Newspaperman Kenneth Kyle McCormick (June 13, 1891-November 1, 1971) was born in Union, Monroe County. He graduated from the University of Virginia, married Lucy Cargill, and served in the military during World War I. For a time he was employed as the principal of Point Pleasant High School.

In the mid-1920s, he moved to Princeton, Mercer County, and published the Princeton Observer from 1927 to 1957. In 1957, he was appointed by Governor Underwood as the state historian and archivist and served in that capacity until 1961. McCormick authored two histories, The Story of Mercer County (1957) and The New Kanawha River and the Mine War of West Virginia (1959). He served on the West Virginia Library Commission and was president of the West Virginia Newspaper Council. McCormick died in Princeton and was buried there.