Integrity Food Group

07/26/2025

Integrity Food Group, West Point Chamber of Commerce and Town of West Point have been working on this project with Michael Rosato for 6 months or more but it is so cool to see it come together this weekend. Michael and his wife have been on that lift all day in the heat installing his beautiful rendition of our town history. Come downtown tomorrow and see history in the making!

07/24/2025

Hard to imagine a day where there was a ferris wheel downtown!

🎠✨ Peer Into West Point’s Heritage – Final Week: 14 ✨🎢

What if we told you that more than a century ago, the sounds of laughter, calliope music, and the whoosh of roller coaster tracks filled the air—right here in West Point?

It’s true. In the early 1900s, West Point was home to a seaside-style boardwalk that stretched along the river and featured a roller coaster and nearby carousel. Families came from far and wide to enjoy this riverside retreat. Summer weekends buzzed with joy as children rode painted horses in circles and thrill-seekers soared along wooden tracks.

The riverfront wasn’t just entertainment—it was a gathering space. A place where the community and guests came together to enjoy life. Though these attractions eventually faded into history, the spirit of joy and togetherness they inspired still ripples through West Point today.

And now, as our virtual heritage journey concludes, we look back at all the stories that brought us here:

🏫 The red-brick schoolhouses that prepared generations for the world.

🚂 The rumble of trains that shaped industry and connection.

⚓ The lifeblood of the rivers that provided for and nourished families then and now.

🫶 The watermen, influential leaders, and Native Americans that shaped not only our history, but that of the entire nation.

Together, these stories form a living tapestry—woven from memory, pride, and place. It’s a tapestry that celebrates everything we LOVE about West Point: our past, our resilience, and the vibrant heart that beats through every generation.

And now, that tapestry is taking physical form.

Our town’s first-ever mural is being installed at 621 Main Street on July 25, 2025—a bold and beautiful tribute to the heritage we’ve shared over the last 14 weeks. This mural will stand as a colorful reminder that while time marches on, West Point remembers. And more importantly—West Point celebrates.

This final heritage moment, and our Heritage Mural, is proudly brought to you by Integrity Food Group, the West Point Chamber of Commerce, and the Town of West Point. Take the entire journey at west-point.va.us/heritage or westpointvachamber.com/s/stories.

📸 credit: Michael Rosato, Muralist, michaelrosato.com/

07/12/2025

🦀✨ Peer Into West Point’s Heritage – Week 12 ✨🦪

This week, we honor the watermen of West Point—oystermen and crabbers who once made a living from the very rivers that define our town.

Before the days of modern seafood distribution, West Point’s working waterfront bustled with wooden deadrise boats and crews who knew the tides like the back of their hands. From spring through fall, the docks along Lee Street echoed with the clatter of crab pots, the scrape of oyster tongs, and the rhythm of river life.

These were hardworking men—many of them local, some the sons and grandsons of earlier watermen—who built a living on the Mattaponi and Pamunkey. They rose before the sun, hauled in their catch, and brought it ashore to be sorted, packed, and shipped out by train or steamboat. Oysters were pulled from the muddy flats just downstream, and blue crabs filled the culling tables in town, destined for markets across the region.

Women often played a role too—shucking oysters in sheds behind the homes on Main Street or helping manage the day’s haul when the men returned to shore. It was a family trade, built on grit, skill, and the rhythms of the water.

And while much has changed, not all has disappeared—if you're up early, you can still see deadrise boats and crabbing rigs headed out at dawn, tracing familiar routes along the Mattaponi, Pamunkey, and York Rivers, carrying on a tradition that’s as old as the town itself.

📍 To connect with this part of our past, take a quiet stroll along the Riverwalk or visit the Historical Society at 709 Main Street. Their archives include photos, tools, and stories that bring the life of West Point’s watermen into sharp focus.

This heritage moment is proudly brought to you by Integrity Food Group, the West Point Chamber of Commerce, and the Town of West Point. Discover more local stories at west-point.va.us/heritage or westpointvachamber.com/s/stories!

