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A−History
History · West Point

West Point’s post office opened in 1857, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 82% of U.S. towns · #36 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 254 buildings. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1880.

1857first post office
1on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
3famous 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?

1857

The West Point post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Port Richmond (1917), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 557 in 18802020 census: 3,414169 years

How historic is West Point?

A−

More historic than 82% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first West Point post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives West Point’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, West Point is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #36 of 253 in Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of West Point’s overall grade.
Founding era1857, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194025.1% of homes (±9.9) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register1 listing, 254 historic buildings, 730 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 82%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 86%

Virginia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Virginia town has 3.6 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so West Point’s 730 sits above most of its state (94% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 254 historic buildings outnumber those of 94% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

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 254 historic buildings.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1890 and 1900, then more than doubled.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1895 to 1921, drew every building in West Point.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1861–1941.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

1 listing protects 254 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
254
each building in a district counts
first listed
1996
West Point Historic District
West Point Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Victorian1
Italianate1
Queen Anne1
Gothic Revival1
West Point Historic DistrictVictorian

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

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,500188019001920194019601980200020202,018 in 1890Low: 1,307

Lost a third of its people between 1890 and 1900, then more than doubled.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Every building

West Point, building by building, 1895–1921

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

West Point fire insurance map, 1895, sheet 11895Sheet 1 of 4
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How West Point came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of West Point.

Read it all →

The current site of West Point was once the site of Cinquoteck, a Native American village of the local Mattaponi, an Algonquian-speaking tribe affiliated with the Powhatan Confederacy. During the first half of the 17th century, the Confederacy and the English colonists who established their first permanent settlement at Jamestown in 1607 were frequently in conflict. By mid-century, the Natives had been largely overcome, including the area of Cinquoteck, by the ever-expanding Colony of Virginia.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

West Point, 1665 to 2020

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

  1. 17th century
  2. 1665Born hereNathaniel West is born here
  3. 1670Born hereThomas West is born here
  4. 19th century
  5. 1857Post officeThe West Point post office opens
  6. 1861In the archiveCity Point, Cooking
  7. 20th century
  8. 1917Post officeThe Port Richmond post office opens
  9. 1919On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1941In the archivePaper mill. West Point, Virginia
  11. 1957Post officeThe Port Richmond post office closes
  12. 21st century
  13. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 3,414
By decade

West Point, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s1 item
City Point, Cooking1861City Point, Cooking
1940s11 items
Paper mill. West Point, Virginia1941Paper mill. West Point, VirginiaPaper mill. West Point, Virginia1941Paper mill. West Point, VirginiaPaper mill. West Point, Virginia1941Paper mill. West Point, VirginiaPaper mill. West Point, Virginia1941Paper mill. West Point, VirginiaPaper mill. West Point, Virginia1941Paper mill. West Point, VirginiaPaper mill. West Point, Virginia1941Paper mill. West Point, VirginiaPaper mill near West Point, Virginia1941Paper mill near West Point, VirginiaUntitled photo, possibly related to: Paper mill. West Point, Virginia1941Untitled photo, possibly related to: Paper mill. West…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Paper mill. West Point, Virginia1941Untitled photo, possibly related to: Paper mill. West…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Paper mill. West Point, Virginia1941Untitled photo, possibly related to: Paper mill. West…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Paper mill near West Point, Virginia1941Untitled photo, possibly related to: Paper mill near …
1950s–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
Today6 recent
Chesty Puller memorial in2016Chesty Puller memorial inA Tree Grows in2016A Tree Grows inWest Point Parade JROTC Cadet2013West Point Parade JROTC CadetWest Point Man Dog Cat2013West Point Man Dog CatWest Point Band Leader -Flickr12Days2013West Point Band Leader -Flickr12DaysVAMap-doton-WestPoint2005VAMap-doton-WestPoint
On the map

West Point on the map, 1919 to 1986

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 1919 USGS mapWest Point on the 1950 USGS mapWest Point on the 1965 USGS mapWest Point on the 1973 USGS mapWest Point on the 1986 USGS map1919New Kent sheet · 1:62,500

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.

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.

City Point, Cooking
Retake this viewCity Point, Cooking, 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
Famous people

3 famous people were born in West Point

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

See all →
N
Nathaniel WestAmerican politician (c. 1665 – 1723) · b. 1665
T
Thomas WestAmerican 18th century planter, military officer… · b. 1670
T
Thomas WestAmerican 18th century politician
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

West Point’s post office has been open since 1857. Another post office, Port Richmond, opened and closed inside today’s town.

West Point
1857–today
Port Richmond
1917–1957
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CinquoteckPort Richmond
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside West Point
Saint TheresasSunny Slope

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
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCity Point, Cooking: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about West Point’s history

What year was West Point founded?

The West Point post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does West Point rank for history?

West Point is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #36 of 253 in Virginia. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in West Point?

One place: the West Point Historic District (listed 1996).

How old are the homes in West Point?

25% of West Point’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.9 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1972.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the Library of Congress (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.