Bluefield is a city in

Mercer County, West Virginia Mercer County is a county in Southern West Virginia on the southeastern border of the U.S. state of West Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 59,664. Its county seat is Princeton. The county was originally established in the St ...

, United States. The population was 9,658 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the

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 town of Bluefield, West Virginia. As of t ...

extending into

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, which had a population of 106,363 in 2020. The city is home to

Bluefield State University Bluefield State University is a public historically black university (HBCU) in Bluefield, West Virginia. The university is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. History The Bluefield Colored Institute was founded in 1895 as a " ...

, a public historically black university serving nearly 1,300 students.

History

The European-American history of Bluefield began in the 18th century, when the Davidson and Bailey families settled in a rugged and remote part of what is now southern West Virginia. Others joined them, and they built a small village with a mill, a church, a one-room schoolhouse, and a fort for defending the settlement against invasions by the

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

tribe, which had a village on the banks of the

Bluestone River The Bluestone River is a tributary of the New River, 77 mi (124 km) long, in southwestern Virginia and southern West Virginia in the United States.Norfolk and Western Railway The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...

pioneered the area and began building a new railroad through the hills of Bluefield. The city is traditionally thought to be named after the

chicory Common chicory (''Cichorium intybus'') is a somewhat woody, perennial herbaceous plant of the family Asteraceae, usually with bright blue flowers, rarely white or pink. Native to Europe, it has been introduced to the Americas and Australia. M ...

flowers in the area, which give the fields a purplish blue hue during the summer. Research has shown that this settlement, also known as Higginbotham's Summit in the 1880s, was probably named for the coal fields that were developed in the area of the Bluestone River.

Coal rush

Beneath the land of the Davidsons and Baileys lay the largest and richest deposit of

bituminous coal Bituminous coal, or black coal, is a type of coal containing a tar-like substance called bitumen or asphalt. Its coloration can be black or sometimes dark brown; often there are well-defined bands of bright and dull material within the coal seam, ...

in the world. The first seam was discovered in nearby

Pocahontas, Virginia Pocahontas is a town in Tazewell County, Virginia, United States. It was named for Chief Powhatan's daughter, Pocahontas, who lived in the 17th-century Jamestown Settlement. The town was founded as a company mining town by the Southwest Virginia ...

in the backyard of Jordan Nelson. President Frederick Kimball of the

Norfolk and Western Railway The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...

described this as the "most spectacular find on the continent and indeed perhaps of the entire planet." The coal seam had been mentioned much earlier in

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

's ''

Notes on the State of Virginia ''Notes on the State of Virginia'' (1785) is a book written by the American statesman, philosopher, and planter Thomas Jefferson. He completed the first version in 1781 and updated and enlarged the book in 1782 and 1783. It originated in Jeffers ...

'', but it was not mined until 1882. Around that time, coal mines were developed in the area around Harman, Bluefield,

War War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

, and

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, also known as Matoaka and Rebecca Rolfe; 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. S ...

, which together were known as the Pocahontas Coal Fields. They helped support the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

in the United States. The development of the coal industry in this area created a boom in the local and national economy and attracted immigrant European workers and migrant

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

from the

Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion of the Southern United States. The term is used to describe the states which were most economically dependent on Plantation complexes in the Southern United States, plant ...

to the mountains in search of industrial work. In the late 19th century, the Norfolk and Western Railway Company selected Bluefield as the site for a repair center and a major division point, which greatly stimulated the town's growth. In the one-year period from 1887 to 1888, passenger travel along the railroad increased 317%. As with the extremely accelerated growth of

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

during the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, ...

, Bluefield became a city that seemed to spring up "overnight." Growth far outpaced the existing infrastructure.

Urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city". Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted ...

and

blight Blight is a specific symptom affecting plants in response to infection by a pathogenic organism. Description Blight is a rapid and complete chlorosis, browning, then death of plant tissues such as leaves, branches, twigs, or floral organs. A ...

were common complaints in the early days, as workers crowded into aging housing. The growth and decay of the city depended almost entirely upon Norfolk and Western Railroad. A bustling metropolis, it had a nightlife and a personality that was "a little bit Chicago, a little bit New York, and a whole lot of Pittsburgh"—rugged and with steel and coal embedded in its soul. The coal boom generated a flood of money in the area. Nearby Bramwell, incorporated in 1888, boasted that it was the "Millionaires' Town" because more millionaires per capita lived there than anywhere in the nation. The city also had more automobiles per capita than any other city in the country. On November 20, 1889, the city of Bluefield was officially incorporated. Bluefield headquartered the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency who initially worked train crimes but became famous strike breakers and were prominent figures in the

Coal Wars The Coal Wars were a series of armed conflict, armed labor dispute, labor conflicts in the United States, roughly between 1890 and 1930. Although they occurred mainly in the Eastern United States, East, particularly in Appalachia, there was a si ...

, including the

Battle of Matewan The Battle of Matewan (also known as the Matewan Massacre) was a shootout in the town of Matewan in Mingo County and the Pocahontas Coalfield mining district, in southern West Virginia. It occurred on May 19, 1920 between local coal miners an ...

. With a strong

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

community, Bluefield was the site of the 1895 founding of the Bluefield Colored Institute, an

historically black college Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...

. It developed as today's

. Demographics began to shift with the hiring of its first white President, Dr. Hardway, and his closing of dormitories after the 1968 bombing. It is known as "The Whitest Historically Black College in America".

20th century

During the 1920s, the twelve-story West Virginian Hotel was built. It has been adapted and in the 21st century is operated as the West Virginia Manor and Retirement Home. In 1924, nearby Graham, Virginia decided to rename itself as Bluefield to try to unite the two towns, which had been feuding since the civil war. Nobel Prize-winning economist and mathematician

John Forbes Nash John Forbes Nash Jr. (June 13, 1928 – May 23, 2015), known and published as John Nash, was an American mathematician who made fundamental contributions to game theory, real algebraic geometry, differential geometry, and partial differenti ...

was born in Bluefield in 1928. George Marshall Palmer, the well-renowned Purdue University professor of aeronautics and director of the AerospaceSciences Laboratory at Purdue, lead of the invention of the Boeing wind tunnel and a pioneer in the aerodynamic and structural testing of skyscrapers was born in Bluefield in 1921. The

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

was particularly damaging to Bluefield. With the government nearly bankrupt, after a series of devastating structural fires swept through the downtown area, the city was nearly destroyed. It was not until the outbreak of World War II that coal production revived. The strategic importance of the city was so great that

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

put Bluefield on his reputed list of German air raid targets in the United States. Air raid practice drills were common in the city during this time. In 1964 Helen Compton opened the now-demolished Shamrock Bar, the oldest gay bar in WV. The

Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...

was constructed through East River Mountain on December 20, 1974; for the first time automobile traffic could reach the city without crossing the top of the mountain. The dependence on the railroads waned and restructuring changed the industry. Bluefield lost jobs and population as a result. Its

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

station closed in the 1980s. Mercer Mall, the area's major shopping mall, opened in 1980.

Geography

Bluefield is located in the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

across the state border from

Bluefield, Virginia Bluefield is a town in Tazewell County, Virginia, Tazewell County, Virginia, United States, located along the Bluestone River. The population was 5,096 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is part of the Bluefield, West Virginia, Bl ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , all land.

Climate

Bluefield is a mountain city with a

warm-summer humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(Dfb) bordering on

subtropical highland climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring c ...

or temperate oceanic climate (Cfb), due to its elevation. It is characterized by moderately cold, snowy winters and pleasantly warm to hot summers. The normal monthly mean daily temperature ranges from in January to in July; on average, there are only 2.5 days with a maximum of at least or greater maxima, 1.3 days of minima at or below , and 23 days where the maximum does not rise above freezing. The hottest temperature ever recorded in the city was , set on July 28, 1952, and August 9, 1957, with the coldest temperature at , set on December 30, 1917.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 10,447 people, 4,643 households, and 2,772 families living in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 5,457 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 73.7%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 23.0%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.3% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races.

