You don’t need to be a rail fan to appreciate the Southern West Virginia town of Prince and its number one attraction: the Prince Station. It’s one of the most photographed depots in the Mountain State – and with great reason, including the backstory of this tiny town that was once owned entirely by two brothers whose last name was Prince.
In 1870, William and James Prince purchased 300 acres in the New River Gorge and proceeded to build a town just three years before the C&O Railroad arrived in this part of the gorge.
Wikimedia/Brian M. Powell
As a mere point of reference, the town of Prince is located just around the bend (to the left) from the famous horseshoe in the New River (seen here) that is often photographed from Grandview State Park.
Flickr/Don Kasak
As part of their negotiation to allow the C&O rail line through their lands, the brothers Prince got every train to stop in Prince. This was especially beneficial since the brothers owned all of the lands and the businesses in the town including a mercantile, a tavern, and a hotel. The original train depot was built in 1880 and burned to the ground in 1917. At its height, Prince had around 250 residents; today, the population is a little more than 100.
National Park Service
The current Prince station was built in the 1940s in the grandeur of Art Deco style. The clean lines of the structure and the magnificent wall of windows facing the train platform were a great departure from other stations built during the era.
Wikimedia/Christopher Ziemnowicz
Today, unless you’re catching an Amtrak train, a visit to this unique relic of a train depot is mostly rewarded with views of the outside of the structure and the many tracks laid within a few feet of the platform. Amtrak passes through on a regular basis, as do freight trains. Visitors are quite often spotted on the platform photographing and taking videos of the passing trains.
Google Maps/John R Horne II
Even if the doors to the depot aren’t open, it’s worth a peek through that wall of windows to see the old C&O Chessie the Cat inlaid into the floor of the building. At the time, the advertising campaign touted passengers would “sleep like a kitten” on the rail line.
National Park Service
The next time you’re near Beckley, it’s worth a 20-minute drive over to Prince to see the worn splendor of the Art Deco Prince Station.
National Park Service
Prince Station is located at 5034 Stanaford Rd, Prince, WV 25907. Amtrak opens the waiting room three days a week (Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday) for short periods when trains are arriving and departing. To see the complete schedule, visit this page of the Amtrak official website.
Wikimedia/Brian M. Powell
Flickr/Don Kasak
National Park Service
Wikimedia/Christopher Ziemnowicz
Google Maps/John R Horne II
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