In 1741, the prominent Fairfax family moved into a grand estate named Belvoir on the banks of the Potomac River. Just a few miles downriver, you guessed it, was George Washington’s Mount Vernon. The Fairfaxes’ manor was lost to a devastating fire in 1783, but the site is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

At the onset of World War I, the peninsula became an ideal location for a cantonment and training area for engineering units, and was named Camp A. A. Humphreys. In 1930, it was renamed Fort Belvoir after renewed interest and archeological discoveries were made at the site of the historic mansion.  

Today, Fort Belvoir is the largest employer in Fairfax County with twice as many employees as The Pentagon. It has focused enormous effort and resources into preserving the natural beauty and wildlife that surrounds the base. In 1980, the rifle and target ranges in the southwest corner of post were preserved to become The Accotink Bay Wildlife Refuge. This sanctuary makes up over a third of the land on Fort Belvoir and its presence guarantees wildlife sightings of all kinds on post. The base’s perch on the Potomac River is both strategic and stunning, and most of the buildings are in the Georgian Colonial Revival style — symmetrical, red brick and with massive columns. In French, Belvoir means beautiful to see, and the name is just as applicable today as it ever was!

The base is comprised of three geographic areas: the main base, Davidson Army Airfield, and the Fort Belvoir North Area. The mission of Fort Belvoir is to be a “strategic sustaining base for America’s Army” and the base houses a dozen major Army commands, nineteen different Department of the Army agencies and 26 Department of Defense agencies. Fort Belvoir Community Hospital and its two satellite clinics in Fairfax and Dumfries provides stellar patient care. The U.S. Army Cyber Command (ARCYBER), Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM), and Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) also call Fort Belvoir home. Basically, if a unit or agency has anything to do with our Nation’s defense, it at least has representation on Fort Belvoir.