Editing West Point, Virginia

{{about|a town in Virginia|the United States Military Academy|West Point, New York}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{More citations needed|date=July 2020}}{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = West Point, Virginia
|settlement_type          = [[Town]]

|motto                    =

<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = Sunday storefronts, West Point, Virginia.jpg
|imagesize                = 250px
|image_caption            = Storefronts in 2016
|image_flag               = 
|image_seal               =

<!-- Maps -->
|image_map                = VAMap-doton-WestPoint.PNG
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Location of West Point, Virginia
|image_map1               = 
|mapsize1                 = 
|map_caption1             =

<!-- Location -->
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[Virginia]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Virginia|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[King William County, Virginia|King William]]

<!-- Government -->
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = 
|leader_title             = Mayor
|leader_name              = Jack Lawson

|leader_title1            = 
|leader_name1             = 
|established_title        = 
|established_date         =

<!-- Area -->
|unit_pref  = Imperial
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2019">{{cite web|title=2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_place_51.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 7, 2020}}</ref>
|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_sq_mi         = 6.66
|area_land_sq_mi          = 5.05
|area_water_sq_mi         = 1.61

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2010 United States Census|2010]]
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_total         = 2,900
|population_density_sq_mi = 644.82

<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
|utc_offset               = -5
|timezone_DST             = EDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -4
|elevation_footnotes      = 
|elevation_ft             = 62
|coordinates              = {{coord|37|32|37|N|76|48|19|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 23181
|area_code                = [[Area code 804|804]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 51-84960<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2008-01-31|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref>
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 1500297<ref name="GR3">{{cite web|url=http://geonames.usgs.gov|access-date=2008-01-31|title=US Board on Geographic Names|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|date=2007-10-25}}</ref>
|website                  = {{URL|http://www.west-point.va.us/}}
|footnotes                = 
|pop_est_as_of = 2019
|pop_est_footnotes = <ref name="USCensusEst2019CenPopScriptOnlyDirtyFixDoNotUse"/>
|population_est = 3257
|area_total_km2 = 17.25
|area_land_km2 = 13.08
|area_water_km2 = 4.17
|population_density_km2 = 248.99
}}
[[File:Rock Tenn Paper Mills and Wood Co..jpg|thumb]]
'''West Point''' (formerly '''Delaware''') is an [[incorporated town]] in [[King William County, Virginia|King William County]], [[Virginia]], United States. The population was 3,414 at the 2020 census.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=west+point,+virginia&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P1 | title=Explore Census Data }}</ref>

==Geography==
West Point is located at {{coord|37|32|37|N|76|48|19|W|type:city}} (37.543733, −76.805366).<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2011-04-23|date=2011-02-12|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> The [[York River (Virginia)|York River]] is formed at West Point by the confluence of the [[Mattaponi River|Mattaponi]] and [[Pamunkey River|Pamunkey]] rivers; from there, it separates the [[Virginia Peninsula]] and [[Middle Peninsula]] regions of eastern Virginia as it flows approximately {{convert|40|mi|km|abbr=out|sigfig=|sp=us}} to the [[Chesapeake Bay]].

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|6.7|sqmi|km2|abbr=out|sigfig=|sp=us}}, of which, {{convert|5.2|sqmi|km2|abbr=out|sigfig=|sp=us}} of it is land and {{convert|1.5|sqmi|km2|abbr=out|sigfig=|sp=us}} of it (23.12%) is water.

Much of the downtown is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] as the [[West Point Historic District (West Point, Virginia)|West Point Historic District]].

== History ==
The current site of West Point was once the site of ''Cinquoteck'', a [[Native Americans of the United States|Native American]] village of the local [[Mattaponi]], an [[Algonquian languages|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, Virginia|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]].

By treaty, the colonial government established reservations for the Mattaponi and [[Pamunkey]] in this area. More than 350 years later, Pamunkey and Mattaponi tribal members continue to occupy the reservations, located a few miles north of modern-day West Point. Both are state-recognized tribes, which now number 11.

In 1655, [[Port Richmond West Plantation]], the home of [[John West (governor)|John West]], was developed to incorporate the former site of Cinquetock. West was a [[List of colonial governors of Virginia|Governor of Virginia]] from 1635 to 1637.

[[File:Residential area, West Point, Virginia.jpg|thumb|left|Houses in a residential section of West Point]]

After the West family sold off parts of the plantation, a settlement started at what became called West Point, which had access to the [[York River (Virginia)|York River]]. In 1691, the [[Virginia General Assembly]] directed that West Point be chartered as a [[port of entry]] on the York. In 1705 the [[House of Burgesses]] authorized the town to qualify as a "free borough", and renamed it "Delaware" in honor of former Royal Governor [[Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr]]. He was John West's elder brother, an early settler of Jamestown, and an earlier colonial governor.

