|
good water power. There are some valuable
mills for manufactures in the town, but the chief
business of the inhabitants is agricultural. The
soil is a gravelly loam, with an uneven surface.
60 miles S. W. from Hartford.
Weston, Me., Washington co. This town was
incorporated in 1835. It is the half township
granted to Hampden Academy. It lies a few
miles W. from Grand Lake. It is watered by
Baskahegan River, and is about 90 miles N. E.
from Bangor.
Weston, Ms., Middlesex co. Previous to its
incorporation, in 1713, the territory of this town
was a part of Watertown. The town was settled
about 1673. It is on high ground, and its surface
is varied by hills and valleys. The soil is good
and well improved. There are some small
streams in the town. Stony Brook and others,
and Charles River, wash its eastern border.
The Worcester Railroad passes its south-eastern
corner, and the Fitchburg Railroad goes through
the N. part of the town. 14 miles W. by S. from
Boston, and 9 S. S. E. from Concord.
Weston, Vt., Windsor co. West River passes
through this town, and on its banks are some
good lands and two pleasant villages. It was
set off from Andover in 1790, and organized as a
town in 1800. 66 miles S. by W. from Montpe-
lier, and 22 from Windsor.
West Penn, Pa., Schuylkill co. Watered by
Little Schuylkill River and Mahoning and Lizard
Creeks. Surface hilly, abounding with anthra-
cite coal; soil gravelly and unproductive. 79
miles N. E. from Harrisburg.
West Pennsboro1, Pa., Cumberland co. Bound-
ed N. by Conedogwinit Creek. Surface level;
soil calcareous loam. 8 miles W. from Carlisle.
West Pikeland, Pa., Chester co. Watered by
some branches of Schuylkill River, which afford
hydraulic power. Surface gently sloping; soil
sandy loam.
West Point, N. Y., Orange co., Cornwall town-
ship. Situated on the W. bank of the Hudson. 93
miles from Albany, and 52 N. from New York.
This is the site of one of the most important
fortresses during the revolutionary war, and is
now the seat of the United States Military
School, organized in 1802. During the war, this
post was emphatically the key of the country, as
it commanded the river, and prevented the Brit-
ish from holding communication with their prov-
inces in Canada. At this point, the hill, com-
posed of huge crags and blocks of stone, protrudes
to the middle of the river, impelling the current
towards the opposite bank, and reducing the chan-
nel to less than half a mile in breadth. This
natural formation was eminently favorable to the
object of the fortifications erected here. The
cliff selected for the fortress rises from the river
in 3 retreating terraces ; upon the third of which,
188 feet above the water, and spreading out into
a plain of more than a mile in circumference, old
Fort Clinton was erected. Upon some of the
eminences rising still higher in the rear, redoubts
were erected covering this fort; one of which
was Fort Putnam, at the height of 598 feet above
the river, the ruins of which are still seen. On
Constitution Island, which is a mass of rock, to-
wards the opposite side of the river, works of
strong defence were also constructed; and a
heavy chain, supported by buoys, was stretched
across the angle made by the river, forming an
effectual bar to the passage of the enemy's ships.
|
These works were constructed under the direc-
tion of the celebrated Kosciusco, as engineer ; to
whose memory a monument has been erected
about 30 rods E. of the hotel in the vicinity of
“ Kosciusco's Garden,'' a spot to which the :< Polish
chieftain was accustomed to retire for study and
reflection.''
These fortifications were defended by 4000
men. They were built in a single year, almost
without cost to the country. The French engi-
neers, superintending the execution of their own
plans to the minutest details, received no emolu-
ment, and the soldiers who labored at them had
no pay. The British had a strong desire to pos-
sess themselves of this important post; and its
surrender, as is well known, was to have been the
first fruit of Arnold's treason, which was provi-
dentially prevented by the detection of Major
Andre, and the discovery of the correspondence
in his possession.
These grounds, now occupied by the national
Military Academy, were ceded to the United
States government, by the state of New York,
in 1826. Here are erected, for the purposes of
this institution, two stone barracks, one 3 and
the other 4 stories high, with accommodations
for 250 cadets, the number authorized to be re-
ceived by law; also a large 3 story building, 275
feet long by 75 feet wide, for the recitation and
drawing rooms, for military exercises in winter,
and for a depository of apparatus, models, &c.
Besides these, there is a beautiful stone building,
2 stories high, 150 feet in length by 60 in width,
in the Gothic style of the period of Elizabeth,
designed for the library and philosophical appa-
ratus, with an astronomical observatory upon one
of the 3 towers with which the N. front is orna-
mented ; a chapel; a hospital; a mess hall; and
17 separate dwellings for the officers of the in-
stitution, with many other necessary buildings.
There is a spacious hotel, finely situated at the
brow of the hill, built of stone, surrounded with
a beautiful piazza for promenade, and command-
ing in front a full view of the plain and build-
ings of the academy, and in the rear a most en-
chanting prospect of the river and Highlands.
During the months of July and August, the ca-
dets leave their barracks, and encamp upon the
plain; and their time is devoted to a series of
drills and evolutions upon parade, which are
highly interesting to visitors. .
West Point, Ky., Hardin co. On the S. side
of the Ohio, just below the mouth of Salt River,
and 75 miles W. by S. from Frankfort.
Westport, Ct., Fairfield co. This pleasant
town was called Saugatuck, the name of a river
that passes through it, until 1835. It was taken
from the towns of Fairfield, Norwalk, and Weston.
Westport, Me., Lincoln co. This town is sur-
rounded by the waters of Sheepscot River and
Bay, and is bounded N. by Wiscasset, E. by
Edgecomb and Boothbay, and S. and W. by
Sheepscot's Bay and Georgetown. It is 29 miles
S. by E. from Augusta. Incorporated in 1828.
Westport, Ky., c. h. Oldham co.
Westport, Ms., Bristol co., lies near the en-
trance into Buzzard's Bay, on the N. side. It has
an excellent harbor near the sea, formed by
Horse Neck Beach, extending in front of a large
and handsome maritime village, called Westport
Point, situated between the E. and W. branches
of Acoakset River, which meet the tide waters
here, i This town was attached to Dartmouth | |
