Mercer County, located along West Virginia’s southern border with Virginia, was officially established on March 17, 1837, from portions of Giles and Tazewell counties in Virginia. It was named in honor of General Hugh Mercer, a Revolutionary War hero who died at the Battle of Princeton. The region’s earliest European settlements date back to the mid‑1700s, when frontier families moved into the rugged Appalachian landscape along waterways such as the Bluestone River. Princeton—named after the New Jersey town where General Mercer fell—became the county seat and was burned twice during the Civil War due to its strategic location along key transportation routes. The arrival of the railroad in the late 19th century transformed the county, especially the city of Bluefield, which grew rapidly as a major coal and rail hub and became one of the most economically significant towns in southern West Virginia.