When the [[Richmond and York River Railroad]] was built and completed in 1861 to the port community, just before the onset of the [[American Civil War]], the city took back its former name of "West Point". The railroad was a key strategic goal of [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] General [[George B. McClellan]]'s failed [[Peninsula Campaign]] in 1862 to capture [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]]. Massively damaged during the War, the railroad was later rebuilt. It became part of the [[Richmond and Danville Railroad]] system.

In 1870, West Point became an [[incorporated town]]. Linked to Richmond by rail, it became a major shipping point for passenger and freight traffic. It was especially convenient for travel to [[Baltimore, Maryland|Baltimore]] and points north via the York River and the [[Chesapeake Bay]]. Much of the Richmond and Danville Railroad (including the section between Richmond and West Point) became part of the [[Southern Railway (US)|Southern Railway]] in the 1890s during a financial reorganization.

Until the early 20th century, West Point was a thriving commercial port and [[resort]] destination. However, the port status declined with the completion of more railroads to the [[ocean]] harbor area of Hampton Roads, notably including the [[Chesapeake and Ohio Railway]] at [[Newport News, Virginia|Newport News]] and the [[Atlantic Coast Line Railroad]] at [[Portsmouth, Virginia|Portsmouth]]. Likewise, tourists began to frequent newer destinations closer to the ocean.

After the decline of both shipping and [[tourism]], a [[shipyard]] built in 1917 and a 1914 pulp paper mill are credited with bringing new jobs to the town. In the 1980s, the railroad was acquired by the [[Norfolk Southern Railway]] system in continued restructuring of the industry. It has continued to serve the town's paper mill into the early 21st century.

==Public schools==
West Point is one of two towns in Virginia to have a [[school division]] (terminology for a school district in Virginia) which is independent from the school division of the county in which it is located. (The other town with an independent school division is [[Colonial Beach]], located in [[Westmoreland County, Virginia|Westmoreland County]] in the [[Northern Neck]] region.)

The West Point school systems are consistently recognized among the top rated [[State school|public schools]] in the [[Commonwealth of Virginia]]{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}. West Point also sends students to [[Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies]].

==Climate==
{{Weather box
|location = West Point 2 NW, Virginia (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1954–present)
|single line = Y
|Jan record high F = 82
|Feb record high F = 83
|Mar record high F = 90
|Apr record high F = 97
|May record high F = 98
|Jun record high F = 104
|Jul record high F = 106
|Aug record high F = 104
|Sep record high F = 105
|Oct record high F = 98
|Nov record high F = 85
|Dec record high F = 83
|year record high F = 106
|Jan high F = 49.0
|Feb high F = 52.8
|Mar high F = 60.7
|Apr high F = 71.8
|May high F = 78.7
|Jun high F = 86.1
|Jul high F = 90.0
|Aug high F = 87.7
|Sep high F = 81.8
|Oct high F = 71.7
|Nov high F = 61.1
|Dec high F = 52.0
|year high F = 70.3
|Jan mean F = 38.7
|Feb mean F = 41.3
|Mar mean F = 48.5
|Apr mean F = 58.8
|May mean F = 67.0
|Jun mean F = 75.0
|Jul mean F = 79.2
|Aug mean F = 77.3
|Sep mean F = 71.2
|Oct mean F = 60.2
|Nov mean F = 49.8
|Dec mean F = 41.8
|year mean F = 59.1
|Jan low F = 28.4
|Feb low F = 29.9
|Mar low F = 36.3
|Apr low F = 45.7
|May low F = 55.3
|Jun low F = 63.9
|Jul low F = 68.4
|Aug low F = 66.8
|Sep low F = 60.6
|Oct low F = 48.7
|Nov low F = 38.4
|Dec low F = 31.7
|year low F = 47.8
|Jan record low F = −7
|Feb record low F = −1
|Mar record low F = 10
|Apr record low F = 24
|May record low F = 30
|Jun record low F = 38
|Jul record low F = 48
|Aug record low F = 45
|Sep record low F = 36
|Oct record low F = 19
|Nov record low F = 12
|Dec record low F = 0
|year record low F = -7
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 3.59
|Feb precipitation inch = 2.83
|Mar precipitation inch = 3.96
|Apr precipitation inch = 3.76
|May precipitation inch = 4.05
|Jun precipitation inch = 4.48
|Jul precipitation inch = 4.86
|Aug precipitation inch = 4.78
|Sep precipitation inch = 4.89
|Oct precipitation inch = 4.07
|Nov precipitation inch = 3.01
|Dec precipitation inch = 3.60
|year precipitation inch = 47.88
|Jan snow inch = 4.3
|Feb snow inch = 2.6
|Mar snow inch = 1.0
|Apr snow inch = 0.1
|May snow inch = 0.0
|Jun snow inch = 0.0
|Jul snow inch = 0.0
|Aug snow inch = 0.0
|Sep snow inch = 0.0
|Oct snow inch = 0.0
|Nov snow inch = 0.0
|Dec snow inch = 1.6
|year snow inch = 9.6
|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
|Jan precipitation days = 10.5
|Feb precipitation days = 9.8
|Mar precipitation days = 11.1
|Apr precipitation days = 10.8
|May precipitation days = 11.8
|Jun precipitation days = 11.0
|Jul precipitation days = 11.0
|Aug precipitation days = 10.1
|Sep precipitation days = 8.9
|Oct precipitation days = 8.5
|Nov precipitation days = 9.1
|Dec precipitation days = 10.6
|year precipitation days = 123.2
|unit snow days = 0.1 in
|Jan snow days = 2.1
|Feb snow days = 2.0
|Mar snow days = 1.0
|Apr snow days = 0.0
|May snow days = 0.0
|Jun snow days = 0.0
|Jul snow days = 0.0
|Aug snow days = 0.0
|Sep snow days = 0.0
|Oct snow days = 0.0
|Nov snow days = 0.0
|Dec snow days = 1.0
|year snow days = 6.1
| source 1 = [[NOAA]]<ref name= nws>
{{cite web
| url = https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=akq
| title = NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data
| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
| access-date = July 5, 2021}}</ref><ref name=NCEI>
{{cite web
| url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USC00449025&format=pdf
| title = Station: W PT 2 NW, VA
| work = U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020)
| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
| access-date = July 5, 2021}}</ref>
}}

