Princeton-Mercer County
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To see all of our past ornaments click here
November 7, 2011
Princeton – The Princeton-Mercer County Chamber of Commerce announces the arrival of its 2011 Christmas ornament. This year’s 19 th annual ornament highlights what would have been the 100-year-old West Virginia Water Company Building. The building is no longer on the site where now stands the Mercer County Courthouse Annex.
The ornaments are available at the Chamber office and various other locations in Princeton. Cost is $20 each plus $2.50 s&h (for mail order). Contact the Chamber office for more information at (304) 487-1502.
Below is some history of the WV Water Company Building
WEST VIRGINIA WATER COMPANY
The West Virginia Water Service Company was the first major utility to set up in Princeton. That was in 1910, which was a year after the Virginia Railway was made operative throughout their service line. In 1910, the census gave Princeton a population of 3,027.
In 1912, the First National Bank of Princeton moved into a newly erected building at the corner of Scott Street and West Main. The bank began with capitol stock of $50,000 and its business showed a substantial growth each year. In 1918 the capitol stock of the bank increased to $100,000. Careful Management, conservative judgment, with progressive officials developed the bank into one of Mercer County’s strongest financial institutions. C.R. McNutt (son of Dr. Robert B. McNutt) was a member of the bank’s first Board of Directors.
In 1932, The Princeton Bank & Trust Company purchased the property and kept it until 1944. At that time, the West Virginia Water Service Company acquired the building and kept it until 1976 when they moved to a building on Stafford Drive. During the 32 years that the Water Company occupied the building, hundred of patrons paid bills and new home owners put in applications for service. They also used the basement of the building for the water company construction crew to work out of.
In 1948, the company made its first major improvement by installing a water-softening system which was completed in 1949. Initially the water softening-system was housed outdoors and in 1949, a building was completed that covered the entire system. The overall system cost approximately $100,000. Since the Water Company acquired the property and made major improvements, the plant now has a reservoir capacity of 320,000 gallons and a 24-hour pumping capacity of 1,444,000 gallons.
Out of site to the public eye, the company’s pipelines travel more miles than are to be measured by all of the city’s streets. One of the company’s expenditures during the early days was a 200,000-gallon storage tank specially constructed for fire protection. Add that to the hundreds of miles of water line that had already been built to serve the public and it represents a considerable amount of investment in Princeton.
In 1976, when the West Virginia Water Service Company moved to Stafford Drive, they sold the building to the Mercer County Commission who eventually tore down the building and made a parking lot for courthouse customers. In 2004, construction was completed on the new courthouse annex which now sits on the property.
Written by:
Old Town Princeton Foundation, Inc.
To print out the sheet below as a pdf click here
