TIMELINE
A summary of milestones from 1741 through 2006.
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1700
“Belvoir Manor Constructed”
“Corps of Engineers established
Quartermaster Corps established”
“Belvoir Manor destroyed by fire”
“ ”
1800
“Woodlawn Mansion constructed”
“Quartermaster Corps responsible for construction of all quarters at permanent installations. (Corps of Engineers primarily focuses on public works projects)”
“Map of Belvoir Peninsula”
“ ”
1900
“U.S. War Department acquired 1500 acres on what had been the Belvoir Plantation to establish a rifle range and summer camp for engineer troops stationed at Washington Barracks
Titanic sinks, April 15”
“Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated June 28, leading to World War I”
“President Wilson asks Congress for a declaration of war with Germany, April 6
The United States passes the Selective Service Act empowering the Federal Government to draft men for the armed forces, May 8
Secretary of War authorized the establishment of a training cantonment, Camp A.A. Humphreys, for engineer soldiers on the Belvoir peninsula. Temporary barracks, warehouses, and other structures constructed, Dec. 15
Opening Day, Camp A.A. Humphreys [Fort Belvoir]”
“Second authorization was given to increase the cantonment capacity to 30,000; subsequent wave of construction completed, Oct. 31
World War I ends as Germany and Allies sign an Armistice, Nov. 1
Map of Camp A.A. Humphreys [Fort Belvoir]”
“38 bungalows built at Fort Belvoir to house officers (Park Village, Snow Loop, Jadwin Loop)”
“18th Amendment, Prohibition, comes into force, Jan. 16
Construction Service of the Quartermaster Corps formed, July 15
19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ratified, giving women the right to vote, Aug. 26
Social Area”
“War Department created the District of Washington, predecessor of the Military District of Washington
Parade”
“Congress passed Public Law No. 45 authorizing the Secretary of War to sell off property and use funds on permanent construction at other military posts (for housing and hospitalization needs), March”
“First $7 million made available for construction (primarily for barracks and hospitals) from Public Law No. 45
Fort Belvoir’s new post plan is approved by Congress
Charles Lindbergh flies nonstop across the Atlantic
The Jazz Singer is released, first talking motion picture”
“Stock Market on Wall Street crashes, Oct.”
“23 single-family NCO quarters were scheduled to be completed, June (Gerber Village)
Gerber Village Single Family Home
Map of Fort Belvoir”
“Within continental United States, permanent housing had been provided for 19,800 enlisted men, 304 non-commissioned officers (NCO), and 292 commissioned officers. Construction to that date totaled just over $30 million, Feb.
35 single family NCO quarters completed at Fort Belvoir (Gerber Village)
Fort Belvoir archaeological project at the plantation ruins of Belvoir Manor
”
“Revised Fort Belvoir Post Plan
Franklin Delano Roosevelt elected president of the United States, Nov. 8”
“21st Amendment passed, repealing the 18th amendment, Prohibition, Feb. 20
Additional money made available with the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIA) to assist trades and industries during the Great Depression, $61 million for 660 projects at 65 installations, September”
“Belvoir Village Constructed
National Housing Act to set up the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
Camp Humphreys gets permanent children’s school
Four Warrant Officer’s and two NCO quarters completed, July 30. (Gerber Village)”
“Fort Humphreys renamed Fort Belvoir
20 Field Officers’ quarters were built
Belvoir Village 4 Bedroom House”
“Glenn Miller Orchestra debuts in New York City (often visits Fort Belvoir afterward)
U.S. Housing Act created U.S. Housing Authority
Aerial Image of Fort Belvoir”
“Title I of the Work Relief and Public Works Appropriation Act gave $13,942,572 in WPA funds and $52,283,400 in PWA funds for Army housing. Spent at 64 posts, 285 projects, 1091 sets of quarters. These projects had to be substantially completed by Jan. 1, 1940
Officer’s swimming pool is built at Fort Belvoir”
“Six duplexes, housing for NCO Senior Officers, completed (Gerber Village)
The Committee of the Participation of Negroes in the National Defense (CPNND) was formed to work toward inclusion of blacks in the military organization, May
Britain, France, Australia, and New Zealand declare war on Germany. Second World War begins, Sept. 3
Gerber Village Duplex Construction”
“Fort Belvoir expansion includes an additional 3,000 acres north of U.S. Route 1 to make room for the new Engineer Replacement Training Center (ERTC). Temporary Emergency Construction Program starts constructing 643 new buildings at Fort Belvoir
Construction of 41 houses comprising 110 units (Grays Hill Village)
Gone with the Wind sweeps the Oscars ”
