turnpike is a toll road in the US state of West Virginia. It is also signed as Interstate 77 for its entire length as well as Interstate 64 from Charleston to just south of Beckley. From Beckley, the road extends south to Princeton...
and U.S. Highway 460 in recent years.
Cultural Events are found at the Chuck Mathena Center. It opened its doors in July, 2008, and to date has welcomed visitors from 38 states and 9 countries. The 1,000 seat theater hosts plays, concerts, and community gatherings. It also holds a number of meeting rooms for civic groups, receptions, and weddings. The goal of the center is to enhance cultural life of the region and to foster an appreciation of the arts in this area.
An arts movement has shaped the downtown of Princeton on its main thoroughfare, Mercer Street. The RiffRaff Arts Collective along with other creative endeavors are fueling a revitalization marked by progressive thinking and a positive outlook. The remodeled Princeton Public Library and the new Railroad Museum have been called "book ends" to a downtown that is seeing significant growth.
The Dr. James W. Hale House
Dr. James W. Hale House
Dr. James W. Hale House, also known as the Hale-Pendleton House, "Temple Knob," and "Temple Hill," is a historic home located at Princeton, Mercer County, West Virginia. It was built about 1885, and is a large, two-story plus basement brick house...
, Dr. Robert B. McNutt House
Dr. Robert B. McNutt House
Dr. Robert B. McNutt House is a historic home located at Princeton, Mercer County, West Virginia. The original section was built about 1840, and is a classic I house configuration, with a two story, three-bay main facade and a one-bay wide, two story centered portico. Later additions include a one...
, and Mercer County Courthouse
Mercer County Courthouse (West Virginia)
The Mercer County Courthouse in Princeton, West Virginia was built in 1930-31 in the Art Moderne style. Designed by Alex B. Mahood, it is the most significant example of the style in southern West Virginia. Friezes above the front and rear doors were designed by Mrs. S.L. Mahood, the mother of the...
are listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. The Mercer Street Historic District
Mercer Street Historic District
Mercer Street Historic District is a national historic district located at Princeton, Mercer County, West Virginia. The district includes 28 contributing buildings in the central business district of Princeton. The buildings are primarily two and three-story, masonry commercial buildings with...
and Virginian Railway Yard Historic District
Virginian Railway Yard Historic District
Virginian Railway Yard Historic District is a national historic district located at Princeton, Mercer County, West Virginia. The district includes 14 contributing buildings, 1 contributing site, and 1 contributing structure related to the Virginian Railway property at Princeton...
are nationally recognized historic districts
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
.
Geography
Princeton is located at 37°22′5"N 81°5′45"W (37.368015, −81.095807).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 5.1 square miles (7.8 km²), all of it land.
The average altitude of Princeton is 2400 ft, with highest points at 3100 ft and lowest points at 1700 ft, above sea level.
Demographics
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 6,347 people, 2,967 households, and 1,661 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 2,116.6 people per square mile (816.9/km²). There were 3,371 housing units at an average density of 1,124.2 per square mile (433.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.03% White, 6.21% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.19% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.84% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino 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 married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
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
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
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.
Notable natives and residents
- Bob DenverBob DenverRobert Osbourne "Bob" Denver was an American comedic actor known for his roles as Gilligan on the television series Gilligan's Island and the beatnik Maynard G. Krebs on the 1959–1963 TV series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.-Early life:Denver was born in New Rochelle, New York, and raised in...
, actor, spent most of the later years of his life in Princeton - Jennifer GarnerJennifer GarnerJennifer Anne Affleck , better known as Jennifer Garner, is an American actress and film producer. Garner gained recognition on television for her performance as CIA agent Sydney Bristow in the thriller drama series Alias, which aired on ABC for five seasons from 2001 to 2006...
, actress, spent several of her younger years in Princeton - Ken KendrickKen KendrickEarl G. "Ken" Kendrick Jr. is a baseball executive with the National League Arizona Diamondbacks. He became part-owner with the team's inception in 1995 and Managing General Partner in 2004, replacing Jerry Colangelo after a lengthy disagreement over Colangelo's role with the franchise he founded;...
, owner, Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
's Arizona DiamondbacksArizona DiamondbacksThe Arizona Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team based in Phoenix. They play in the West Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From 1998 to the present, they have played in Chase Field... - Rod Thorn, president and general manager of the New Jersey NetsNew Jersey NetsThe New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
- Kenny EasterdayKenny EasterdayKenny Easterday is an American man born with a rare disability called sacral agenesis. To improve his mobility, his legs were amputated at the hip when he was six months....
, more commonly known as "The Man With Half a Body" lives in Princeton.
Professional Sports Teams
- Princeton Rays, Appalachian League (Rookie) affiliate of the Tampa Bay RaysTampa Bay RaysThe Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...
. The team plays its home games at H. P. Hunnicutt FieldH. P. Hunnicutt FieldH.P. Hunnicutt Field is a stadium in Princeton, West Virginia. It is primarily used for baseball, and is the home field of the Princeton Rays minor league baseball team, as well as Princeton's Middle and High school teams. Built in 1988, it was developed by the H.P. and Anne S. Hunnicutt...
.