West Point, Georgia
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| West Point, Georgia | |
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| — Town — | |
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| Coordinates: 32°52′35″N 85°10′26″W / 32.87639°N 85.17389°WCoordinates: 32°52′35″N 85°10′26″W / 32.87639°N 85.17389°W | |
| Country | United States |
| States of the United States | 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 just 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.
This town's present name comes from its being near the western-most point of the Chattahoochee River, where the river turns from its southwesterly flow from the Appalachian Mountain's towards the due south - for all practical purposes - and forms the boundary with Alabama. The large nearby reservoir, Lake West Point, was created by the Army Corps of Engineers by the building of the West Point Dam for water storage and hydroelectric power generation. Lake West Point stores water to be released during dry seasons to help maintain the water level of the navigable inland waterway from Columbus, Ga. 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 which caused the water level in the reservoir to come close to overflowing the top of the dam. There were allegations of poor forecasting of the water levels in the reservoir by the Corps of Engineers. The flood water would have overflowed the dam had not emergency measures been taken: the release of a large amount of water though the spillway of the dam. Whereas this release avoided the catastrophic failure of the dam, the town of West Point endured a flood much more severe than any other in the time since the West Point Dam had been built. However, West Point was spared from a catastrophe.
The Atlanta & LaGrange Railroad was renamed the Atlanta & West Point Railroad, using the name of West Point, and the town of East Point, Fulton County, Ga., received its name so for being at the northeastern end of this railroad line. This railroad linked Metropolitan Atlanta with the lower reaches of the Chattanooga River, with Columbus, and thence with Montgomery, Alabama.
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[edit] Economy
The Kia Motors corporation of South Korea announced that an automobile factory would open in West Point in 2010. Elise Zeiger of the Cable News Network stated that before this announcement, West Point had become economically devastated, and it was "on the road to becoming a ghost town."[3]
[edit] Geography
West Point is located at 32°52′35″N 85°10′26″W / 32.87639°N 85.17389°W (32.876452, -85.173848)[4].
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) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) of it (2.86%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
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.
[edit] Education
The Troup County High School and the Long Cane Middle School are both located in LaGrange, Ga., 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, Georgia is moving their campus to West Point in 2012.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ Zeiger, Elise. "Town hits economic jackpot to become 'Kia-ville'". CNN, July 9, 2009. Retrieved on July 9, 2009.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- ^ Staff (February 3, 2011). "Christian college to open at West Point". WBRC. http://www.myfoxal.com/story/13962348/christian-university-to-relocated-to-west-point?redirected=true. Retrieved July 3, 2011.
[edit] External links
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