The United States Military Academy (West Point) and grounds were declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960 and   due to the Revolutionary War history and the age and historic significance of the academy itself. The majority of the buildings in the central cadet area are historic.

The West Point Military Reservation, in Orange County, is mostly in Highlands Town. The majority of that area is in the West Point census-designated place, and portions extend into the Fort Montgomery CDP. Portions of the reservation extend into Woodbury and Cornwall Town.

Geography

West Point is located approximately north of New York City on the western bank of the Hudson River. The academy's geographic location and geologic formations have directly shaped its history, for example, there wouldn't be a military garrison at West Point were it not for the narrow "s-curve" in the river, creating a "west point" in the river that was incredibly important for controlling shipping traffic on the Hudson during colonial times. In addition to the narrow double-90-degree turns, the currents and winds were erratic and unpredictable, even making an unopposed navigation difficult. In addition to the strategic shape of the Hudson River, the Highlands rise up sharply from river level to at some places in the immediate area. The combination of the narrow river turns and the commanding high ground made this place the perfect location for the Continental Army to build its stronghold against British troop movement into upstate New York during the American Revolution. The Continental Army first occupied the relatively level plain and constructed Fort Clinton and supporting redoubts and batteries of artillery on prominent hills in the area and across the river on Constitution Island. Guests of cadets who visit Flirtation Walk can experience glimpses of the Revolutionary War era terrain as the shoreline along the river below the plain has not changed much in over 200 years. It wasn't until after the war that congress purchased the land upon where Fort Clinton stood. In 1790, Congress purchased an initial tract of from a Stephen Moore of North Carolina.Lange, p.3

For the first hundred years of the academy, ship-board traffic, then later rail-traffic, were the only ways to access West Point from New York City. In the years immediately following the Revolutionary War, the Hudson Highlands surrounding West Point were sparsely populated and often harbored "gangs of thieves".Forman pp. 2–3 An 1819 letter from superintendent Sylvanus Thayer complained to the Secretary War John C. Calhoun of the lawlessness of the local inhabitants in the highlands surrounding West Point.Lange, pp 1–2 As transportation technology improved and coal became the dominant source of energy consumption, the wildness of the highlands subsided and the hill people whose lives were linked to subsistence upon the forest began to disappear. By the turn of the century, the academy had begun to expand beyond the immediate reaches of the Plain and grew both south along the river and westward into the highlands.Lange, p. 2

History

The entire central post was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960, but none of the occupied structures on post date to the Revolutionary War period. The oldest surviving buildings are the residences of the Superintendent and the Commandant. Local legend states that one of the foundation walls of the Warner House on Constitution Island dates to the revolutionary war period, but that has never been verified through documentation. Through much of the first 150 years, progress superseded historical preservation as the norm at the academy and many of the most historically significant and grand structures of the "old academy" were demolished to make way for newer and more functionally modern structures.

Revolutionary war structures & sites

The garrison at West Point originally centered on Fort Clinton, the Great Chain, and the defenses built upon Constitution Island. Many of the revolutionary war fortifications still dot the more remote landscape of the academy grounds. Some have been nearly fully restored, such as Fort Putnam, while some have been partially restored, such as Redoubt 4, and some are almost completely reduced to little more than historical markers, such as Fort Clinton. Numerous redoubts were constructed in support of Fort Clinton. Those who survive to present day were fortunate to be in hard-to-reach places that did not impede in the expansion of the academy. Redoubts that are long since lost to time and progress included several in the vicinity of the Warner House on Constitution island, and two small outposts near the present day Lusk Reservoir housing area. In the academy's first one hundred years or so, there was little thought given to preserving these historical fortifications as the remains of Ft. Clinton fell into disrepair and were eventually demolished and some of the smaller redoubts were scavenged for their stone or razed to make room for other structures. One of the more notable remaining Revolutionary War sites is Kosciuszko's Garden, which sits on the east-facing cliff side about below present day Cullum Hall.Lange, p. 8 Immediately after the war's conclusion, Revolutionary War-era barracks and quarters served the academic mission of the fledgling academy. Records of these structures have been lost to time and a fire in 1838.

