Town file
Princeton, West Virginia
Princeton, West Virginia (Mercer County, West Virginia) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 565, "The Fugitive Temptress" (23 January 2025).
- Town
- Princeton
- County
- Mercer County
- State
- West Virginia
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 565
- Approximate location
- 37.369, -81.096
Episode 565 / 23 January 2025 / 162 min / full
The Fugitive Temptress
"We're going to Princeton, West Virginia this week ... it's in Mercer County." about 0:04:18
The case: Murder of David 'D.B.' Cloud (January 26, 1980); Murder of Clyde Fields (October 19, 1956). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2025
- Population
- 5,885
- Median age
- 43
- Median household income
- $39,569 a year
- Median home value
- $140,800
- Two-bedroom rent
- about $730 a month
- Cost of living
- 71
- Property crime
- ▲ almost double the national average
- Violent crime
- ▲ about 50% higher than the national average
History, in brief
- In the late 1800s coal mining and transportation became a big industry in southern West Virginia, with railroads built to move the coal. about 0:05:24
- Much of the region's coal went northwest to the Great Lakes, to the coal piers at Baltimore, and to the ice-free port of Hampton Roads in eastern Virginia. about 0:05:39
- Princeton sat east of the coal fields, so most early mining and railroad activity was elsewhere, but the town later became tied to the Virginian Railway, known as the VGN. about 0:05:59
- When the coal was depleted the companies and railroads left, leaving depleted mines behind. about 0:06:18
- By 2006 the VGN's old Princeton shops facilities were demolished, upsetting residents who valued the buildings. about 0:06:37
- A replica of the VGN's two-storey Princeton passenger station and offices was built, described as the largest effort of its kind in the state. about 0:06:57
- James says West Virginia is dying from the opioid epidemic and has the lowest income and lowest housing price in the country. about 0:07:14
The reviews read out
4 stars
"Says it is quiet and used to have low crime, but crime has spiked in the past couple of years because of drug activity across the county; mostly property crime and theft."about 0:09:09
3 stars
"Says crime is everywhere but rarely heard of; the main problem is neighbours disrespecting neighbours, and the reviewer has called police over loud and rude neighbours."about 0:10:00
1 star
"Says there is no nightlife; the Applebee's open until eleven is the closest thing, and the bars are dives so full of crime that decent people are afraid to go in."about 0:11:02
1 star
"A twenty-year resident says Princeton and the surrounding area have become terrible, with dangerous roads, no police presence, trash, little for children, high crime and drug overdoses."about 0:11:44
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Lashmeet, West Virginia6.7 miles
- Pearisburg, Virginia20 miles
- Skygusty, West Virginia21 miles
- Pemberton, West Virginia25 miles
- Beckley, West Virginia28 miles
- Hensley, West Virginia34 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.