Hispanic or Latino ''Hispanic'' and '' Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While many use the terms interchangeably, for example, the United States Census Bureau ...

of any race were 0.9% of the population. There were 4,643 households, of which 26.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 16.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.3% were non-families. 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.83. The median age in the city was 43.1 years. 20.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.2% were from 25 to 44; 28.6% were from 45 to 64; and 19.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.8% male and 53.2% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 11,451 people, 5,038 households, and 3,078 families living in the city. The population density was 1,311.3 people per square mile (506.4/km). There were 5,966 housing units at an average density of 683.2 per square mile (263.9/km). The racial makeup of the city was 75.84% White, 22.14% African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.56% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 1.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.52% of the population. There were 5,038 households, out of which 24.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.5% were married couples living together, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.9% were non-families. 34.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 55 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.87. The age distribution was 21.9% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 21.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.4 males.

Culture

Bluefield prides itself on its hospitable climate. Since 1938, the Chamber of Commerce has given free

lemonade Lemonade is a sweetened lemon-flavored drink. There are many varieties of lemonade found throughout the world. In some parts of the world, lemonade refers to an un-carbonated, traditionally, homemade drink, using lemon juice, water, and a sw ...

when the temperature has surpassed 90 °F. The city's motto is "nature's air conditioned city, where the summer spends the winter." Jazz musician

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the King ...

's song "Salt Pork, W.Va." was inspired by his time in a Bluefield jail. The song "

Sweet Georgia Brown "Sweet Georgia Brown" is a jazz standard composed in 1925 by Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard, with lyrics by Kenneth Casey. History Reportedly, Bernie came up with the concept for the song's lyrics – although he is not the credited lyricist ...

" was co-written by

Maceo Pinkard Maceo Pinkard (June 27, 1897 – July 21, 1962) was an American composer, lyricist, and music publisher. Among his compositions is " Sweet Georgia Brown", a popular standard for decades after its composition and famous as the theme of the Harlem ...

, a native of Bluefield. Bluefield is mentioned in

the Stylistics The Stylistics are an American Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith, and James Dunn. All ...

' 1973 song '' Rockin' Roll Baby'' as the birthplace of Little Joe. A controversy exists over whether or not

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

was last seen alive in Bluefield on his way to a show in Ohio. He was discovered dead in

Oak Hill, West Virginia Oak Hill is a city in Fayette County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 8,179 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Beckley metropolitan area. Country singer Hank Williams died in Oak Hill on his way to a concert on January 1, 1 ...

Lex Luger Lawrence Wendell Pfohl (born June 2, 1958), better known by the ring name Lex Luger, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, bodybuilder, and gridiron football player. He is best known for his work with Jim Crocke ...

won the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship in Bluefield in a televised match on May 22, 1989, defeating Michael Hayes. Bluefield was the hometown of fictional character Rita Stapleton Bauer on the CBS soap ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. ''Guiding Light'' aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio ...

''.

Ron Shelton Ronald Wayne Shelton (born September 15, 1945) is an American film director and screenwriter and former minor league baseball infielder. Shelton is known for the many films he has made about sports. His 1988 film ''Bull Durham'', based in part o ...

, director and screenwriter of the 1988 film ''

Bull Durham ''Bull Durham'' is a 1988 American romantic comedy sports film written and directed by Ron Shelton. The film stars Kevin Costner as "Crash" Davis, a veteran catcher from the AAA Richmond Braves, brought in to teach rookie pitcher Ebby Calv ...

'', played for the Bluefield Orioles in 1967. Furthermore, Bluefield is mentioned in the film. "Bluefield" is the title of a song by

Stonewall Jackson Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general and military officer who served during the American Civil War. He played a prominent role in nearly all military engagements in the eastern the ...

about the killing of the Sheriff of Bluefield.