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1880= 557
|1890= 2018
|1900= 1307
|1910= 1397
|1920= 1635
|1930= 1844
|1940= 1947
|1950= 1919
|1960= 1678
|1970= 2600
|1980= 2726
|1990= 2938
|2000= 2866
|2010= 3306
|estyear=2019
|estimate=3257
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2019CenPopScriptOnlyDirtyFixDoNotUse">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.2019.html|date=May 24, 2020|title=Population and Housing Unit Estimates|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=May 27, 2020}}</ref>
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 2,866 people, 1,068 households, and 809 families residing in the town. The [[population density]] was 559.2 people per square mile (215.7/km<sup>2</sup>). There were 1,151 housing units at an average density of 224.6 per square mile (86.6/km<sup>2</sup>). The racial makeup of the town was 80.32% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 16.92% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.45% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 1.05% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.35% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.91% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 1.74% of the population.

There were 1,068 households, out of which 35.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.6% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.2% were non-families. 21.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.0% under the age of 18, 5.2% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 89.2 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 87.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $49,655, and the median income for a family was $56,932. Males had a median income of $40,071 versus $24,702 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $23,232. About 1.7% of families and 2.8% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 2.9% of those under age 18 and 2.6% of those age 65 or over.

==Events==
Since 1983 the town holds the Crab Carnival annually during the first weekend of October.<ref name="west-point.va.us">{{Cite web  | title = West Point, VA &#124; Visitors | url = http://west-point.va.us/pages/Visitors/visitors.html | access-date = 10 November 2012 }}</ref> According to the Crab Carnival official website, it is a time for the community to celebrate the Town's history and keep a tradition continuing.<ref name="crabcarnival.com">{{Cite web  | title = Crab Carnival | url = http://crabcarnival.com/index.html | access-date = 10 November 2012 }}</ref>

==Education==
Residents are in the [[West Point Town Public Schools]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st51_va/schooldistrict_maps/c51101_king_william/DC20SD_C51101.pdf|title=2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: King William County, VA|publisher=[[U.S. Census Bureau]]|access-date=2024-09-27}} - [https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st51_va/schooldistrict_maps/c51101_king_william/DC20SD_C51101_SD2MS.txt Text list]</ref>

==Notable people==
* [[Chesty Puller|Lewis "Chesty" Puller]] (1898–1971) – One of the most highly decorated officers in the history of the [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marine Corps]].

==References==
<references />

==External links==
{{commons category|West Point, Virginia}}
* [http://www.west-point.va.us/ Town website]

{{King William County, Virginia}}
{{Virginia towns}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in King William County, Virginia]]
[[Category:1691 establishments in the Colony of Virginia]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1691]]