West Point is a city in Troup and

Harris Harris may refer to: Places Canada * Harris, Ontario * Northland Pyrite Mine (also known as Harris Mine) * Harris, Saskatchewan * Rural Municipality of Harris No. 316, Saskatchewan Scotland * Harris, Outer Hebrides (sometimes called the Isle of ...

counties in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. It is located approximately halfway between Montgomery,

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

and

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

along

Interstate 85 Interstate 85 (I-85) is a major Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with I-65 in Montgomery, Alabama; its northern terminus is an interchange with I-95 in Petersburg, Virginia, ...

. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 3,474, and in 2015 the estimated population was 3,728. Most of the city is in Troup County, which is part of the LaGrange Micropolitan Statistical Area, and hence part of the

- Athens-Clarke County-

Sandy Springs Sandy Springs is a city in northern Fulton County, Georgia and an inner ring suburb of Atlanta. The city's population was 108,080 at the 2020 census, making it Georgia's seventh-largest city. It is the site of several corporate headquarters, i ...

, GA

Combined Statistical Area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...

. A sliver in the south is in Harris County, which is part of the Columbus

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

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 The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

to due south – for all practical purposes – and forms the boundary with

. The large nearby reservoir,

West Point Lake West Point Lake is a man-made reservoir located mostly in west-central Georgia on the Chattahoochee River and maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The Chattahoochee river flows in from the north, before flowing through the West ...

, 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 A body of water, such as a river, canal or lake, is navigable if it is deep, wide and calm enough for a water vessel (e.g. boats) to pass safely. Such a navigable water is called a ''waterway'', and is preferably with few obstructions against d ...

from

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...

, south to the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

. 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 A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure th ...

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 The Atlanta and West Point Rail Road was a railroad in the U.S. state of Georgia, forming the east portion of the Atlanta- Selma West Point Route. The company was chartered in 1847 as the Atlanta and LaGrange Rail Road and renamed in 1857; constr ...

, 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 Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

, 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 The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

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 A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

(1861–65), as Southern rail lines were subject to

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

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 United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the city has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.11%, are water.

runs northeast to southwest through the city, leading northeast to

and southwest to

. Other highways that run through the city include U.S. Route 29,

Georgia State Route 18 State Route 18 (SR 18) is a state highway that travels west-to-east through portions of Troup, Harris, Meriwether, Pike, Lamar, Monroe, Jones, Wilkinson, and Twiggs counties in the western and central parts of the U.S. state o ...

, and Georgia State Route 103.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, there were 3,719 people, 1,579 households, and 970 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,382 people, 1,354 households, and 931 families residing in the city. Its population density was . There were 1,515 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 40.60%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 57.84%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.03% Native American, 0.89% Asian, 0.15% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.50% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

or Latino of any race were 0.62% of the population. There were 1,354 households, out of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.7% were married couples living together, 26.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.2% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.07. 29.4% of the city's population were under the age of 18, 6.4% were from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $31,886, and the median income for a family was $37,797. Males had a median income of $32,271 versus $22,135 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,735. About 16.4% of families and 19.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.1% of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Kia Motors Kia Corporation, commonly known as Kia (, ; formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry and Kia Motors Corporation), is a South Korean multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is South Korea's second lar ...

opened an automobile factory in West Point in 2009. Since 2011, the West Point auto factory has been manufacturing models of the Kia Telluride,

Kia Sorento The Kia Sorento ( ko, 기아 쏘렌토, translit=Gia Sorento) is a mid-size crossover SUV (formerly a body-on-frame SUV until 2009) produced since 2002 by South Korean manufacturer Kia. First generation (BL; 2002) 2002–2006 Debuted i ...

, and

Kia K5 The Kia K5, formerly known as the Kia Optima, is a mid-size car manufactured by Kia since 2000 and marketed globally through various nameplates. First generation cars were mostly marketed as the Optima, although the Kia Magentis name was used in ...

. 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 Point University is a private evangelical Christian university in West Point, Georgia. It was founded in 1937 as Atlanta Christian College in East Point. The college announced its name change to Point University in 2011 and relocated its main ...

, 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 Ansley Hoover Truitt Jr. (August 24, 1950 – February 13, 2021) was an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Chaparrals in the American Basketball Association (ABA). Life and career He played one season with the Chaparrals from ...

, basketball player

2019 Kia Super Bowl advertisement

In 2019, automobile manufacturer Kia recorded a mini-documentary about West Point, titled
A Small Georgia Town
, about the declining textile-town that was revitalized by the construction of the motor plant. Kia also ran an ad about the town during the 2019 Super Bowl, titled
Give It Everything
. Kia has pledged the money that would have been spent endorsing a celebrity to pay for local students in need to attend college or a tech school. The ad received generally negative reviews from critics, claiming it is "generic" and "preachy", with Oxford Road stating "For once, just once, could an auto manufacturer please stop just talking in generic platitudes and substantiate one claim?", "It sounds like this poor young man was asked to read a script saying the car is made of, for, and by hopeless people."

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 The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

on December 28, 1990. File:West Point (Georgia) Freight Depot.JPG, West Point Freight Depot was built in 1887 and added to the

on February 24, 2005. File:West Point Public School; West Point, Georgia.JPG, West Point Public School was added to the

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

on August 19, 1974. File:Long Cane Historic District.JPG, Long Cane Historic District was added to the

on May 24, 1976. File:Westside Historic District; West Point, GA.jpg, Westside Historic District was added to the

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

on December 21, 2020.

References

External links

*
Battle of West Point
{{authority control Cities in Georgia (U.S. state) Columbus metropolitan area, Georgia Cities in Harris County, Georgia Cities in Troup County, Georgia Georgia populated places on the Chattahoochee River