Mercer County Historical Society · Since 1957
For nearly seventy years we've collected, preserved and shared the stories, artifacts and historic places that define Mercer County. Walk through the War Museum, trace your family's roots, and help keep our history alive.
Preserving the Virginian Railway story and Appalachian history in Princeton, WV
908 Harrison St, Princeton, WV 24740
Research center by appointment
Two museums, two historic sites, an archive full of stories — and a community that keeps them alive.
Walk through Mercer County's service story from the Civil War to modern day — uniforms, letters and artifacts.
SeasonalHistoric machinery, homestead life and a reconstructed rural schoolhouse from the farming era.
GenealogyThousands of documents, photographs and genealogical materials — open to researchers by appointment.
Year-roundA monthly speaker series, historic walking tours, workshops and our annual Civil War lecture.
Get involvedFree museum access, our newsletter and a voice in the society — starting at $25 a year.
On the mapA mapped walking & driving tour linking our museums with Bramwell, the coal mines and more.
Founded in 1957 by citizens who saw the region's records and landmarks disappearing, the MCHS is an all-volunteer non-profit sustained entirely by members, volunteers and local partners.
We actively collect and safeguard the documents, artifacts and structures unique to Mercer County — from the Todd Flat Schoolhouse to the Virginian Railway story.
We share the county's rich history through museum exhibits, educational programs, publications and lectures for all ages.
We serve as a vital resource for genealogical research, historical inquiry and community memory — and we're always looking for volunteers.
From our headquarters on Harrison Street to the coal-boom mansions of Bramwell and the rail lines that built the region — a glimpse of the places we protect.
Image credits: Downtown Princeton — Princetonnative (CC BY 4.0); N&W caboose — James St. John (CC BY 2.0); Bramwell Main Street & N&W Railway map — public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
The milestones we work to preserve — and the story of the Society itself.
Carved from Giles and Tazewell counties and named for Revolutionary War General Hugh Mercer.
A one-room school opens — today one of the best-preserved 19th-century schoolhouses in the county, restored by the Society.
Bramwell becomes home to more millionaires per capita than anywhere in America as coal and rail transform southern West Virginia.
Citizens organize to rescue vanishing records and landmarks — the all-volunteer non-profit that endures today.
The War Museum, the Agricultural Museum, historic sites and a research center serving genealogists and historians alike.
Our museums are stops on the region's History & Heritage Trail — a mapped walking and driving tour that also visits Bramwell's Millionaire Row, the exhibition coal mines and Lake Shawnee. Plan the rest of your trip with Visit Mercer County.