“Army transfers all construction responsibilities to the Corps of Engineers, December, ending the involvement of Quartermaster Corps in military housing
41 additional houses completed at Fort Belvoir (Grays Hill Village)
Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7”
“Congress passed Public Law 490 to provide benefits and an allotment of the serviceman’s pay to surviving dependents
First U.S. GIs arrive in Britain, Jan. 26
Frank Sinatra debuts at the New York Paramount Theater, Dec. 30”
“Map of Fort Belvoir”
“D-Day landings, June 6
Grays Hill Nursery opened, October”
“V-E (Victory in Europe) Day, May 8
Japanese sign the surrender agreement; V-J (Victory over Japan) Day, Sept. 2
Korea divided into U.S. and Soviet occupation zones along 38th parallel, Aug. 15
Gillem Board formed to examine and prepare a directive on the role of African Americans in the postwar Army”
“123 housing conversions, 108 temporary housing units and a block of bachelor officers’ quarters built at Fort Belvoir
United Nations holds its first session in San Francisco
President Truman established the President’s Committee on Civil Rights to investigate racial violence and to improve civil rights of all Americans, Sept. 19”
“The Truman Doctrine pledges to provide American economic and military assistance to any nation threatened by Communism, March 12
Fort Belvoir converts existing buildings to 30 family housing units in “B” area; also converting buildings in the hospital area to provide 10 housing units; additional 80 units in “J” area to be awarded soon, 120 total
20 additional family housing units built to boost total to 120 two-bedroom apartments, four to a building, to be ready about Feb. 1, 1948, near Post Headquarters, comprising five buildings (Rossell Loop Village)
The manual Planning of Family Housing at Army Installations published
President Truman’s National Security Act creates U.S. Department of Defense, July 26
Gray’s Hill Civilian Dispensary opened, Aug.
Gray’s Hill Village nursery, March 1, 1947”
“Congress passed Public Law 626 authorizing military construction at installation for the fiscal year 1949. Based allowable construction on size limits and repealed cost limits, provided for family housing for enlisted men, repealed the $5,000 spending limit on buildings or installations without approval of the Secretary of War, June
President Truman signed Executive Order 9981, which provided equal treatment and opportunities for African American serviceman, July 26
U.S. Military turns over power to Republic of Korea, Aug. 15”
“Thermo-Con House constructed
Department of Defense creates Personnel Policy Board, which drafted a racial policy that abolished all racial quotas and established uniform draft standards, Feb.
Wherry Bill signed by President Truman, Aug. 8”
“Korean War begins
First Peanuts cartoon strip
U.S. President Truman orders construction of Hydrogen Bomb”
“350 + 100 rental apartment units completed; started at the end of 1949 Lewis Heights Village
Engineer Officer Candidate School began its first classes at Fort Belvoir
A contract study “on the Army’s experiences with black troops in Korea,” known as Project CLEAR, confirmed that African American soldiers in integrated units fought as well as whites, Nov.
First color TV broadcast in U.S.”
“Cease fire signed in Korea
Queen Elizabeth II is crowned in Great Britain
Housing and Home Finance Agency publishes Design Standards for Construction of Permanent Family Housing for Federal Personnel
Aerial Image of Fort Belvoir”
“Engineer Officer Candidate School closed its doors
Army inactivated the last all black unit in the 94th Engineer Battalion, Nov.”
“300 family units being built; 24 duplex buildings located in area north of ERDL near ruins of old Fairfax Mansion (Fairfax Village area); 270 units erected just north of Jadwin Loop Village in wooded shelf area along Dogue Creek Dogue Creek Village; six more units on 9th street near the Post Hospital (Building 813 in Colyer Village)
Capehart Bill signed by President Eisenhower
Disneyland opens”
“Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a segregated, Birmingham, Ala., bus
Elvis on The Ed Sullivan Show
Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier III of Monac
Dogue Creek Village, move-in day, Sept 28”
“Dewitt Hospital and SM-1 Nuclear Plant opened at Fort Belvoir
Soviet satellite Sputnik launches Space Age”
“NASA founded
Dr. Seuss writes Cat in the Hat
”
“Lewis Heights Village acquired by Fort Belvoir
618 housing units being completed (Colyer, Fairfax, George Washington, River Villages)
Castro becomes dictator of Cuba”
“John F. Kennedy elected president”
“Berlin Wall built
Bay of Pigs Invasion”
“Aerial Image of Fort Belvoir”
“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gives his “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington, DC
President Kennedy assassinated, Nov. 22, Dallas”
“Beatles invade the U.S.
Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) becomes World Heavyweight Champion, the first of three times”
“FHA became part of Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Housing
U.S. sends troops to Vietnam
Map of Fort Belvoir”
“The 100th Engineer Company of the Fourth Battalion started demolition of 42 buildings of Grays Hill Village”
“Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Richard Nixon elected president
Lewis Heights Village”
“River Village”
“Apollo 11 lands on the moon
Concert at Woodstock”
“Beatles break up
Computer floppy disks introduced”
“The Defense Systems Management College (DSMC) was established at Fort Belvoir, a graduate-level institution that offers advanced courses of study in weapon systems acquisition management for both military personnel and civilians”
“Defense Mapping School (DMS) opened at Fort Belvoir to provide instruction in tactical mapping, land geodetic surveys, and cartographic drafting
Terrorist attack at the Olympic Games in Munich
M*A*S*H television show premiers”
“End of military draft announced
Last American troops withdraw from Vietnam
Fort Belvoir’s SM-1 Nuclear Plant decommissioned
Belvoir Mansion Ruins and the Fairfax Grave Site listed on the National Register of Historic Places”
“President Richard Nixon resigns”
“150 units planned for Fort Belvoir with 90 enlisted and 60 company grade officers”
“Star Wars movie released”
“Anti-royalist Iranians took American hostages in Tehran
Margaret Thatcher first woman prime minister of Great Britain”
“Fort Belvoir’s Accotink Bay Wildlife Refuge established; over 1,300 acres of marsh and hardwood forest in the southwestern corner of the post
First cul-de-sac of Woodlawn Village turned over to the Housing Office for occupancy, Oct.
Ronald Reagan elected president
Woodlawn Village, architect’s drawings”
“Sandra Day O’Connor first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court
Royal wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer”
“Initial National Register nomination completed for the Fort Belvoir Historic District. The district was determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. (Resources listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register)
Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space
U.S. invades Grenada
President Reagan signed Military Construction Authorization Act, 1984 legislation that established Section 801 and 802, Oct. 11”
“Aerial Image of Fort Belvoir”
“Challenger space shuttle explodes
Chernobyl nuclear accident”
“Fort Belvoir transferred from the Training and Doctrine Command to the Military District of Washington
Engineer School left Fort Belvoir and relocated to Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri”
“Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) relocated to Fort Belvoir, Summer
Berlin Wall comes down, Nov. 9
”
“Rossell Loop Village Housing”
“U.S. leads Operation Desert Storm
Collapse of the Soviet Union”
“First boundary increase to the National Register-eligible Fort Belvoir Historic District
Riots in Los Angeles after the Rodney King verdict
Military District of Washington adopted a set of Stewardship Standards to be applied to the preservation and rehabilitation of historic family quarters at Forts Myer, McNair, and Belvoir, Dec.”
“World Trade Center bombed
Cult compound in Waco, Texas, raided
Rabin and Arafat sign peace accord”
“O.J. Simpson arrested for double murder
Rwandan genocide begins”
“Department of Logistics Agency (DLA) headquarters moved to Fort Belvoir
Oklahoma City bombing
Yitzhak Rabin assassinated”
“Second boundary increase to the National Register-eligible Fort Belvoir Historic District
Camp A.A. Humphreys Pump Station and Filter Building determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. (Resources listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register)
U.S. Army Package Power Reactor determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. (Resources listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register)
Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI) authorizes in a program called the Residential Communities Initiative (RCI) to privatize Army Family Housing”
“Thermo-Con House listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Hong Kong returned to China
Princess Diana dies in car crash
Scientists clone sheep”
“Thermo-Con House, listed on the Virginia Landmark Register in 1997”
“Euro, the new European currency, established
Killing spree at Columbine High School”
“ ”
2000
“Sept. 11 terrorist attacks”
“Wave of corporate scandals starting with Enron”
“Military housing at Fort Belvoir became privatized under the Army’s Residential Communities Initiative program
Invasion of Iraq begins with Operation Iraqi Freedom, March 19”
“Thermo-Con House, view of the southwest corner”
“Typical Colonial Revival Administration Building in the Fort Belvoir Historic District”
“Map of Fort Belvoir”
“Fort Belvoir’s Town Center”