West Point, Georgia

thumb|right|The West Point Commercial Historic District was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Troup County, Georgia|National Register of Historic Places on February 1, 2006.]]

West Point is a city in Troup and Harris counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is located approximately halfway between Montgomery, Alabama and Atlanta along Interstate 85. As of 2020, its population was 3,719. Most of the city is in Troup County, which is part of the LaGrange micropolitan statistical area, and hence part of the Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs, GA combined statistical area. A sliver in the south is in Harris County, which is part of the Columbus metropolitan statistical area. Despite being in both metropolitan areas however, it is apart of the Valley-Lanett Urban Area, which had a 2020 population of 20,466

History

The city's present name comes from its being near the westernmost point of the Chattahoochee River, where the river turns from its southwesterly flow from the Appalachian Mountains to due south – for all practical purposes – and forms the boundary with Alabama. Prior to being named West Point, the area was commonly referred to as Miller's Bend.

The large nearby reservoir, West Point Lake, was created by the Army Corps of Engineers by the building of the West Point Dam, for water storage and hydroelectric power generation. The reservoir stores water which can be released during dry seasons, in order to maintain the water level of the navigable inland waterway from Columbus, Georgia, south to the Gulf of Mexico.

During the late spring of 2003, there was a flood caused by extremely heavy rainfall and thunderstorms upstream of the West Point Dam; the weather caused the water level in the reservoir to come close to overflowing the top of the dam. There were allegations of poor forecasting by the Corps of Engineers of the reservoir's water levels. The flood water would have overflowed the dam had a large amount of water not been released through the spillway of the dam. Whereas this prevented the catastrophic failure of the West Point Dam, the city endured a flood much more severe than any other in the time since the dam had been built.

In the mid-19th century, the Atlanta & LaGrange Railroad was established and soon renamed the Atlanta & West Point Railroad, using the name of West Point; the city of East Point, Fulton County, Georgia, received its name for being at the northeastern end of this railroad line. The rail line linked metropolitan Atlanta with the lower reaches of the Chattahoochee River, with Columbus, and with Montgomery, Alabama, via the Montgomery & West Point Railroad.

Passenger service between Atlanta and Montgomery continued, on the "West Point Route", until approximately the beginning of the Amtrak era, or more than 100 years (circa 1855–circa 1970). The Montgomery-to-West Point rail line was completed in 1851, three years before the West Point-to-Atlanta segment. Rail operations were seriously disrupted during the Civil War (1861–65), as Southern rail lines were subject to Union Army attacks.

Toward the end of the war, West Point was the scene of the Battle of West Point (April 16, 1865, seven days after Lee's surrender at Appomattox).

Geography

West Point is located primarily in the southwest corner of Troup County, with a portion extending south into the northwest corner of Harris County. It is bordered to the northeast by the city of LaGrange, the Troup County seat. The city is bordered to the west by the Chattahoochee River, across which are the cities of Lanett and Valley, Alabama. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.11%, are water.

Interstate 85 runs northeast to southwest through the city, leading northeast to Atlanta and southwest to Montgomery, Alabama. Other highways that run through the city include U.S. Route 29, Georgia State Route 18, and Georgia State Route 103.

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, West Point had a population of 3,719. The median age was 37.8 years. 22.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.1% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 88.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.1 males age 18 and over.

86.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 14.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 1,421 households in West Point, including 970 families. Of all households, 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Married-couple households were 33.6% of households, while 19.7% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present and 40.5% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

Batson-Cook Construction was founded in West Point in 1913. It continues to be headquartered in West Point.

West Point Iron Works was founded in West Point three years after the Civil War ended. The company started off as a supplier of individual components, such as pulleys and gears, to nearby textile mills. In the 1930s the company was renamed West Point Foundry and Machine Co. In the 2000s, having been negatively impacted by imports (cloth) the company turned to SEETAC to seek assistance to use the firm's engineering and production expertise to provide products to the U.S. military. The firm also changed its name to West Point Industries to emphasize its broader client base. West Point now also makes component parts for manufacturers in a wide range of industries.

Education

Troup County High School and Long Cane Middle School, located in LaGrange, serve the children of West Point and the surrounding area.

Point University, formerly Atlanta Christian College, a private Christian university in East Point, moved their campus to West Point in 2012.

Notable people

Drew Ferguson, politician
Dorothy Kirby, professional golfer
Alex Moore, American football player
Joe Palmisano, baseball player
Ansley Truitt, basketball player

Gallery

File:West Point, Georgia City Hall.JPG|West Point City Hall

File:West Point, Georgia Post Office (31833).JPG|West Point Post Office (ZIP code: 31833)

File:Hawkes Children's Library of West Point, Georgia.JPG|Hawkes Children's Library of West Point was built in 1922 and added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 28, 1990.

File:West Point (Georgia) Freight Depot.JPG|West Point Freight Depot was built in 1887 and added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 24, 2005.

File:West Point Public School; West Point, Georgia.JPG|West Point Public School was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 1, 1999.

File:White Hall; West Point, GA.JPG|White Hall is a Greek Revival-style plantation home built in 1857 and added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 19, 1974.

File:Long Cane Historic District.JPG|Long Cane Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 24, 1976.

File:Westside Historic District; West Point, GA.jpg|Westside Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 11, 2011.

File:2021-03-15 West Point, GA - The Henry and Lura Miller House.jpg|The Henry and Lura Miller House was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 21, 2020.

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References

External links

Battle of West Point