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History · West Point

West Point dates to 1789, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

8 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 75 buildings. Below: 10 old photos and papers from 1861 on and the census since 1870.

1789founded
8on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From West Point’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How West Point began

When was West Point founded?

1789

West Point dates its founding to 1789 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 206 in 18702020 census: 952237 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1819.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 historic districtThe West Point Historic District takes in 75 historic buildings.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,957 in 1960; 952 people lived here in 2020.Landmarks on the Register8 places on the National Register.Deep rootsEstablished in 1789: 237 years of West Point.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

8 listings protect 82 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
8
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
82
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
James Young House and Inn
James Young House and InnFort DuffieldAbraham Ditto HouseApplegate-Fisher House, built 1846Ditto-Prewitt HouseKentucky and Indiana BankWest Point HotelWest Point Historic District
BuildingsDistrictsSites

Architectural styles listings

Federal2
Greek Revival1
Dutch Colonial1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
Queen Anne1
James Young House and InnFederal
Fort DuffieldSite
All 8 listings
Abraham Ditto HouseBuilding · listed 1988Applegate-Fisher HouseBuilding · listed 1988Ditto-Prewitt HouseBuilding · listed 1988Kentucky and Indiana BankBuilding · listed 1988West Point HotelBuilding · listed 1988West Point Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1996

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

West Point, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,957

Peaked at 1,957 in 1960; 952 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

The story

How West Point came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of West Point.

Read it all →

West Point was founded by pioneer James Young, who built a cabin at the site in 1789 and, in 1797, built a brick house and inn that is still standing today. In 1803, Lewis and Clark passed nearby and recruited West Point citizen John Shields to join their Corps of Discovery.

West Point sits at the confluence of the Ohio and Salt rivers, a strategic position that led Union forces to construct a fort here during the Civil War to protect their supply routes. Fort Duffield is the state's largest and best-preserved earthen fortification from the period.

West Point also retains many of its other historic resources, and a large portion of the community is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

West Point, 1789 to 1960

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1789
    FoundingWest Point is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1819Post officeThe West Point post office opens
  5. 1846BuiltApplegate-Fisher House is built
  6. 1861In the archiveFort Duffield
  7. 20th century
  8. 1903In the archiveMap of the Maneuver Grounds near
  9. 1908Born hereWilliam Cantrell is born here
  10. 1916In the archiveDigging potatoes. 14 and 16 years old. Location: Hardin County--West Point [vicinity], Ke…
  11. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 1,957
By decade

West Point, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s1 item
Fort Duffield1861Fort Duffield
1900s5 items
Map of the Maneuver Grounds near1903Map of the Maneuver Grounds nearMapIn cavalry headquarters, Campy Young1903In cavalry headquarters, Campy YoungThe boys in blue have just come in sight of the enemy, maneuvers at West Point, Ky1903The boys in blue have just come in sight of the enemy…Some of Uncle Sam's "war horses" returning to camp after bathing in the Ohio River1903Some of Uncle Sam's "war horses" returning to camp af…Grand review of the Army1903Grand review of the Army
1910s4 items
Digging potatoes. 14 and 16 years old. Location: Hardin County--West Point [vicinity], Kentucky1916Digging potatoes. 14 and 16 years old. Location: Hard…Harry Dewitt driving a roller on his father's farm. See report. Location: West Point [vicinity], Kentucky1916Harry Dewitt driving a roller on his father's farm. S…[Harry Dewitt driving a roller on his father's farm. See report.] Location: [West Point vicinity, Kentucky]1916[Harry Dewitt driving a roller on his father's farm. …Joseph Feree, a 14-year-old boy kept out of school for general farm work. See report. Location: West Point [vicinity], …1916Joseph Feree, a 14-year-old boy kept out of school fo…
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today1 recent
KYMap-doton-WestPoint2004KYMap-doton-WestPoint
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Fort Duffield
Retake this viewFort Duffield, 1861

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on West Point’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

West Point’s post office has been open since 1819.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Howard
1cemetery inside West Point
Geoghegan

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

Help out

Finish West Point’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFort Duffield: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Louisville513 historic placesA

Questions about West Point’s history

What year was West Point founded?

In 1789, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. West Point’s post office opened in 1819, and the census of 1870 counted 206 people here.

What is on the National Register in West Point?

8 listings: 6 buildings, among them the James Young House and Inn (listed 1978, the first), 1 historic district, the West Point Historic District, with 75 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 82 historic buildings in all.

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 (3), the Library of Congress (8), the National Register of Historic Places (8), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.