[1][3] 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 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.

[4][5][6] This district includes 122 buildings, two landscapes, a sculpture, and a water tower located within the Mainside area of the base.

The name "Quantico" is presumed to come from a Native American term, and has been translated to mean "by the large stream".

Accounts show that the area was first visited by European explorers in the summer of 1608 with settlement beginning later that year.

[citation needed] After the start of the 18th century, the area became popular because of tobacco trade in Aquia Harbor.

[citation needed] During the American Civil War, control of the Potomac River became very important to the armies of both sides.

The Confederates picked the Quantico Creek area on the Potomac to set up gun batteries.

[citation needed] Another site is Tennessee Camp, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

After a 12-day battle at the Spotsylvania Courthouse where the Union lost about 25,000 soldiers, the war moved out of the Quantico area.

This was the start of a thriving tourist and fishing town that would later be encompassed by Marine Corps Base Quantico.

[citation needed] Prior to the base's establishment, the land was owned by the Town of Quantico.

At the same time, the Quantico Shipyards were established on Hospital Point (the land that formerly held the Naval Medical Clinic but is now home to Marine Corps Systems Command) to build ocean freighters and oil tankers.

With growing tensions of war in Europe, the construction of U.S. Navy ships was a major money-maker for the Quantico Shipyards.

The Commanding General's Quarters was built in 1920 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

Virtually all Marine officers receive their basic training here, as well as enlisted technicians from many different disciplines.

[9] These Amphibious Warfare techniques, developed in the years before World War II, made victory possible in the Pacific theater.

[10] In 1942, over 50,000 acres (20,000 ha) were purchased by the federal government and added to Quantico, making up what is now the base west of Interstate 95.

The expansion was needed for additional range and maneuver training areas during World War II.

[4][5][6] This district includes 122 buildings, two landscapes, a sculpture, and a water tower located within the Mainside area of the base.

HMX-1 was the first helicopter squadron to provide rapid transportation of U.S. Presidents, a mission they have continued to carry out to the present day.

The base is the home of major training institutions for both the Marine Corps and federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies, including: A replica of the United States Marine Corps War Memorial, depicting the 2nd U.S. flag-raising on Iwo Jima, stands at the entrance to the base.

It had a seating capacity of 2,000 and was named for Colonel Swede Larson, a former United States Naval Academy football player and coach.