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History · Dahlgren Center

Dahlgren Center dates to 1918, and 10% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 3 old photos and papers and maps from 1948 on.

1918founded
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Dahlgren Center’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Dahlgren Center began

When was Dahlgren Center founded?

1918

Dahlgren Center dates its founding to 1918 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1919.

2020 census: 724108 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1919.The full story ↓

What stands out about Dahlgren Center’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dahlgren Center’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dahlgren Center’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewGun display at Dahlgren Naval Weapons F…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Dahlgren Center came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dahlgren Center.

Read it all →

Dahlgren was established in spring 1918 as a Naval Proving Ground. Its recorded first work, the firing of a 7-inch (178-millimetre)/45 caliber tractor-mounted gun, occurred on 16 October 1918, which is recognized as the official founding date. The proving ground was named to honor Rear Admiral John Adolphus Dahlgren, a Civil War Navy commander and the "father of modern naval ordnance."

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Dahlgren Center, 1918 to 1983

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1918
    FoundingDahlgren Center is established
  3. 1919Post officeThe Dahlgren post office opens
  4. 1948On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1968In the archiveGun display at Dahlgren Naval Weapons Facility c1968
  6. 1983In the archiveADM James D. Watkins, right, chief of Naval Operations, exchanges salutes with CAPT Richa…
By decade

Dahlgren Center, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1960s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1960s–1980s3 items
Gun display at Dahlgren Naval Weapons Facility c1968c. 1968Gun display at Dahlgren Naval Weapons Facility c1968ADM James D. Watkins, right, chief of Naval Operations, exchanges salutes with CAPT Richard H. Truly, commander of the …1983ADM James D. Watkins, right, chief of Naval Operation…US Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division gun line in June 19891989US Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division gun…
1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today27 recent
A maritime antenna is tested with compact range equipment in the specialized antenna anechoic chamber at the new Surfac…2010A maritime antenna is tested with compact range equip…US Navy 090813-N-6148D-002 More than 50 high school students participating in Maryland and Virginia Navy Junior ROTC pr…2009US Navy 090813-N-6148D-002 More than 50 high school s…US Navy 090720-N-6148D-001 Transportation personnel at Naval Support Facility Dahlgren prepare to off-load a World War …2009US Navy 090720-N-6148D-001 Transportation personnel a…US Navy 090430-N-6092D-091 Commanders stand together during a ceremony at Naval Support Facility Dahlgren to establish …2009US Navy 090430-N-6092D-091 Commanders stand together …2009DIA-08-0911-00320092009DIA-08-0911-003BookUS Navy 080131-N-8273J-143 Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Gary Roughead tours the test site after the successful …2008US Navy 080131-N-8273J-143 Chief of Naval Operations …US Navy 080131-N-8273J-130 dm. Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), is given a tour after the electromagneti…2008US Navy 080131-N-8273J-130 dm. Gary Roughead, Chief o…US Navy 080131-N-8273J-119 Adm. Gary Roughead Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) speaks during the electromagnetic (EM) ra…2008US Navy 080131-N-8273J-119 Adm. Gary Roughead Chief o…US Navy 080131-N-8273J-090 Adm. Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), attends the electromagnetic (EM) railgu…2008US Navy 080131-N-8273J-090 Adm. Gary Roughead, Chief …US Navy 080131-N-7676W-297 Jim Poyner, senior engineer, Gun Weapons Branch, gives the Chief of Naval Operations, Admira…2008US Navy 080131-N-7676W-297 Jim Poyner, senior enginee…US Navy 080131-N-7676W-274 Dr. Elizabeth D'Andrea, program manager, electromagnetic railgun (EMRG) innovative Naval pro…2008US Navy 080131-N-7676W-274 Dr. Elizabeth D'Andrea, pr…US Navy 080131-N-7676W-100 Dr. Elizabeth D'Andrea, program manager, electromagnetic railgun (EMRG) innovative Naval pro…2008US Navy 080131-N-7676W-100 Dr. Elizabeth D'Andrea, pr…US Navy 080131-N-7676W-013 Railgun test slug shown to Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Gary Roughead2008US Navy 080131-N-7676W-013 Railgun test slug shown to…US Navy 080131-N-0000X-004 Photograph taken from a high-speed video camera during a record-setting firing of an electro…2008US Navy 080131-N-0000X-004 Photograph taken from a hi…U.S. Navy Chief of Naval Operations Adm 080131-N-FI224-1192008U.S. Navy Chief of Naval Operations Adm 080131-N-FI22…U.S. Navy Chief of Naval Operations Adm 080131-N-FI224-0902008U.S. Navy Chief of Naval Operations Adm 080131-N-FI22…Jim Poyner, right, senior engineer, Gun Weapons Branch, escorts U.S. Navy Chief of Naval Operations Adm 080131-N-FI224-…2008Jim Poyner, right, senior engineer, Gun Weapons Branc…EMRG 080131-N-0000X-0032008EMRG 080131-N-0000X-003EMRG 080131-N-0000X-0022008EMRG 080131-N-0000X-002EMRG 080128-N-7676W-0272008EMRG 080128-N-7676W-027US Navy 071128-N-7676W-101 The Office of Naval Research 32 MJ (megajoules) Electromagnetic Railgun (EMRG) laboratory la…2007US Navy 071128-N-7676W-101 The Office of Naval Resear…US Navy 071128-N-7676W-058 Jim Poyner, senior engineer, Gun Weapons Branch, Office of Naval Research performs a final i…2007US Navy 071128-N-7676W-058 Jim Poyner, senior enginee…US Navy 070116-N-7676W-021 Andrew Wyman, center, range test engineer at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Divi…2007US Navy 070116-N-7676W-021 Andrew Wyman, center, rang…US Navy 070116-N-7676W-002 Dr. Elizabeth D'Andrea, Office of Naval Research Code 352 Program Manager, right, discusses …2007US Navy 070116-N-7676W-002 Dr. Elizabeth D'Andrea, Of…EMRG 070128-N-0000X-0022007EMRG 070128-N-0000X-002EMRG 070128-N-0000X-0012007EMRG 070128-N-0000X-001US Navy 040809-N-0000X-005 Senator John Warner walks into the National Innovative Technology and Mission Assurance Cent…2004US Navy 040809-N-0000X-005 Senator John Warner walks …
On the map

Dahlgren Center on the map, 1948 to 1983

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dahlgren Center. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Dahlgren Center on the 1948 USGS mapDahlgren Center on the 1955 USGS mapDahlgren Center on the 1968 USGS mapDahlgren Center on the 1983 USGS map1948Nanjemoy sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Dahlgren Center.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Gun display at Dahlgren Naval Weapons Facility c1968
Retake this viewGun display at Dahlgren Naval Weapons Facility c1968, c. 1968

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Dahlgren Center’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Dahlgren Center

Nobody well known was born in Dahlgren Center itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
B
Benji MaddenAmerican rock musician · b. 1979
J
Joel MaddenAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1979
Alfred GoughAmerican screenwriter and producer · b. 1967
Shelby LynneAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1968
A. J. DeLaGarzaAmerican-Guamian soccer player · b. 1987
J
Justin AndersonAmerican basketball player · b. 1993
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

DahlgrenIts storyD

Questions about Dahlgren Center’s history

What year was Dahlgren Center founded?

In 1918, according to Wikidata. Dahlgren Center’s post office opened in 1919.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (30), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.