Little Hunting Creek

Tower House, also known as Edgewater and Marsland-on-the-Potomac, is a historic home located near Alexandria, in Fairfax County, Virginia. The original portion was built in 1888 by John Young, who inherited the land from his father, Lewis, in 1879. At that time it was in the Italian Villa style. An addition was added to the rear in 1888-9 by owner, Isaac N. Jones. The house was remodeled to its present form in 1900-1901 by railroad executive James Yeomans. James A. Drain, Sr. owned it from 1920 until 1936. He renamed it Marsland-on-the-Potomac after the maiden name of his wife Ethel. From 1941 until 1994, the religious group Baraca Philathea used it for various purposes. Since then, it has undergone extensive restoration by its present owner. It is a 2+1⁄2-story frame dwelling in a transitional Queen Anne-Colonial Revival style. It features a steeply pitched hipped roof and a prominent, semi-circular corner tower.It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.

Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on the banks of the Potomac River in Fairfax County, Virginia. It is located south of Washington, D.C., and Alexandria, Virginia, and is across the river from Prince George's County, Maryland. The Washington family acquired land in the area in 1674. Around 1734, the family embarked on an expansion of its estate that continued under George Washington, who began leasing the estate in 1754 before becoming its sole owner in 1761.The mansion was built of wood in a loose Palladian style; the original house was built by George Washington's father Augustine, around 1734. George Washington expanded the house twice, once in the late 1750s and again in the 1770s. It remained Washington's home for the rest of his life. Following his death in 1799, under the ownership of several successive generations of the family, the estate progressively declined as revenues were insufficient to maintain it adequately. In 1858, the house's historical importance was recognized and it was taken over by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association; this organization acquired it together with part of the Washington property estate. The mansion and its surrounding buildings did escape damage from the American Civil War suffered by many properties located within the Confederate States of America. Mount Vernon was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is still owned and maintained in trust by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, being daily open to the public. Allowing people to see the estate is part of an over 200-year-old tradition started by George Washington. In 1794 he wrote: "I have no objection to any sober or orderly person's gratifying their curiosity in viewing the buildings, Gardens, &ca. about Mount Vernon."

George Washington (February 22 1732 [O.S. February 11, 1731] – December 14, 1799) was a Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot forces to victory in the American Revolutionary War against the British Empire. He is commonly known as the Father of His Country for his role in bringing about American independence. Born in the Colony of Virginia, Washington became the commander of the Virginia Regiment during the French and Indian War (1754–1763). He was later elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, and opposed the perceived oppression of the American colonists by the British Crown. When the American Revolutionary War against the British began in 1775, Washington was appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. He directed a poorly organized and equipped force against disciplined British troops. Washington and his army achieved an early victory at the Siege of Boston in March 1776 but were forced to retreat from New York City in November. Washington crossed the Delaware River and won the battles of Trenton in late 1776 and Princeton in early 1777, then lost the battles of Brandywine and Germantown later that year. He faced criticism of his command, low troop morale, and a lack of provisions for his forces as the war continued. Ultimately Washington led a combined French and American force to a decisive victory over the British at Yorktown in 1781. In the resulting Treaty of Paris in 1783, the British acknowledged the sovereign independence of the United States. Washington then served as president of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, which drafted the current Constitution of the United States. Washington was elected president unanimously by the Electoral College in 1788 and again in 1792. As the first U.S. president, he implemented a strong, well-financed national government while remaining impartial in the fierce rivalry that emerged within his cabinet between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. During the French Revolution, he proclaimed a policy of neutrality while supporting the Jay Treaty with Britain. Washington set enduring precedents for the office of president, including republicanism, a peaceful transfer of power, the use of the title "Mr. President", and the two-term tradition. His 1796 farewell address became a preeminent statement on republicanism: Washington wrote about the importance of national unity and the dangers that regionalism, partisanship, and foreign influence pose to it. As a planter of tobacco and wheat at Mount Vernon, Washington owned many slaves. He began opposing slavery near the end of his life, and provided in his will for the manumission of his slaves. Washington's image is an icon of American culture and he has been extensively memorialized; his namesakes include the national capital and the State of Washington. In both popular and scholarly polls, he is consistently considered one of the greatest presidents in American history.

The Mount Vernon Trail (MVT) is a 17-mile (27 km) long shared use path that travels along the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Northern Virginia between Rosslyn and George Washington's home at Mount Vernon. The trail connects the easternmost portions of Arlington County, the City of Alexandria, and Fairfax County, and travels mostly on dedicated trail with a small portion on city streets. As part of U.S. Bike Route 1, the Potomac Heritage Trail and the East Coast Greenway, the MVT opened in April 1972 as a gravel path and was subsequently expanded and paved.The MVT is part of the much larger mid-Atlantic Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail.

The Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon is the presidential library of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Located at Washington's home in Mount Vernon, Virginia, the library was built by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association and is privately funded. It is named for the chairman of the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation which donated $38 million to the project. The library officially opened September 27, 2013.

In 1830, an attempt was made to steal the skull from the remains of American president George Washington, which resided in a tomb at Mount Vernon. Instead, the thief mistakenly removed the skull from the remains of one of Judge Bushrod Washington's in-laws. The desecration of the burial site prompted a new, more secure, burial vault to be constructed.

