Prince

Colorized historic photo of Prince Residence

Red Ribble

 

William Prince

The town of Prince was formed in 1870, when brothers William and James Prince purchased 300 acres along the New River from General Alfred Beckley. They arrived prior to the building of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad in 1873 and established a mercantile store and ferry crossing. Their businesses flourished during the construction of the railroad, the Stretcher’s Neck tunnel, and a bridge across the New River. Prince itself was not a mining town, however, the advantageous geographical location made it possible to supply mining towns on Laurel Creek and Layland in Fayette County, and on Piney Creek and Beckley in Raleigh County.

The brothers built their home at the junction of the Piney Creek line and the main line. As part of the right-of-way agreement the brothers sold to the C & O Railroad, all through trains stopped at Prince, making it possible for the store to offer a wide variety of goods.

 

Old C&O Station at Prince

The first Prince passenger train depot was built in 1880 and lasted until 1917. It was destroyed by fire, and then rebuilt that same year. The current train depot was built in 1946 by C&O Railroad.

All town lands and businesses were owned by the Prince family, and were rented out and not sold. At one time the town had 250 residents with a elementary and high school, two churches, post office, train depot, hotel and a tavern.