Битва при Пойнт-Плезанте и история поселения: от войны Данмора до обретения статуса города.

In the Battle of Point Pleasant (October 10, 1774), fought on the future site of the town, over one thousand Virginia militiamen, led by Colonel Andrew Lewis (1720–1781), defeated a roughly equal force of an Algonquin confederation of Shawnee and Mingo warriors led by Shawnee Chief Cornstalk (c. 1720–1777). The event is celebrated locally as the "First Battle of the American Revolutionary War" and in 1908 the U. S. Senate authorized erection of a local monument to commemorate it as such. Most historians, however, regard it not as a battle of the Revolution (1775–1783), but as a part of Lord Dunmore's War (1774).

"Camp Point Pleasant" was established by Col. Lewis at the time of the Battle and the settlement that followed also took that name. Although not certain, Point Pleasant may have been permanently settled by whites as early as 1774. A permanent stockade known as Fort Blair was erected there at about that time. Prior to that, hostilities between whites and Indians all along the Ohio River Valley probably precluded the possibility of settlement in the absence of a substantial stockade. In 1776, a new fort was built on the site of the earlier fort and named for the recently deceased Virginia official Peyton Randolph (1721–1775). Fort Randolph is best remembered as the place where Chief Cornstalk was murdered in 1777. It withstood attack by Indians the following year, but was abandoned in 1779. George Washington's 1770 journey to the Ohio River Valley had been occasioned by military grants that had been awarded by proclamation in 1754 by Governor Dinwiddie to officers and soldiers who had served in the French and Indian War. The resulting survey encompassed 52,302 acres (or 80 square miles) and was subdivided in the 1780s as follows: 9,876 acres — including the present side of Point Pleasant — to Andrew Lewis, 5,000 acres for George Muse, 5,000 acres for Peter Hogg, 8,000 acres for Andrew Stephens, another 3,000 acres for Peter Hogg, another 5,026 acres for George Muse, 3,400 acres for Andrew Waggener, 6,000 acres for John Poulson, 6,000 acres for John West. On the lower side of the Kanawha River, 13,532 acres for Hugh Mercer (see Mercers Bottom) and, finally, 10,990 acres for Washington himself. Fort Randolph was rebuilt nearby in 1785 after the renewal of hostilities between the United States government and the Indians, but saw little action and was eventually abandoned once again. The settlement at Point Pleasant did not receive an official charter until 1794.

Mason County was carved out of Kanawha County in 1804 and Point Pleasant was designated the county seat at that time. According to historian Virgil A. Lewis, "Point Pleasant did not flourish for many years [after the turn of the century]. There was no church for more than fifty years and society was at a low ebb. There was a popular superstition that because of the fiendish murder of Cornstalk there in 1777, the place was laid under a curse for a hundred years". Lewis also relates that a visitor to Point Pleasant in 1810 observed that Point Pleasant is pleasantly situated immediately above the mouth of the Great Kanawha, on an extensive and fertile bottom of the Ohio, of which it has a fine prospect up and down that river. It is the seat of justice of Mason county Virginia, and contains about 15 or 20 families, a log courthouse, a log jail and as usual (but unfortunately) in the Virginia towns, a pillory and whipping post. Point Pleasant seems rather on the stand in point of improvement, arising, it is said, from the difficulty in establishing the land titles. It is, however, a considerable place of embarkation for those descending the Ohio from the back and western parts of Virginia. There is one merchant. Mr. William Langtry. Point Pleasant was incorporated in 1833. During the American Civil War, the Virginia Secession Convention of 1861, Mason County's delegate, lawyer James H. Couch (1821 1899), although a slaveholder, voted against secession. Mason County then sent no delegates to the Virginia House of Delegates until West Virginia's statehood, which Virginia's House of Delegates refused to recognize, thus seating James Hutcheson who had been elected by Confederate soldiers in their camp. Meanwhile, William W. Newman claimed to represent Mason as well as nearby Jackson, Cabell, Wayne and Wirt counties throughout the war. Mason County sent more than 1000 men to the Union army and one company of 61 men to the Confederate Army (the 37th Virginia Infantry). In March 1863, in the only wartime skirmish in Point Pleasant, during the Jones Imboden Raid, the 6th Virginia Cavalry and 8th Virginia Cavalry attacked the Mason County Courthouse, where they believed munitions stored, leaving bullet holes in the walls until a replacement was built in 1954.

Point Pleasant was widely noted for the 1967 collapse of the Silver Bridge, which killed 46 people. On October 10, 1974, Point Pleasant celebrated the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Point Pleasant. A replica of Fort Randolph was built in 1973 74 and dedicated as part of the festivities. The town of Point Pleasant was situated over the site of the fort and so the replica is located at Krodel Park, about one mile away.

The Eastham House, Lewis Capehart Roseberry House, and Point Pleasant Battleground are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The central business district and surrounding residential areas are included in the Point Pleasant Historic District.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.10 square miles (8 km2), of which 2.40 square miles (6 km2) is land and 0.70 square miles (2 km2) is water. Point Pleasant is located at (38.857527, 82.128571). Point Pleasant is home to Tu Endie Wei State Park and Krodel Park.

The climate in this area is characterized by evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Point Pleasant has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

As of the census of 2010, there were 4,350 people, 2,014 households, and 1,162 families residing in the city. The population density was There were 2,244 housing units at an average density of The racial makeup of the city was 95.9% White, 1.3% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, and 1.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.6% of the population. There were 2,014 households, of which 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.9% were married couples living together, 16.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 42.3% were non families. 38.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.82. The median age in the city was 44 years. 21.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.6% were from 25 to 44; 27.4% were from 45 to 64; and 21.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 44.9% male and 55.1% female.