Sports

Bluefield was the home of the

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a Collegiate summer baseball, collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wooden ...

(rookie)

Bluefield Orioles Bluefield may refer to: * Bluefield, Virginia, US * Bluefield, West Virginia, US * Nvidia BlueField, a line of computer hardware See also * Bluefields, Nicaragua * Bluefields, Jamaica {{geodis ...

baseball team until 2010. The Orioles have had a team in Bluefield since 1958, which was the longest relationship between a parent club and a town in affiliated baseball. The Toronto Blue Jays replaced Baltimore for the 2011 season with the

Bluefield Blue Jays The Bluefield Blue Jays were a minor league baseball team of the Rookie Appalachian League representing the twin cities of Bluefield, West Virginia, and Bluefield, Virginia. The team played their home games at Bowen Field at Peters Park, a histori ...

. The team played at Bowen Field (former Orioles stadium) through 2020. In conjunction with a contraction of Minor League Baseball beginning with the 2021 season, the Appalachian League was reorganized as a collegiate summer baseball league, and the Blue Jays were replaced by the

Bluefield Ridge Runners The Bluefield Ridge Runners are a summer collegiate baseball team of the Appalachian League. They are located in Bluefield, West Virginia, and play their home games at Bowen Field at Peters Park. History Previous Bluefield teams Professio ...

, a new franchise in the revamped league designed for rising college freshman and sophomores. Bluefield High School has 522 state championships in all sports, which is more than any other AA school in the state. Bluefield ranks second (tied with now-closed Ceredo-Kenova) in total football state championships with 11, behind national powerhouse

Parkersburg High School The Parkersburg High School (PHS) is a secondary school located in Parkersburg, West Virginia, United States. It serves grades nine through twelve, and is part of the Wood County School District. As of the 2023-2024 school year, the school has ...

(16). Bluefield won the High School State AAA Football Championship in 1959, 1962, 1965, 1967, 1975 and 1984. They won the West Virginia State AA football title in 1997, 2004, 2007, 2009 and 2017. Bluefield High School won the West Virginia AA State Championship in boys basketball in 1995, 1996, 2013 and 2014. Bluefield is largely a football town and carries on a rivalry between the Bluefield Beavers and their sister city

. The annual Beaver-Graham game is played at

Mitchell Stadium Mitchell Stadium is a 10,000 seat stadium in Bluefield, West Virginia. It was built by the Works Progress Administration in 1935, and is located in Bluefield's city park that straddles the West Virginia–Virginia state line. The facility serv ...

, the home field of both schools. Bluefield is also home to the East River Soccer Complex which has five fields and hosts local high school and

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

games. The Southern West Virginia King's Warriors of the

USL PDL USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will feature ...

began to play their home games at the East River Soccer Complex in 2014 before dissolving in 2017. Bluefield is also the home of the Rough and Rowdy Brawl, an amateur boxing tournament owned by

Barstool Sports Barstool Sports is an American blog website and digital media company headquartered in New York City that publishes sports journalism and pop culture-related content. It is owned by Dave Portnoy, who founded the company in 2003 in Milton, Massa ...

and broadcast on pay per view via its website. The tournament features many local and non-local fighters who compete in 3 one minute rounds.

Education

* Bluefield High School *

* Valley View Seventh-day Adventist School

Transportation

Roadways

U.S. routes 19,

460 __NOTOC__ Year 460 ( CDLX) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magnus and Apollonius (or, less frequently, year 1213 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 460 ...

, 21 and 52 run through the city.

Interstate 77 Interstate 77 (I-77) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. It traverses diverse terrain, from the mountainous state of West Virginia to the rolling farmlands of North Carolina and Ohio. It largely supplants the ...

is a short distance to the east. Proposed and under construction are interstates 73 and 74, labeled as King Coal Highway.

