West Point, PA
  Geology

Upper Gwynedd lies along the southern edge of, and just within, the extensive but simple and monotonous formation called by geologists the Mesozoic, or Red Sandstone, belt. This belt varies from 10 to 30 miles wide and is over 500 miles long. It is the bed of a great river which ran from North Carolina to above New York City, and which has been compressed by geological forces over millions of years into stone.

 The underlying rocks of the township are mostly red or reddish and range from sandstone to shale. No region can be more barren of general geological interest. ( This according to "Historical Collections Relating to Gwynedd" by Howard M. Jenkins.)

What does this mean for West Point? If a hole is dug a few inches deep, the layer of top soil (formerly farm land) will change to a thick red clay-like dirt. Pieces of red shale will be encountered. Continuing downward larger red rocks will appear. About 6 feet down in some places is solid shale.

Significantly, the original builders of West Point had a plentiful supply of building material for....
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Foundations ... (these are three different buildings) ...
.... and entire houses!
 
The people of West Point and surrounding areas didn't have to dig up their own rocks. The West Point Shale Brick Company was doing such a booming business that in July of 1915 they had a private telephone line installed!

West Point Brick Shale Company made bricks of shale, clay, and mixtures of clay and shale. They produced 18,000 bricks and tiles a day, and orders for 50,000 to 100,000 bricks were not uncommon. The location of the brick yard
was east of Jones Avenue on land now occupied by Merck Sharp & Dohme.
This excavation for a house in Upper Gwynedd is about five feet deep.
At the bottom is solid shale. (and a little mud from the rain)
In this photo taken on Garfield Avenue, red shale bricks have been reused as a border for a garden.