West Point also was the site of General Benedict Arnold's failed attempt at treason during the Revolutionary War.

West Point was first occupied by the United States Armed Forces in January 1778 by Brigadier General Samuel Holden Parsons.

It comprises 25.1 sq mi (65 km2) land and water including the campus of the United States Military Academy, which is commonly referred to as "West Point".

[3] Thus it was completed under Polish Colonel Tadeusz Kościuszko between 1778–1780; it was a key defensive fortification, overlooking the turn in the Hudson River and the Great Chain.

[5] On January 27, 1778, Brigadier General Samuel Holden Parsons and his brigade, including elements of Connecticut Colony's patriot militia, crossed an iced over Hudson River and climbed to the plain on West Point.

[3] In 1778, Major General Israel Putnam wrote, "The place agreed upon to obstruct the navigation of Hudson river was at West Point."

[8]: 53, 55 West Point was staffed by a small garrison of Continental Army Soldiers from early in 1776 through the end of the war.

[9] The site comprised multiple redoubts, as well as Fort Putnam, situated on a high hill overlooking the river.

Named after its builder, Revolutionary War General and engineer Rufus Putnam, the fort is still preserved in its original design.

[10][11] Parliament sent instructions to General Sir Henry Clinton to force George Washington out of West Point.

Arnold then intentionally started weakening the fort's defenses, and through a letter sent to Clinton, proposing a meeting with British Major John André to discuss information on West Point.

After the conclusion of the American Revolution, West Point was used as a storage facility for cannon and other military property used by the Continental Army[16] and until November 28, 1779, was used as the temporary headquarters to George Washington, who called it "the most important Post in America" in 1781.

Viewing a standing army as "dangerous", Congress demobilized American forces but left fewer than a hundred men at West Point.

Running through the lower portion of the town is U.S. Route 6, combined with the upper extent of the Palisades Interstate Parkway.

[51] The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) maintains elementary and middle schools for children of military personnel on-post at USMA,[52] but sends high school aged students who are dependents of on-base military personnel to O'Neill.