West Point (Seattle)

West Point (Lushootseed: paq̓ac̓aɬčuʔ) is the westernmost point in Seattle, Washington, United States, jutting into Puget Sound from the Magnolia neighborhood. It also marks the northern extent of Elliott Bay; a line drawn southeastward to Alki Point marks the western extent of the bay. At the point itself is the 1881 West Point Lighthouse, the first staffed light station on Puget Sound. Just to the east is the West Point Treatment Plant, and beyond that, Discovery Park, formerly the U.S. Army's Fort Lawton.

The original Lushootseed name for West Point, paq̓ac̓aɬčuʔ, means "brush spread over water." West Point was given its English name in 1841 by U.S. Navy lieutenant Charles Wilkes, commander of the United States Exploring Expedition.

In 1992, construction of an expansion to the sewage treatment plant unearthed archaeological remains of early Coast Salish peoples, including artifacts from 4,200 years ago.

Notes

External links

• U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: West Point
• West Point Lighthouse
• "West Point Treatment Plant". Wastewater Treatment Division. King County, Washington.
  • "West Point Treatment Plant". Wastewater Treatment Division. King County, Washington. Archived from the original on 1 May 2001.
• Archaeology of West Point