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History · West Point

West Point’s post office opened in 1815, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: 6 old photos and papers from 1760 on.

1815first post office
1on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
22famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Joe Mabel (on Flickr as Joe Mabel from Seattle, US) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How West Point began

When was West Point founded?

1815

The West Point post office opened in 1815, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 7,341211 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.

Famous sons and daughtersGore Vidal, Alfred Thayer Maan and 20 more were born here.Deep rootsA post office since 1815: 211 years of West Point.
★ What stands out · Famous people

22 famous people were born in West Point

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Gore VidalAmerican writer · b. 1925
Alfred Thayer MaanUnited States Navy admiral and historian · b. 1840
T
Tony HaleAmerican actor · b. 1970
Ricky SteamboatAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1953
J. Alden WeirAmerican artist · b. 1852
Yvonne CagleAfrican American astronaut · b. 1959
Timeline

West Point, 1760 to 1970

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1760In the archiveView of the Hudson Highlands from
  3. 1779In the archiveSketch of the rebel works at West Point as taken from the description of them given by a …
  4. 1780In the archiveWest Point, on the Hudson River, New York
  5. 19th century
  6. 1811In the archiveFort Clinton, West Point (N.Y.)
  7. 1820In the archiveWest Point from Constitution Island
  8. 1840Born hereAlfred Thayer Maan is born here
  9. 20th century
  10. 1925Born hereGore Vidal is born here
  11. 1953Born hereRicky Steamboat is born here
  12. 1970Born hereTony Hale is born here
The story

How West Point came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of West Point.

Read it all →

The site for West Point was originally picked because of the pronounced S-curve in the Hudson River at that point during the American Revolutionary War, and was the subject of a committee reporting on fortifications in the Hudson River in November 1775, which first recommended occupying the land. Construction of the fort was begun under Captain Louis de la Radiere as chief engineer of the fort, however, New York Governor George Clinton thought that Radiere was "lacking" in the knowledge needed to hold his position. Thus it was completed under Polish Colonel Tadeusz Kościuszko between 1778–1780; it was a key defensive fortification, overlooking the turn in the Hudson River and the Great Chain. On January 27, 1778, Brigadier General Samuel Holden Parsons and his brigade, including elements of Connecticut Colony's patriot militia, crossed an iced over Hudson River and climbed to the plain …

ChaptersAmerican Revolutionary WarPost-war

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

West Point, decade by decade

5 decades in the archive, from the 1760s to the 1820s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1760s–1810s5 items
View of the Hudson Highlands fromc. 1760View of the Hudson Highlands fromDocumentView of the Hudson Highlands fromc. 1760View of the Hudson Highlands fromDocumentSketch of the rebel works at West Point as taken from the description of them given by a deserter who came to Stoney Po…1779Sketch of the rebel works at West Point as taken from…DocumentWest Point, on the Hudson River, New Yorkc. 1780West Point, on the Hudson River, New YorkDocumentFort Clinton, West Point (N.Y.)1811Fort Clinton, West Point (N.Y.)Document
1820s1 item
West Point from Constitution Island1820West Point from Constitution IslandDocument
On the National Register

1 listing protects 17 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmark
1
none yet
historic buildings protected
17
each building in a district counts

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

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
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share 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.

Fort Montgomery2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHighland Falls12 historic placesA−Highlands15 historic placesAWoodbury3 historic placesBWoodbury3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCornwall36 historic placesA+

Questions about West Point’s history

What year was West Point founded?

The West Point post office opened in 1815, 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 (6), Wikipedia and Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.