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C+History
History · Quantico Base

Quantico Base dates to 1917, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 39% of U.S. towns · #112 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

Most of Quantico Base was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 235 buildings. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1927 on, and the census since 1970.

1917founded
2on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
18old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Quantico Base’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Quantico Base began

When was Quantico Base founded?

1917

Quantico Base dates its founding to 1917 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1970.

First census: 6,213 in 19702020 census: 5,221109 years

How historic is Quantico Base?

C+

More historic than 39% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1871.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Quantico Base’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Quantico Base is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns, #112 of 253 in Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Quantico Base’s overall grade.
Founding era1917, from Wikidata: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19404.4% of homes (±2.8) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register2 listings, 236 historic buildings, 404 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 39%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 56%

Virginia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Virginia town has 3.6 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Quantico Base’s 404 sits above most of its state (87% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 236 historic buildings outnumber those of 94% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1917.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B+. The pre-1940 share (±2.8 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Quantico Base’s past

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

A historic districtThe Quantico Marine Corps Base Historic District takes in 235 historic buildings.A town in old photos18 old photos, postcards and papers, 1917–1929.Boom and bustPeaked at 7,425 in 1990; 5,221 people lived here in 2020.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Quantico Base, and 4 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 listings protect 236 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
236
each building in a district counts
first listed
2001
Quantico Marine Corps Base Historic District
Quantico Marine Corps Base Historic District, built 1917Commanding General's Quarters, Quantico Marine Base
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Colonial Revival2
Bungalow1
Craftsman1
Quantico Marine Corps Base Historic DistrictColonial Revival · Built 1917
Commanding General's Quarters, Quantico Marine BaseColonial Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

By decade

Quantico Base, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s5 items
77th Machine Gun Company, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps Base Quantico, October 1917191777th Machine Gun Company, United States Marine Corps,…Arrival of Marine "Boots" at Quantico, Virginia, ca. 1918c. 1918Arrival of Marine "Boots" at Quantico, Virginia, ca. …Barnett Avenue, Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, ca. 1918c. 1918Barnett Avenue, Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia,…Barracks, Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, ca. 1918c. 1918Barracks, Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, ca. 1…Aerial Photograph of the Marine Barracks in Quantico, Virginia1919Aerial Photograph of the Marine Barracks in Quantico,…
1920s13 items
"Butler's Colosseum," Quantico, 19291929"Butler's Colosseum," Quantico, 1929A retired "big gun" from World War I, Quantico, 19291929A retired "big gun" from World War I, Quantico, 1929Administration building and "A Crusade for Right," 1929c. 1929Administration building and "A Crusade for Right," 19…Administration building, Quantico 19291929Administration building, Quantico 1929Aerial Photograph Showing Industrial and Barrack Areas at the Marine Barracks in Quantico, Virginia1929Aerial Photograph Showing Industrial and Barrack Area…Aerial Photograph of Barracks and the Paving of Barnett Avenue at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia1929Aerial Photograph of Barracks and the Paving of Barne…Aerial Photograph of the Apartments for Officers at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia1929Aerial Photograph of the Apartments for Officers at t…Aerial view, Quantico, 19291929Aerial view, Quantico, 1929Barnett Avenue, Quantico, 19291929Barnett Avenue, Quantico, 1929Barracks, Quantico, 19291929Barracks, Quantico, 1929Base library, Quantico, 19291929Base library, Quantico, 1929Boat docks, Quantico, 19291929Boat docks, Quantico, 1929Bridge over "The River Styx," Quantico, 19291929Bridge over "The River Styx," Quantico, 1929
1930s–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
People over time

Quantico Base, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,000198020002020Peak: 7,425

Peaked at 7,425 in 1990; 5,221 people lived here in 2020.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Quantico Base’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Quantico Base came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Quantico Base.

Read it all →

The Quantico base is close to the Potomac River. The area was originally inhabited by the Patowomacks (Algonquian) in the 16th century. The name "Quantico" is presumed to come from a Native American term, and has been translated to mean "by the large stream," "by the long stream," "place of dancing," or simply "dancing." Accounts suggest the first European arrival in the location was either a failed effort of Jesuit missionaries to convert natives somewhere south of the present-day base, or the arrival of John Smith and other Jamestown settlers trading for corn in the summer of 1608.

ChaptersBefore the establishment of the Marine baseEstablishing the base

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Quantico Base, 1871 to 1990

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Potomac post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1910Post officeThe Quantico post office opens
  5. 1917
    FoundingQuantico Base is established
  6. 1917BuiltQuantico Marine Corps Base Historic District is built
  7. 1917In the archive77th Machine Gun Company, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps Base Quantico, October…
  8. 1922Post officeThe Potomac post office closes
  9. 1927On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1929In the archive"Butler's Colosseum," Quantico, 1929
  11. 1990CensusPopulation peaks at 7,425
On the map

Quantico Base on the map, 1927 to 1994

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

Quantico Base on the 1927 USGS mapQuantico Base on the 1944 USGS mapQuantico Base on the 1952 USGS mapQuantico Base on the 1966 USGS mapQuantico Base on the 1971 USGS mapQuantico Base on the 1983 USGS mapQuantico Base on the 1994 USGS map1927Quantico 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 Quantico Base.

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.

77th Machine Gun Company, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps Base Quantico, October 1917
Retake this view77th Machine Gun Company, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps Base Quantico, October 1917, 1917

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Quantico Base

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

See all →
Henry Lee IIIAmerican politician, governor, and representati… · b. 1756
Haley WebbAmerican actress · b. 1985
Meyers LeonardAmerican basketball player · b. 1992
Shelby LynneAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1968
A. J. DeLaGarzaAmerican-Guamian soccer player · b. 1987
Kendall MarshallAmerican basketball player · b. 1991
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Another post office, Potomac, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Potomac
1871–1922
Quantico
1910–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Chamberlain VillageLyman ParkQuanticoThomason Park

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Quantico Base’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view77th Machine Gun Company, United States…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

TriangleIts storyDCherry HillIts storyD−

Questions about Quantico Base’s history

What year was Quantico Base founded?

In 1917, according to Wikidata. Quantico Base’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1970 counted 6,213 people here.

How does Quantico Base rank for history?

Quantico Base is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns, #112 of 253 in Virginia. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Quantico Base?

Two places: the Quantico Marine Corps Base Historic District (listed 2001) and the Commanding General's Quarters, Quantico Marine Base (2009).

How old are the homes in Quantico Base?

4% of Quantico Base’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 2002.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (18), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.