The West Point Blockhouse and its battery were built by the people of St. Andrews at the outbreak of the War of 1812-14 in anticipation of a seaborne attack from the United States. Together with other defensive positions, they were occupied throughout the war by local militia and British regulars. Afterward, the blockhouse was used as a barracks and storehouse, and it survives as one of the few remaining examples in Canada of a defensive structure that was once common.