It was originally owned by the Baltimore Company and Charles Carroll of Carrollton.

When the nearby Loudon Park National Cemetery was deemed full, the War Department surveyed the area for a new site.

In 1936 the federal government took possession of the land for a cost of $95,000, and began converting the estate to "Little Arlington".

The old mansion was demolished, fences were put up, roads were constructed, and landscaping was done as part of a Works Progress Administration to invest in infrastructure during the Great Depression.

[citation needed] The memorial area of the cemetery has monuments representing each of the six United States Marine Corps divisions from World War II.