United- States Military Academy HABS No. NY-5708 ■(West Point) On the. western side of the Hudson River in Orange • County, between the towns of Cornwall to the north and Highland Falls to the south West Point Orange County ^-VVo New York PHOTOGRAPHS WRITTEN HISTORICAL AM) DESCRIPTIVE DATA # Historic American Buildings Survey National Park Service Department of the Interior Washington, DC 20013-7127 HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY HABS No. NY-5708 (WEST POINT) Location: On the western side of the Hudson River in Orange County, New York, between the towns of Cornwall to the north and Highland Falls to the south. Present Owner: U.S. Army, Department of Defense. Present Occupant And Use : United States Military Academy. Significance: The United States Military Academy at West Point was established by an Act of Congress on March 16, 1802. Prior to that Act, West Point served as an important defensive fortification since the time of the Revolutionary War. A National Historic Landmark district since I960, the United States Military Academy possesses great historical and architectural importance. The oldest U.S. military post in continuous use, West Point trained many of this country's most prominent military figures, as well as many of the civil engineers who designed and built the networks of railroad, canal and port facilities which were essential to the exploitation of America's resources during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Individually, many of the buildings at West Point possess significance as having been designed over a period of time by a number of America's most prominent architects. As a whole, the overall design of West Point reflects the successful blending of collegiate and martial architectural styles, all of which is in harmony with the dramatic natural environment of this part of the Hudson River Valley. United States Military Academy (West Point) HABS No. NY-5708 (Page 2) WEST POINT An Overview of the History and Development of the United States Military Academy Robie S. Lange Historic American Buildings Survey National Park Service 1984 United States Military Academy (West Point) HABS No. NY-5708 (Page 3) CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS , . . 1 i LIST OP ILLUSTRATIONS iv INTRODUCTION X HISTORIC LAND USE AND ACQUISITION 1 The Growth of West Point 3 ACADEMIC AREA ......... .. , 6 West Point in Infancy .....7 The Delafield Influence 13 Post Civil War , ...17 Architectural Experimentation 20 The 1903 Architectural Competition......... 25 Continued Expansion , 32 Conclus ion , , 37 CLOSE-IN HISTORIC AREAS 39 Cemetery 39 Early Enlisted Men1 s Area. 44 Early Transportation Area , 48 Buffalo Soldiers Field.... 51 South End Officers' Quarters .....54 Lower Washington Road ....... 56 Post Services Area , .58 Lusk Area Officers' Quarters 66 Merritt Road Non-Commissioned Officers' Family Quarters 68 Bailey Loop Non-Commissioned Officers' Family Quarters 68 Lee Gate Area Officers' Family Quarters .69 Fort Putnam 70 OUTLYING AREAS 72 Constitution Island 72 Round Pond 76 Stewart Field. 78 Cragston Dairy Farm 79 Camp Buckner. 81 Prisoner of War Camp/Camp Natural Bridge 82 Bull Pond 85 Lake Frederick 85 Queensboro Furnace 86 Leone Tract 86 Lady Cliff 87 CONCLUSION 90 FOOTNOTES 92 BIBLIOGRAPHIC ESSAY 98 United States Military Academy (West Point) HABS No. NY-5708 (Page 4) • United States Military Academy (West Point) HABS No. NY-5708 (Page 5) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS During the period of time in which this report was prepared, numerous individuals and offices provided assistance which contributed to its completion. The United States Military Academy Facilities Engineering Office, in particular the Energy and Environmental Office and the Real Estate Office, provided the necessary records pertaining to the dimensions, materials, and date of construction or acquisition of existing buildings. This "hard data" was necessary to begin the historic structures inventory, which became a valuable reference tool throughout this project. The great majority of research was performed at the USMA Library, in the Special Collections Branch, under the direction of Robert Schnare, and the USMA Archives Branch, under the direction of Dr. Edward Cass. The specific focus of these collections, and the enthusiastic assistance given by their staffs, Marie Capps in particular, makes the USMA Library the single most important repository for records pertaining to all facets of West Point's history. Without the support and encouragement of the staff of these two branches, this research would have been far less fruitful and certainly less enjoyable. In addition to USMA personnel, important contributions were made by several individuals working for the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) of the National Park Service. Libby Baylies Burns and Katherin Grandine rapidly assembled the structures inventory of the entire Academy during the waning weeks of the summer of 1981. The other contractors on