Summers County was formed in 1871 from Monroe, Fayette, Greenbrier, and Mercer counties and was named for the distinguished Kanawha jurist George W. Summers. In 1750, Dr. Thomas Walker and his companions explored the Greenbrier Valley for the Greenbrier Company. Mercer County was formed in 1837 from Giles and Tazewell counties and was named for General Hugh Mercer, a Revolutionary War officer who was mortally wounded at Princeton in 1777. The county, a gateway to the South, is rich in fine farms and mineral deposits.