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Kopp, Virginia

1885 establishments in Virginia1942 disestablishments in VirginiaGhost towns in VirginiaPopulated places disestablished in 1942Populated places established in 1885
Prince William County, Virginia geography stubsUnincorporated communities in Prince William County, VirginiaUnincorporated communities in VirginiaUse mdy dates from July 2023Washington metropolitan area

Kopp is an extinct unincorporated community located in Prince William County, Virginia. The town began in 1885 and consisted, at one time, of a country store, school, post office, and Bellehaven Baptist Church, and was the home to about 100 local farming families. The town ceased to exist in 1942 when the federal government added about 50,000 acres (200 square kilometers) to Marine Corps Base Quantico. The land upon which the residents of Kopp lived was purchased in what came to be known locally as "The Taking". It was located near the current town of Independent Hill on the western portion of the Marine Corps Base. No town buildings remain standing, and the church was demolished in about 1945, but the Marine Corps Base has been required to maintain the cemetery on the church grounds. According to the Belle Haven church records, a concrete sidewalk was added in 1912. It is all that remains of the church today. The foundation and a part of the chimney from the Belle Haven School can also be found across MCB-1 from that sidewalk, east of a training shelter.The town of Kopp can, as of 2016, still be located on Microsoft Terraserver, Mapquest, and Google Maps. The town lies on road MCB-1 near the "Combat Village", an artificial town constructed for urban warfare training.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Kopp, Virginia (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

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N 38.59 ° E -77.445833333333 °
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Virginia, United States
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Nearby Places

Greenwood Gold Mine

The Greenwood gold mine operated in Prince William County, Virginia, United States, near the town of Independent Hill for a few years before closing in 1885. It was one of two known gold mines in Prince William County, the other being the Crawford placer prospect on Neabsco Creek, near I-95, though small amounts of gold were occasionally found at the Cabin Branch Pyrite Mine in nearby Dumfries. The Greenwood site was situated at the head of the North branch of Quantico Creek on what is now part of Prince William Forest Park near the intersection of Aden and Bristow Roads in the far northwestern area of the park. The site is situated along the Virginia Gold-Pyrite belt, which runs from northeast to southwest primarily through the counties of Fairfax, Prince William, Stafford, Spotsylvania, Buckingham, Culpeper, Cumberland, Fauquier, Floyd, Fluvanna, Goochland, Halifax, Louisa, Orange, and Patrick. Mining operations consisted of at least one shaft, a stamp mill, and some form of mercury amalgamation recovery. The mine was a significant source of mercury pollution on Quantico Creek, and has since undergone complete reclamation including the sealing of mine shaft(s), soil removal and/or decontamination, and removal of obvious tailings. The area of the former mine is also monitored by an array of groundwater wells, which are maintained by the NPS. The USGS maintains two active monitoring wells downstream of the mine site on the South Fork of the Quantico Creek. As of 2010, the only visible evidence of the mine are a few depressions in the soil. Engineered drainage structures from the reclamation efforts are visible. No intact structures or equipment remain. The National Park Service charges a fee for entry into the park and does not allow collecting of rocks or minerals.

Independent Hill School

Independent Hill School is a special education school within Prince William County Public Schools. The facility serves special needs students from kindergarten to age 22 throughout the county. Located on a former Air Force radar station that was deeded to the county, the school is named for the area, Independent Hill. The school is located adjacent to the densely populated administrative complex and about half a mile from the Edward Kelly Leadership Center. Students enrolled at Independent Hill engage in a specialized curriculum that provides both academic and vocational instruction. Students are able to participate in a variety of programs, including the management of an on-site food service establishment, an on-site commercial kitchen, a full laundry, institutional and custodial services, adaptive physical education, an on-site commercial greenhouse, school-work programs, and an equestrian facility with barn and horses. Academic and vocational instruction are stated by the district to include technology, modeling, logical thinking, workshops, community job site instruction, and work with support specialists. Physical training include sports and leisure activities, self-help, and regular participation in the Special Olympics. The trophy case at the front of the school features several awards from the Special Olympics, conferred upon Independent Hill School students throughout their years of participation. Additionally, the school's mission statement states that it provides methods to stimulate emotional well-being, such as the teaching of respect for self and others, the development of health self-esteem, enhanced coping mechanisms, and adaptability to change. On April 2, 2018 students and staff moved to the new building that now houses PACE East, New Directions, And New Dominion Alternative Education Center. After the move, the older building that originally housed the PACE East students, was torn down.

FBI Academy
FBI Academy

The FBI Academy is the Federal Bureau of Investigation's law enforcement training and research center near the town of Quantico in Prince William County, Virginia. Operated by the bureau's Training Division, it was first opened for use on May 7, 1972, on 385 acres (156 ha) of woodland, which is not available for public tours. The academy was opened for the purpose of training the new agents after FBI agents were granted the power to arrest, and to possess a firearm, in 1933. As the newly armed agents needed somewhere to train, the Marine Corps granted them access to their firing ranges in Quantico, Virginia. After outgrowing the Marine Corps firing ranges the FBI was granted permission to build their own firing range and classroom on the base. Over time they added new sections such as a whole new wing, kitchen, and basement. But with the rapid growth it still was not enough for their needs. In 1965, the FBI received approval for a new complex at Quantico and construction began in 1969. The new facility opened in 1972, with more than two dozen classrooms, eight conference rooms, a large auditorium, a gym, pool, library, and a new firing range. The new complex had everything the FBI needed to train new agents in large numbers. In addition to training new FBI agents at the facility, the Training Division also instructs special agents, intelligence analysts, law enforcement officers, Drug Enforcement Administration agents, and foreign partners. The academy provides several training programs, including Firearms, Hogan's Alley (a training complex simulating a small town), Tactical and Emergency Vehicle Operations Center (TEVOC), Survival Skills, and Law Enforcement Executive Development. To meet the needs of these training programs the FBI has a 1.1-mile-long oval road track with a precision obstacle for conducting TEVOC. Hogan's Alley is a town that the FBI had built with the help of Hollywood set designers in order to give realistic training to agents. It helps the agents experience realistic and stressful scenarios to better prepare them for real-life situations.The academy occupies 547 acres (221 ha) on the US Marine Corps Base Quantico. It is located 36 miles outside Washington, D.C., and is a full service national training facility. In order to be able to attend the academy and become an FBI agent, a candidate must be aged between 23 and 37, a citizen of the United States, and possess a minimum of a bachelor's degree.