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West Point, Indiana streetPhoto: Huw Williams (Huwmanbeing) · Public domain
–Not graded
History · West Point

West Point’s post office opened in 1836, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1962 on.

1836first post office
0on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Huw Williams (Huwmanbeing) · Public domain
Quick answers

How West Point began

When was West Point founded?

1836

The West Point post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 318190 years
Founding year: the first West Point post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).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.Deep rootsA post office since 1836: 190 years of West Point.
★ 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 →

The town was platted in 1833 by Samuel Kiser. It was founded as Middleton, but residents changed the name of the town to West Point.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

West Point on the map, 1962 to 1984

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 1962 USGS mapWest Point on the 1984 USGS map1962Westpoint 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.

Questions about West Point’s history

What year was West Point founded?

The West Point post office opened in 1836, 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 Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.