Rail

The last passenger train was the

Catlettsburg, Kentucky Catlettsburg is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Boyd County, Kentucky, United States. The city population was 1,780 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area. History Early history Cat ...

to Washington and Boston '' Hilltopper'' train of

, which was terminated in sweeping cuts in 1979. Until 1977 Amtrak's ''

Mountaineer Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...

'' operated from Chicago and Cincinnati, through Bluefield, and then through lower Virginia to

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

. Into the 1960s the

Norfolk and Western Railroad The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...

operated trains from the Mid-West to the metropolitan Norfolk-Newport News, Virginia area, and Bluefield City was a stop. The station was located at 715 Princeton Avenue.

Air

General Aviation service is provided at Mercer County Airport, located off State Highway 123 between Bluefield and Princeton. The last commercial service by

Colgan Air Colgan Air was a regional airline in the United States that operated from 1965 until 2012, when it became a subsidiary of Pinnacle Airlines Corp. The initial headquarters of Colgan Air was in Manassas, Virginia, Manassas, Virginia until 2010, and ...

ended in 2007. This therefore makes Raleigh County Memorial Airport the nearest airport with commercial service.

Bus

Bluefield Area Transit provides bus routes throughout

Mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (automobile), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City, US * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or tra ...

and McDowell counties.

Notable people

* Denise Giardina, award winning novelist, former canidate for governor of West Virginia * Elizabeth Kee, First woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from West Virginia * John S. Knight, newspaper publisher * Christy Martin, professional boxer,

International Boxing Hall of Fame The International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, right next to exit 34 of the New York State Thruway, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected on ballots cre ...

member * Alex B. Mahood Architech *

John Forbes Nash, Jr. John Forbes Nash Jr. (June 13, 1928 – May 23, 2015), known and published as John Nash, was an American mathematician who made fundamental contributions to game theory, real algebraic geometry, differential geometry, and partial differenti ...

, Nobel Prize-winning mathematician. *

Zirl A. Palmer Zirl Augustus Palmer (December 11, 1919 – May 20, 1982) was an African-American businessman and activist in Lexington, Kentucky. He opened Palmer's Pharmacy in 1952 in an old building at Fifth and Race Street. He was involved in the city's des ...

, businessman and civil rights activist *

, composer, lyricist, and music publisher known for ''

'' *

Brian Platnick Brian Platnick is an American bridge player. Biography Platnick was born and raised in Bluefield, West Virginia, in Mercer County, West Virginia. He was taught bridge by his mother and played in tournaments with his brother as his partner througho ...

, contract bridge champion *

Cal Ripken Jr. Calvin Edwin Ripken Jr. (born August 24, 1960), nicknamed "the Iron Man", is an American former baseball shortstop and third baseman who played his entire 21-season career in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1981–2001). ...

, former baseball shortstop and third baseman who played with the

Hugh Ike Shott Hugh Ike Shott (September 3, 1866October 12, 1953) was an American newspaper editor, pioneer broadcaster, and Republican politician in the U.S. State of West Virginia. Career Shott apprenticed as a printer. He moved to the then-booming new ci ...

, Newspaper editor, broadcaster, and politician * Charles Kenzie Steele, Civil Rights activist *

Toni Stone Toni Stone (July 17, 1921 – November 2, 1996), born as Marcenia Lyle Stone, was an American female professional baseball player who played in predominantly male leagues. In 1953, she became the first woman to play as a regular on an American m ...

, first of three women to play professional baseball full-time *

Anna Stuart Anna Stuart (born November 1, 1948, in Bluefield, West Virginia) is an American actress. She has primarily played roles in daytime serials. Career Stuart began her career on '' The Doctors'' as lab technician Toni Ferra, a role she played fr ...

, soap opera actress

Notes

References

External links

*
City website
{{authority control Cities in Mercer County, West Virginia Twin cities Cities in West Virginia 1889 establishments in West Virginia Populated places established in 1889