South of Louisville, on Hwy 31W (known to the locals as Dixie Hwy), lies the town of West Point. From the highway, it doesn't appear to be anything but a few buildings & an old Hotel but if you take the time to drive through the town you will be amazed at the history documented on every street.West Point is one of the oldest towns in Kentucky. The first settlers arrived at the mouth of the Salt river in 1776 where it meets the Ohio River, but for the first 20 years the settlers were time and again driven back to the more populated area of Southeastern Kentucky by Indian attacks.
In 1776, following the peace treaties signed between the Kentuckians and the Northwestern Indian tribes at Greenville, Ohio, the area became open for permanent settlement, and the town of West Point was officially established. The town was named West Point because at that time it was the western-most outpost of English civilization as
you came down the Ohio River.
The town was founded by James Young, a young Virginian. Today there is a river walk along the banks of the Ohio River named in honor of James, as well as the bridge that carries the U.S. 31W highway traffic across the Salt River. In its early years, long before the airplane, railroads, or superhighways, West Point became the river post for practically all the commerce coming into and leaving a large portion of Kentucky, from here to the Tennessee border. Large warehouses were build on West Point's riverfront where merchants and farmers would store their merchandise awaiting flatboat and later steamboat transportation.
When Lewis and Clark made their historic journey from Clarksville, Indiana to the Pacific Ocean, three of the men were residents of West Point and the surranding area.
West Point has a rich military history also. When the Civil War broke out, the Union Army invaded kentucky and erected a fortification on the hilltop overlooking West Point. Work began early november 1861. It was named Fort Duffield and its purpose was to protect Louisville from attack by Confederate forces as well as to defend the huge supply base at West Point.West Point is home to one of the few remaining Rosenwald Schools which are historically significant as reminders of the contributions of Julius Rosenwald, Booker T. Washington, and the Tuskegee Institute to rural African American education in Kentucky and 14 other southern states
This building was used as a military hospital during the Civil War and is reported to be haunted.West Point is a town well worth the time it takes to visit. If you can visit on the weekend, the Star Restaurant in the old hotel is open for lunch and dinner and the hotel itself is an amazing walk into history. I have personally ate there many times and have felt the spirit energy in the hotel. I have not had the opportunity to take pictures inside the hotel as yet but hopefully when some of my SPIRIT friends visit me from Florida, we can arrange an investigation.