Historical academy structures of significance that no longer exist

In 1808, six years after the formal founding of the academy, Congress authorized the expansion of the Corps of Cadets from only a handful to nearly 300. Along with this increase in personnel came the funding to house them. The first formal set of barracks were constructed in 1815 and 1817 and were known as North and South Barracks. These structures housed the Corps of Cadets until they were replaced and demolished in the early 1850s. The main academic building, known simply as "the Academy", was also constructed in 1815. These three buildings are depicted in the 1828 painting by George Catlin to the left. On 19 February 1838, a fire destroyed the original academic building and most of the academy's records. The replacement of the original "academy", was constructed on the site of present-day Pershing Barracks in 1839 and remained in use until 1891. This academic building was three levels tall and multipurpose, with a large open floor plan on the ground floor that doubled as a riding hall during the winter months.Lange, p.12 In 1829, the West Point Hotel was built on the eastern edge of Trophy Point. The hotel would stand overlooking the Hudson River for a century until it was demolished in the early 1930s, several years after the construction of the Thayer Hotel. In 1841, superintendent Richard Delafield oversaw the construction of the old cadet library and observatory, which stood at the intersection of Cullum Road and Jefferson Place near present-day Cullum Hall and the second cadet library. That library stood on the southern edge of the Plain for 119 years before it was demolished in 1960. That library was built in the style known as Tudor Gothic and helped set the tone of future buildings on the edge of the plain. The offices of the Superintendent, Adjutant, Quartermaster, & Treasurer were in the library until the new Headquarters was built in 1870.Lange, p. 14 The old library's observatory had to be moved up the hill near Lusk Reservoir when a train tunnel was constructed under the Plain in 1880. The observatory stood at the top of the hill above the cadet chapel until it was closed and demolished in the 1950s. In 1851, Delafield oversaw a major overhaul in the barracks conditions with the construction of more modern barracks, built in the "division" style that is still prevalent in the older remaining barracks on post. These barracks, known as "Old Central Barracks" remained in use for over 100 years before being demolished in the 1960s. Today, only the 1st Division remains, standing as a monument in the cadet central area, preserved as "Nininger Hall", which houses the Cadet Honor Committee.Lange, p. 15 The "Old Cadet Mess Hall" was built on the site of the current Grant Hall in 1852 and served as the dining hall for the Corps of Cadets until it was replaced by Washington Hall and demolished in 1930 to make way for the current Grant Hall.Lange, p 16 In 1852, Delafield oversaw the construction of the Commandant's headquarter's building and cadet guardhouse on the site of present-day Bradley Barracks. This building helped encircle the cadet "central area", which is similar to the courtyard known in present-day as "Central Area". The Commandant's office was demolished in 1920.Lange, p.16 The Commandant's offices are on the 4th floor of Washington Hall overlooking the Plain. On the site of present-day Thayer Hall, on the lower rises of the cliffs along the Hudson, the Old Riding Hall was constructed beginning in 1855. The structure was known as the largest equestrian riding hall in the US during its day.Lange, p.17 This hall stood on the cliff below the Plain until being demolished for a new riding hall in 1908.Miller, p.54 In 1870, the new academy headquarters building was constructed on the site of present-day Taylor Hall. Meant to house the Superintendent and other academy leadership and staff, this building was too small and inadequate shortly after construction and it was demolished shortly after 1900 to make way for the construction of Taylor Hall.Lange, p.19 A cadet hospital was constructed in 1884 on the site of present-day Lee Barracks. In 1923, a new wing of the hospital was built, which now houses the Office of Admissions. The main hospital building was demolished in 1960 to make way for Lee Barracks.Lange, p.20 In the late 1880s Richard Morris Hunt was contracted to design several buildings. The first was a gymnasium, begun in 1891 in a Romanesque Revival design with two large towers flanking a grand arched entrance. The gymnasium was opened in 1893 and used until the early 1920s, when it was demolished to make way for the new mess hall, Washington Hall.Lange, p. 22

Structures from the 19th century still in use in the academic area