Named after 168th Street; the station was once Washington Heights–168th Street.
Washington Heights takes its name from Fort Washington, built in 1776 at the highest natural point in Manhattan during George Washington’s defence of New York. On 16 November 1776 British and Hessian troops attacked and took the fort, capturing 2,838 American prisoners. After the war the fort’s traces disappeared, and the surrounding area became known as Washington Heights.