West Point, Georgia

West Point, Georgia
Town

The West Point Commercial Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 1, 2006.

Location in Troup County and Georgia
Coordinates: 32°52′35″N 85°10′26″W / 32.87639°N 85.17389°W / 32.87639; -85.17389Coordinates: 32°52′35″N 85°10′26″W / 32.87639°N 85.17389°W / 32.87639; -85.17389
Country United States
State Georgia
Counties Troup County, Georgia and Harris County, Georgia
Area
 • Total 4.5 sq mi (11.8 km2)
 • Land 4.4 sq mi (11.5 km2)
 • Water 0.1 sq mi (0.3 km2)
Elevation 568 ft (173 m)
Population (2000)
 • Total 3,382
 • Density 751.6/sq mi (286.6/km2)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 31833
Area code(s) Area code 706
FIPS code 13-82132[1]
GNIS feature ID 0333394[2]
Website www.cityofwestpointga.com

West Point is a town in Troup County, with a small tail of the south end of town in Harris County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, this town had a total population of 3,382 people. The very small portion of this town in Harris County is part of the Columbus, Georgia Metropolitan Area, whereas the portion of the town in Troup County is part of the LaGrange, Georgia area.

History

This town'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. 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 not emergency measures been taken; i.e., a large amount of water was released though the spillway of the dam. Whereas this prevented the catastrophic failure of the West Point Dam, the town of West Point 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; and the town 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.

Geography

West Point is located at 32°52′35″N 85°10′26″W / 32.87639°N 85.17389°W / 32.87639; -85.17389 (32.876452, −85.173848).[3] According to the United States Census Bureau, this town has a total area of 4.6 square miles (12 km2), of which 4.4 square miles (11 km2) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) (2.86%) is water. The city is located on the Alabama state line and Interstate 85, which runs northeast to southwest through the city, leading northeast 76 mi (122 km) to Atlanta and southwest 74 mi (119 km) to Montgomery, Alabama. Other highways that run through the city include U.S. Route 29, Georgia State Route 18, and Georgia State Route 103.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
18701,405—
18801,178−16.2%
18901,2546.5%
19001,79743.3%
19101,9066.1%
19202,13812.2%
19302,1450.3%
19403,59167.4%
19504,07613.5%
19604,61013.1%
19704,232−8.2%
19804,3051.7%
19903,571−17.0%
20003,382−5.3%
20103,4742.7%
Est. 20153,728[4]7.3%
U.S. Decennial Census[5]

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 3,382 people, 1,354 households, and 931 families residing in this town. Its population density was 764.3 people per square mile (294.8/km²). There were 1,515 housing units at an average density of 342.4 per square mile (132.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 40.60% White, 57.84% African American, 0.03% Native American, 0.89% Asian, 0.15% from other races, and 0.50% from two or more races. Hispanic 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.

In this town, the population was distributed with 29.4% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who 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 this town 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 announced that an automobile factory would open in West Point in 2010. Since 2011, the West Point auto factory has been manufacturing models of the Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorento, and Kia Optima.[6]

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

Education

The Troup County High School and the Long Cane Middle School are both located in LaGrange, and they 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.[7]

Notable people

References

  1. 1 2 "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  2. ↑ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  3. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  4. ↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015". Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  6. ↑ http://www.autoweek.com/article/20100831/CARNEWS/100839981
  7. ↑ Staff (February 3, 2011). "Christian college to open at West Point". WBRC. Retrieved July 3, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Two candidates vying for Congressman Westmoreland's seat". WRBL. January 26, 2016. Retrieved January 27, 2016.

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