Mercer County, West Virginia
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 21 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1976. Most listings are in or near Bluefield, Princeton, Bramwell.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for West Virginia is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Mercer titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP8 of 21 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
21 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Bluefield Downtown Commercial Historic District | Bluefield | 1987 |
| Bluefield Green Book Historic District | Bluefield | 2024 |
| Bramwell Additions Historic District (Boundary Increase) | Bramwell | 1995 |
| Bramwell Additions Historic District (Boundary Increase) (Additional Documentation) | Bramwell | 2005 |
| Bramwell Historic District | Bramwell | 1983 |
| Country Club Hill Historic District | Bluefield | 1992 |
| Easley House | Bluefield | 1992 |
| First Baptist Church of Bluefield | Bluefield | 2023 |
| French, Col. William Henderson, House | Athens | 1976 |
| Hale, Dr. James W., House | Princeton | 1976 |
| Hancock House | Bluefield | 1990 |
| Jefferson Street Historic District | Bluefield | 1992 |
| McNutt, Dr. Robert B., House | Princeton | 2001 |
| Mercer County Courthouse | Princeton | 1980 |
| Mercer Street Historic District | Princeton | 2003 |
| Municipal Building | Bluefield | 1979 |
| President's House, Bluefield State College | Bluefield | 1999 |
| Princeton Post Office | Princeton | 2020 |
| South Bluefield Historic District | Bluefield | 1992 |
| Upper Oakhurst Historic District | Bluefield | 1992 |
| Virginian Railway Yard Historic District | Princeton | 2003 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBMercer was formed in 1837 (1837-03-17) from Giles, Tazewell.
MERCER created by Virginia from GILES and TAZEWELL.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusMercer County population from 1840 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1840 | 1860 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,233 | 6,819 | 7,467 | 23,023 | 49,558 | 68,289 | 75,013 | 68,206 | 73,942 | 62,980 | 59,664 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
National Park Service sites nearby
NPSPark units within about 40 km of the county centroid (from NPS Public POIs; no API key).
| Site | Type | Dist. |
|---|---|---|
| Bluestone National Scenic River | National Scenic River | 23.3 km |
Source: NPS National Datasets / Public POIs. The NPS Developer API requires a free key and was not used.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS150 cemeteries and 12 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 80 of 150 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Atkins Cemetery |
| Bailey Cemetery |
| Bailey Cemetery |
| Bailey Cemetery |
| Bailey Cemetery |
| Bailey Cemetery |
| Barberie Cemetery |
| Barnett Cemetery |
| Belcher Cemetery |
| Belcher Cemetery |
| Belcher Cemetery |
| Belcher Cemetery |
| Belcher Cemetery |
| Belcher Cemetery |
| Belcher Cemetery |
| Belcher Cemetery |
| Bell Cemetery |
| Blake Cemetery |
| Bowling Cemetery |
| Bratton Cemetery |
| Bray Cemetery |
| Brown Cemetery |
| Brown Cemetery |
| Brown Cemetery |
| Bryant Memorial Cemetery |
| Butt Cemetery |
| Butt Cemetery |
| Calfee Cemetery |
| Calfee Cemetery |
| Carper Cemetery |
| Cashes Hill Cemetery |
| Cassidy Cemetery |
| Coffee Cemetery |
| Cooper Cemetery |
| Coopers Cemetery |
| Crawford Cemetery |
| Davidson Cemetery |
| Davidson Cemetery |
| Delp Cemetery |
| Dillon Cemetery |
| Donley Cemetery |
| Doyle Cemetery |
| Dunns Cemetery |
| Elmore Cemetery |
| Frye Cemetery |
| Hager Cemetery |
| Hale Cemetery |
| Hall - Gott Cemetery |
| Hall Cemetery |
| Hall Cemetery |
| Harless Cemetery |
| Harry Cemetery |
| Harry Cemetery |
| Hartwell Cemetery |
| Harvey Cemetery |
| Hatcher Cemetery |
| Hatcher Cemetery |
| Hearn Cemetery |
| Herndon Cemetery |
| Hill Cemetery |
| Hollinsworth Cemetery |
| Holt Cemetery |
| Honaker Cemetery |
| Hop Cemetery |
| Hutchinson Cemetery |
| Hypes Cemetery |
| Isaac Bell Cemetery |
| Johnson Cemetery |
| King Cemetery |
| King Cemetery |
| Lambert Cemetery |
| Lambert Cemetery |
| Lincoln Park Cemetery |
| Little Cemetery |
| Maple Park Cemetery |
| Matoaka Cemetery |
| McCue Cemetery |
| McQuire Cemetery |
| Meador Cemetery |
| Miles Cemetery |
Historical populated places — 12 of 12
| Name |
|---|
| Abbs Valley |
| Algonquin |
| Bethel |
| Billie |
| Blake |
| Crusher |
| East River |
| El Centro |
| Lowe |
| Ruth |
| Stengel |
| Widemouth |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Civil War battlefields nearby
ABPPAmerican Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) Civil War study areas near this county.
| Battlefield | Study acres | Dist. |
|---|---|---|
| Camp Alleghany | 2,092 | 4.2 km |
| Princeton Court House | 2,085 | 4.2 km |
Source: NPS American Battlefield Protection Program Civil War Study Areas (public ArcGIS feature service).
Historical markers
HMdb linkMarker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.
Search HMdb for Mercer County, West Virginia
Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.