📸 credit: Historical Society of West Point

06/28/2025

🏫✨ Peer Into West Point’s Heritage – Week 10 ✨🏫

This week, we ring the bell on a chapter many longtime West Pointers still cherish: the former West Point First Public School — the proud two-story brick landmark that once stood on the site of the shopping center at 13th & Main Streets. Built around 1890, this sturdy red-brick school served local students for over 80 years, closing its doors in 1971. Long before modern classrooms rose in town, this building was a hub of learning, laughter, and lasting memories for generations of children growing up along the Mattaponi and Pamunkey Rivers.

Inside, chalkboards and wooden desks lined bright rooms that bustled with reading lessons and spelling bees. But ask any alum what they remember best, and you’ll hear about the slide.

Not a playground slide — but the iconic exterior fire escape that snaked down from the second floor straight to the ground! On warm afternoons, it doubled as the town’s most thrilling “ride” (despite the watchful eyes of watchful teachers and the occasional scraped knee). Many still grin recalling daring escapes down the shiny metal chute and the squeals that echoed down Main Street.

Nearby, the town’s commitment to education grew alongside this landmark. Just blocks away, the Beverly Allen School, built in the 1930s, served West Point’s Black students before schools were integrated — both buildings standing as reminders of an era of change and resilience in public education.

Though the old public school building is long gone, its legacy lives on in faded class photos, reunion stories, and the footsteps that follow the town’s self-guided walking tour today.

📍 Want to peek into this chapter of West Point’s story? Visit the Historical Society of West Point on Facebook or in-person at 709 Main Street, or explore the marker near 12th & Lee Streets to imagine the bell ringing and the laughter on that unforgettable slide.

This heritage moment is proudly brought to you by Integrity Food Group, the West Point Chamber of Commerce, and the Town of West Point. Catch up on more local stories at west-point.va.us/heritage or westpointvachamber.com/s/stories!

📸 credit: Historical Society of West Point

06/13/2025

📜✨ Peer Into West Point’s Heritage – Week 8 ✨📜

This week, we journey deeper into the land beneath our feet to honor the first stewards of this region—the Native American tribes whose legacy still shapes West Point today.

Long before West Point was incorporated as a town, it was home to vibrant Indigenous communities whose cultures, traditions, and governance flourished along the rivers and woodlands of what is now King William County. This area is one of the most historically rich Native homelands in the Commonwealth, and it remains the heartland of three recognized tribes: the Mattaponi Indian Tribe & Reservation, The Upper Mattaponi Tribe, and Pamunkey Indian Tribe & Reservation.

In fact, the very land where West Point now stands was once the site of Cinquoteck, a Mattaponi village belonging to the Powhatan Confederacy. The Mattaponi are part of a network of Algonquian-speaking peoples who lived in harmony with the region’s waterways, forests, and ecosystems for centuries before European contact.

The Pamunkey and Mattaponi Tribes trace their ancestry back thousands of years and played key roles in the Powhatan Confederacy, a powerful alliance of tribes in the 17th century. The Pamunkey Indian Reservation—established in the 1600s through treaties with the British Crown—is one of the oldest in the United States and lies just a few miles from modern-day West Point. The Mattaponi Indian Reservation, located along the Mattaponi River, is likewise among the oldest continuously inhabited reservations in the country.

The Upper Mattaponi Tribe, headquartered in nearby King William, has also preserved its traditions while adapting through generations of challenges, from displacement to discrimination. Their historic Indian View Baptist Church and Sharon Indian School stand as pillars of cultural identity and resilience.

Though the land has changed hands and names, the legacy of these tribes endures in every bend of the river and every forested ridge. Their stories are not relics of the past—they are living traditions, passed down through families and ceremonies, language, and land.

📍 Visit the Pamunkey Indian Museum and Cultural Center Museum & Cultural Center (when it reopens in 2026) to explore centuries of tribal history, crafts, and knowledge.
📍 Attend cultural events like Pow Wows hosted by the The Upper Mattaponi to experience living traditions firsthand: visitwestpointkingwilliam.com/events.
📍 Learn more about the tribes and their role in Virginia’s history: virginiahistory.org/topics/american-indian-history

This series is proudly brought to you by Integrity Food Group, the West Point Chamber of Commerce, and the Town of West Point. To catch up on our weekly stories, visit west-point.va.us/heritage or westpointvachamber.com/s/stories!

📸 Photo credit: Historical Society of West Point