Mercer

Formed March 17, 1837 (28^th county)

Mercer County (59,660), Princeton (5,865), Bluefield (9,641)

The Art Deco/Modern concrete facility was constructed in 1931.  There was an 1875 courthouse previously in Princeton, the only county seat.  It is on a square at Scott, Princeton, Alvis, and Main streets.  United States Highway 19 passes in front of the building.  Alex B. Mahood provided the designs.  Veteran memorials are on the grounds.  An Annex was added in 2005.  There were 1839, 1874 and 1876 courthouses earlier.  The county was founded on March 17, 1837 from parts of Giles and Tazewell counties, Virginia as the 28^th county.  Mercer County is named for American Revolutionary War General Hugh Mercer.  The county seat was named for Princeton, New Jersey. 

Mercer County government consists of a sheriff and 3 Commissioners.  Three Circuit Court Judges serve Mercer County and Three Family Court Judges and Five Magistrate Court Judges serve Mercer and McDowell counties.  Mercer County is on the southern tip of the state bordering Virginia.  Charleston, West Virginia is northwest and Roanoke, Virginia is east of the county.  The county center is 4.6 miles Northwest of Princeton nearer Kegley.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Raleigh, Summers, and Monroe counties and Virginia and McDowell and Wyoming counties.  Mercer County is an overall triangular shape. 

The area of the county is 420 square miles.  It is 27 out of 55 in the state.  It ranks 8 out of 55 in population in the state.  It has a density of 142.0 persons per square mile making it 13 out of 55 in the state.  Mercer County has 28.6% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 77 passes north to south through the county from Raleigh County to Virginia.  United States Highway 19 parallels Interstate Highway 77 from Raleigh County to Virginia.  United States Highway 52 enters from McDowell County, northwest, and exits to Virginia, south.  United States Highway 460 comes from the east, Virginia, and joins United States Highway 19 to go west, back into Virginia.  Princeton is located in the southern third of the county.  Bluefield is on the southwest border of the county.  Princeton is the county seat and Bluefield is the largest city.  Princeton is 9.8% of the county population while Bluefield is 16.2% of the county population.  This county is in the Bluefield Micropolitan Statistical Area.