Marine Corps Base Quantico

Marine Corps Base Quantico (commonly abbreviated MCB Quantico) is a United States Marine Corps installation located near Triangle, Virginia, covering nearly 55,148 acres (86.169 sq mi; 22,318 ha; 223.18 km²) of southern Prince William County, Virginia, northern Stafford County, and southeastern Fauquier County. Used primarily for training purposes, MCB Quantico is known as the "Crossroads of the Marine Corps".

Quantico Station is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince William and Stafford counties in the U.S. state of Virginia, used by the Census Bureau to describe base housing. The population was 5,608 as of 2025.

The U.S. Marine Corps' Combat Development Command, which develops strategies for U.S. Marine combat and makes up most of the community of over 12,000 military and civilian personnel (including families), is based here. It has a budget of around $300 million and is the home of the Marine Corps Officer Candidates School. The Marine Corps Research Center at Quantico pursues equipment research and development, especially telecommunications, for the Marine Corps. The Marine Corps Brig, a military prison, was also located at Quantico, until its closure on 31 December 2011 and its subsequent demolition.

The FBI Academy, the principal research and training facility of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the principal training facility for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the United States Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) are also located on the base.

In 2001, the base was designated as part of the Quantico Marine Corps Base Historic District by the National Register of Historic Places. This district includes 122 buildings, two landscapes, a sculpture, and a water tower located within the Mainside (east of I-95) area of the base. The contributing properties with separate entries include Tennessee Camp, Camp French, Commanding General’s Quarters, and Rising Hill Camp.

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.

After the start of the 18th century, the area became popular because of tobacco trade in Aquia Harbor. Because traveling on muddy roads in those days was slow, many villages sprang up along the river and its inlets. Additionally, the area was a bustling stopping point on the north–south routes between New York and Florida.^{[citation needed]}

Early settlements and plantations rooted along the flatlands bordering the Potomac. The hills west of the river remained essentially uninhabited until the early 18th century. Prince William County was organized in 1731, when the "Quantico Road" was also opened. This road gave vital access from the western part of the county to this area. By 1759, the road stretched across the Blue Ridge Mountains into the Shenandoah Valley.^{[citation needed]}