The Raid on Alexandria was a British victory during the War of 1812, which gained much plunder at little cost but may have contributed to the later British repulse at Baltimore by delaying their main forces.

P.O. Box 1142 was a secret American military intelligence facility that operated during World War II. The American Military Intelligence Service had two special wings, known as MIS-X and MIS-Y. The MIS-X program focused upon the escape and evasion activities of Prisoners of War (POWs) held by the United States in Europe. MIS-Y's core duty was to interview the POWs. They were known by their codename, the mailing address "P.O. Box 1142." Many of the interrogators were Jewish immigrants who had fled Germany as children. These men were chosen due to their understanding of the German language and culture as well as their personal interest in defeating the Nazis.Notable prisoners housed at the facility included rocket scientist Wernher von Braun, spymaster Reinhard Gehlen, and Heinz Schlicke, inventor of infrared detection. German U-boat commander Werner Henke was also a prisoner, but was fatally shot when he tried to escape by climbing the fence.P.O. Box 1142 was started in 1942 based in Fort Hunt, Virginia, formerly part of George Washington's farmlands. German scientists, submariners and soldiers were questioned. P.O. Box 1142 obtained valuable intelligence from German POWs and also communicated with Allied POWs overseas. The camp was in violation of the Geneva Convention because the Red Cross was not notified of the transfer or location of the prisoners, but according to the surviving wardens, torture was not used.The work done at Fort Hunt contributed to the Allied victory of World War II. It also led to advances in scientific technology and military intelligence that directly influenced the Cold War. In 1946 the 100 barracks, ringed by barbed wire and watch towers, were bulldozed, and the existence revealed to the public only in the early 2000s, when the National Park Service uncovered parts of the fort's history. In October 2007, a group of the former intelligence workers gathered for the first time since the war's conclusion, and a flagpole and plaque recognizing their contributions were dedicated on the original grounds.

Fort Hunt Park is a public park located in Fort Hunt, Fairfax County, Virginia. It is administered by the National Park Service as part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway. The park preserves the remains of the eponymous Fort Hunt, portions of which date to the time of the Spanish–American War. The park was named after Brigadier General Henry Hunt, who served as chief of artillery of the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War. Remains of several of the fort's original batteries, including Battery Mount Vernon, Battery Robinson, and Battery Sater, and Battery Porter (named after Lt. James Porter, an officer who was killed at Custer's Last Stand at the Little Bighorn.), have been preserved, and may still be visited today. The structures have been stabilized enough that visitors are able to climb on them without difficulty. Besides the batteries, the battery commander's station still stands; in addition, a flagpole has been erected as a memorial to the intelligence officers who served at the fort during World War II. Fort Hunt Park is open from dawn until dusk, year-round; access is from the George Washington Memorial Parkway or from Fort Hunt Road.

Fort Hunt High School was a public secondary school near Alexandria, Virginia from 1963 until 1985, when it was converted to a middle school. Constructed at a cost of $2.5 million, Fort Hunt High opened its doors at 8428 Fort Hunt Road in 1963, toward the end of the post–World War II baby boom, as part of the Fairfax County Public Schools.The school suffered $4.5 million in fire damage as the result of arson on December 30, 1978, when two seniors at the school and a 1978 graduate threw Molotov cocktails into the building. The fire resulted in the forced relocation of 1,700 students who were sent on a split shift to nearby Groveton and Mount Vernon High schools through the remainder of the 1978–79 school year. In 1985, due to declining enrollment, and after contentious political and legal battles to keep the school open, Fort Hunt was combined with Groveton High School to form West Potomac High School, located on Groveton's campus. The Fort Hunt campus was converted into Carl Sandburg Middle School, which replaced the older Stephen Foster and Bryant Intermediate Schools. A large community of Fort Hunt High School alumni remains active online, organizing regular all-school and all-year reunion gatherings, and granting annual scholarships to graduating seniors of West Potomac High School.

Mount Vernon High School is a public high school in the Fairfax County Public Schools system located in Mount Vernon, Virginia.

Fort Hunt is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The area is named after Fort Hunt, which was built on the bank of the Potomac River in 1897 to defend Washington, D.C. from naval attack and is now a public park. The area is also notable for its high population of senior citizens and for being one of the first suburbs in wealthy Fairfax County. The population was 16,045 at the 2010 census.Fort Hunt encompasses the 22308 ZIP code of Alexandria, composed of much of the most affluent section of southeast Fairfax County, close to the George Washington Memorial Parkway and Potomac River, including the neighborhoods of Riverside Gardens, Tauxemont, Herbert Springs, Waynewood, Plymouth Haven, Potomac Valley – River Bend, Collingwood, Stratford Landing, Stratford on the Potomac, Hollin Hall, Wellington, Arcturus and (in ZIP code 22307) Villamay and Marlan Forest. As of the 2010 census, Fort Hunt also includes the neighborhood of Hollindale in ZIP code 22306 and much of Hollin Hills in 22307. Prominent Fort Hunt residents include U.S. Senator Tim Johnson and former House Speaker Bob Livingston.