South River Sanitary District

South River Sanitary District Municipal Water Report Info

Even before the Jamestown Settlement and Captain John Smith explored the Potomac River banks in 1608, Spanish explorers had visited Quantico over 40 years earlier. Scottish settlers later established communities in the Quantico area, cultivating tobacco for export. The region was home to numerous Revolutionary War heroes, with American, British, and French forces using local roads to move between battlefields.

During the Civil War, Confederate artillery blocked Union river traffic from Quantico's shores. By the 1880s, the land was acquired by developers before being sold to the Marine Corps in 1917. Marine Barracks Quantico was established on May 14, 1917, training thousands during World War I, including units of the acclaimed 4th Marine Brigade.

Marine Corps Schools was founded in 1920, with Col. Smedley D. Butler, then-Chief of Staff, stating their purpose was to "make this post and the entire Marine Corps a great university." The 1920s brought recognition of Pacific war potential, leading to development of amphibious warfare techniques at Quantico. Marines designed equipment ensuring successful future amphibious operations, while Quantico pilots developed close-air support tactics.

The Caribbean "Banana Wars" tested these innovations. Strategic units performing the new amphibious operations became the Fleet Marine Force (FMF) in 1935, headquartered at Quantico to refine equipment and tactics for future Pacific operations. When FMF headquarters relocated in 1941, Quantico's primary mission shifted to individual Marine training rather than large unit preparation.

The amphibious warfare techniques developed at Quantico before World War II enabled victory in the Pacific theater. Quantico also trained 15,000 lieutenants and numerous officers from other services who helped secure Allied victory.