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History · West Point

West Point was first counted by the census in 1970

Most of West Point was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Below: maps from 1958 on and the census since 1970.

1970first census
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How West Point began

When was West Point founded?

1970

West Point first appears in the census in 1970. Another post office, Crooked Creek (1875), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 162 in 19702020 census: 58456 years
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓

What stands out about West Point’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of West Point are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start West Point’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how West Point’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How West Point came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of West Point.

Read it all →

Settlement began in the late 1870s, as families started building homes in the then unnamed community. Several industries began in the early 1900s, including a sawmill, grist mill, and cotton gin. Telephone service was also introduced in 1909.

Around 1910, the residents decided to name the community West Point. Education started when the first school was built in 1918, replacing a school near Crooked Creek. Then, a high school was established in the 1930s.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

West Point, 1875 to 1958

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1875Post officeThe Crooked Creek post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1905Post officeThe Crooked Creek post office closes
  5. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

West Point, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Town of West Point , AL Sign2024Town of West Point , AL Sign
On the map

West Point on the map, 1958 to 1982

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of West Point. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

West Point on the 1958 USGS mapWest Point on the 1982 USGS map1958West Point sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of West Point.

People over time

West Point, census by census

0100200300400500600198020002020Peak: 586

Between 162 and 586 people in every census since 1970.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on West Point’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to West Point

Nobody well known was born in West Point itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Channing TatumAmerican actor, dancer and model · b. 1980
Mae JemisonAmerican doctor and NASA astronaut · b. 1956
L
Lucas BlackAmerican actor · b. 1982
Dean JonesAmerican actor · b. 1931
Philip RiversAmerican football player · b. 1981
Candi StatonAmerican singer–songwriter · b. 1940
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Another post office, Crooked Creek, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gone or out of use
Crooked Creeklocale

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about West Point’s history

What year was West Point founded?

The West Point post office opened in 1970, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.