Fort Hunt
Why it's listed
Fort Hunt occupies Sheridan Point on the Potomac River in Fairfax County, Virginia, where the Army built a coastal defense post between 1897 and 1906. Planned to guard Washington from naval attack, it was a subpost of Fort Washington and used the concrete-and-earth Endicott design. The complex once held four gun batteries and about 30 support buildings. Today the surviving pieces are Batteries Mount Vernon, Sater, Porter and Robinson, a concrete battery commander's station, a noncommissioned officer's house, and a quartermaster stable. The guns were removed during the First World War, and the post never saw action. Later it hosted a finance school, a Signal Corps company, and a World War II prisoner interrogation site, before the National Park Service developed it as a park. The batteries are overgrown and deteriorated, and the surrounding land has been altered by roads and park facilities. The remaining structures matter as individual remnants of the last defensive complex built on the Potomac.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues that the surviving remnants represent the last defensive complex built on the Potomac to guard the Nation's Capital from naval attack. It was part of the Endicott system of concrete and earthen seacoast defenses that replaced the older Third System forts. The four batteries, a battery commander's station, a residence and a stable are what remain to illustrate the post's military role.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 80000353, listed March 26, 1980. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Mount Vernon Memorial Hwy., Alexandria |
|---|---|
| County | Fairfax (city and county) |
| Listed | March 26, 1980 |
| Reference number | 80000353 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1897-1917 |
| Architect / builder | U.S. Army |
| Areas of significance | Military |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Batteries and the commander's station are deteriorated and overgrown; the NCO quarters is occupied and in good condition; the stable is deteriorated. The site is used as a public recreational park. A later boundary revision removed the Quartermaster Stable from the listing. |
| Acreage | 13 |
| Coordinates | 38.71633, -77.04978 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 80000353.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5471374
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.