A history of West Point,
since 1789
Postcards, papers and photographs of West Point from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead 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
built from the dates on the items belowFinish West Point’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewFort Duffield, 1861: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from West Point
See all 2 →
West Point, decade by decade
1990s
8 historic places in West Point
West Point has 8 listings on the National Register, and they protect 82 historic buildings, because West Point Historic District alone counts 75.
Where they are
Architectural styles
When they were listed
Listed 1978James Young House and Inn
Listed 1994Fort DuffieldListed 1988Abraham Ditto HouseListed 1988Applegate-Fisher HouseListed 1988Ditto-Prewitt HouseListed 1988Kentucky and Indiana BankListed 1988West Point HotelListed 1996West Point Historic DistrictThen & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Fort Duffield (1861) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (2), the Library of Congress (3) and the National Register (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.