the West Point Study included Bethanie Grashof (architect), and Travis McDonald (architectural historian). United States Military Academy (West Point) HABS No. NY-5708 (Page 6) During various parts of the fall, winter, and spring of 1981/82, these colleagues offered theories, criticism, and assistance which contributed greatly to this report. The entire West Point study was developed and completed under the direction of Sally Kress Tompkins, of HABS/HAER, who served as Project Director of the West Point Historic Structures Survey. Important comments and suggestions were received from HABS architectural historians, S- Allen Chambers and Alison K. Hoagland. Editorial assistance was provided by Druscilla J. Null. Finally, appreciation must go to Francis Ward, Connie Booth and Myra Jackson for their clerical support. United States Military Academy (West Point) HABS No. NY-5708 (Page 7) List of Illustrations Cover Old Cadet Barracks and new Chapel, as seen from sallyport of Pershing Barracks, ca. 1930 Title Page Rear of old Library, as seen from old Headquarters Building, ca. 1880 1. Area map of United States Military Academy, 1978. 2. Area map of United States Military Academy, ca. 1830. 3. Illustration showing the Plain and Camptown, ca. 1830. 4. Map of the Plain, 1863. 5. Area map of West Point, 1883. 6. Aerial view of West Point, 1948. 7. Location map showing Academic Area. 8. Fort Clinton, ca. 1886. 9. Execution Hollow, ca. 1900-. 10. Illustration of Academic Area, showing early buildings, ca. 1828. 11. Superintendent Sylvanus Thayer, 1817-1833. 12. Superintendent's Quarters, ca. 1870. 13. Officers housing located south of Superintendent's Quarters, ca. 1880, 14. Gridley's Tavern, ca. 1870. 15. Kosciusko's Monument, ca. 1864. 16. The old West Point Hotel, ca. 1861. 17. Cadet summer camp on the Plain, ca. 1877. 18. Cadets with guests on the Plain, 1890. 19. Engineering training on the Plain, ca. 1881. 20. The old Cadet Hospital, ca. 1870. 21. A drawing of the old Academy, ca. 1830. 22. The old Academic Building, ca. 1870. United States Military Academy (West Point) HABS No. NY-5708 (Page 8) 23. Drawing class in the old Academic Building, ca. 1880. 24. Superintendent Richard Delafield, 1838-1845, 1856-1861, 1861. 25. Ordnance Compound, ca. 1870. 26. A captured "Armstrong" gun in the Ordnance* Compound, ca. 1870. 27. An illustration of the old Library, ca. 1841. 28. An interior view of the old Library, ca. 1925. 29. Proposed Cadet Barracks designed by Isaiah Rogers, 1840. 30. Proposed Cadet Barracks designed by F. Diaper, 1840. 31. The Academic Building and the Cadet Barracks, ca. 1861. 32. Interior of Cadet Barracks room, ca. 1877. 33. An illustration of the southern end of the Plain, showing the Library, the Chapel, the Academic Building, and the Barracks, ca. 1855. 34. The Mess Hall, ca. 1865. 35. Interior, Mess Hall, ca. 1890. 36. Interior, Mess Hall Bakery, ca. 1900. 37. The Commandant's office in the Area, ca. 1913. 38. A cadet fire detail, ca. 1860. 39. The old Riding Hall, as seen from the South Dock, ca. 1866. 40. An illustration of the Academic Area, ca. 1860. 41. Steam Heating Plant and Commandant's office in the Area, ca. 1870. 42. Sedgwick Monument, ca. 1938. 43. The old Headquarters Building, ca. 1878. 44. Cadet Quartermaster Department, ca. 1885. 45. Interior, Cadet Quartermaster Department sales counter, ca. 1900. 46. Interior, Cadet Quartermaster Department tailor shop, ca. 1890. 47. Quarters 109 along Professors Row, ca. 1875. 48. Schoolhouse for officers' children, ca. 1870. 49. Cadet Hospital, ca. 1920. United States Military Academ) (West Point) HABS No. NY-5708 (Page 9) 50. Interior, Cadet Hospital ward room, ca. 1890. 51. Interior, Cadet Hospital operating room, ca. 1890. 52. The Area and the new Academic Building designed by Richard Morris Hunt, ca. 1902. 53. The Academic Area, seen from Fort Putnam, ca. 1880. 54. The demolition of the old Academic Building 1891. 55. The Gymnasium and Fencing Academy designed by Richard Morris Hunt, ca. 1900. 56. The original statue atop the Battle Monument, 1894. 57. The Battle Monument, 1951. 58. An aerial view of the Academic Area at the beginning of the work done by Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson, ca. 1907. 59. Interior, the new Riding Hall, ca. 1914. 60. The "New West Point,'1 as seen from the eastern shore of the Hudson River, ca. 1911. 61. The new Headquarters Building, ca. 1935. 62. The Cadet Chapel as seen from the Academic Building sallyport, ca. 1930. 63. The Mess Hall, North Barracks, Chapel, and Observatory, seen from Trophy Point, ca. 1935. 64. North Barracks, ca. 1938. 65. Cadet Guardhouse, ca. 1930. 66. New Cadet Hospital under construction, 1921. 67. New Cadet Hospital, ca. 1930. 68. Cadet Mess Hall, ca. 1938. 69. Aerial view of West Point, looking north, 1933. 70. Aerail view of West Point, looking south, 1933. 71. Scott Barracks, ca. 1938. 72. Location map showing Cemetery. 73. Reconstruction of Cadet Chapel in Cemetery, 1910. 74. Original Groundskeeper*s cottage, ca. 1875.