Fort Belvoir is located downstream from George Wshington's home at Mount Vernon
Source: ESRI, ArcGIS Online
Fort Belvoir is located downstream from George Wshington's home at Mount Vernon
Source: ESRI, ArcGIS Online
In 1915, the War Department chose to move the Army Corps of Engineers Training School, from Washington Barracks (Fort McNair) to the old site of William Fairfax's plantation. That led to development of modern Fort Belvoir.
Belvoir was the colonial home of William Fairfax. He moved from Massachusetts to Virginia in 1734 to become land agent for the Fairfax Grant owned by his cousin, Thomas Sixth Lord Fairfax. William Fairfax also served as Collector of Customs, an appointed job that reflected his high status as well as generated income for his personal use.1
artist’s conception of Belvoir mansion house
Source: Archeological Society of Virginia Quarterly Bulletin, The Centennial Of Camp A. A. Humphreys (Fort Belvoir) And Some Hidden Historic Cultural Resources
William Fairfax moved up the Potomac River from Stafford County and built the Belvoir mansion house around 1741-43. The house burned in 1783, but the brick walls survived until September 1814. They were destroyed by cannonfire from British ships during the Battle of the White House, after those ships had forced the surrender of Alexandria.
In 1910, the Federal government purchased 1,500 acres, including the foundations of the Fairfax home, with plans to build a reformatory for the District of Columbia. After protests by the Mount Vernon Ladies Association, the prison was constructed at Lorton.
The Army's Engineer School began to use the newly-acquired peninsula in 1912. Training exercises included construction of pontoon bridges over creek valleys, as well as rifle practice. After the United States entered World War I in 1917, the Army started to build temporary wooden structures. African-American laborers in segregated military units provided most of the work force.
The cantonment was named Camp A.A. Humphreys. That honored Major General Andrew A. Humphreys, who had been Chief of Engineers between 1866-79.
Camp A.A. Humphreys was built in 1918, after the US entered World War I
Source: Fort Belvoir, 1917-1918: Establishment of Camp A. A. Humphreys
Lake Accotink was created to supply water, and a water treatment plant was constructed on the site of Accotink Mill. The US Army purchased the remainder of the neck of land on which Belvoir was built, plus more local farms. A 3,300-acre parcel closer to the railroad is now the site of Davison Army Airfield. Many of the local residents displaced by the new military installation were members of the Woodlawn Quaker Meeting, with a long pacifist tradition.
Hauling construction materials by land was hard. The trolley was extended from Mount Vernon to the new base, and a Richmomd, Fredericksburg and Potomac (RF&P) railroad spur was built from Newington. The Washington-Richmond Highway (Route 1) was paved with concrete to Alexandria, to support the heavy trucks and increased traffic.
On the base, a tiny train with a two-foot gauge (vs. the standard 4 foot, 8.5 inches) was used to move people and material. The railroad also served as a training tool, because similar tracks were constructed in Europe to supply the front lines.
tiny trains were used to build Camp A.A. Humphreys in 1918, and to supply the front in Europe in World War I
Source: US Army, Forgotten tiny trains carried WWI vets to victory
The Army Gas School was located at Camp A.A. Humphreys. Training with mustard gas had to be relocated from American University in 1917, after a cloud of gas blew beyond the training zone into a civilian residential area.
The Corps of Engineers protected the site of the mansion house and the graves of William Fairfax and his wife during construction of the camp, and even tried to conduct archeological excavations of the house.
The US Army expected to abandon Camp A.A. Humphreys after World War I ended, so only temporary wooden structures were erected initially.2
Camp A.A. Humphreys was constructed in 1918
Source: Fort Belvoir, Inter-War Period: 1919-1939
training at Fort Belvoir in 1942
Source: Library of Congress, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. A soldier operating a heavy duty tractor
1. "The Eighteenth Century: Fairfax County's 'Golden Age'," Fort Belvoir - History, http://www.belvoir.army.mil/history/18C.asp (last checked May 31, 2018)
2. Patrick O’Neill, "The Centennial Of Camp A. A. Humphreys (Fort Belvoir) And Some Hidden Historic Cultural Resources," Quarterly Bulletin, Archeological Society of Virginia, Volume 73 Number 1 (March 2018), pp.15-30; "1917-1918: Establishment of Camp A. A. Humphreys," Fort Belvoir, http://www.belvoir.army.mil/history/Humphreys.htm; "Forgotten tiny trains carried WWI vets to victory," US Army, November 4, 2010,
preparing for war at Fort Belvoir in 1942
Source: Library of Congress, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Sergeant George Camblair getting rigorous physical training on the obstacle course