Fort Hunt is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The area is named after Fort Hunt, which was built on the bank of the Potomac River in 1897 to defend Washington, D.C. from naval attack and is now a public park. The area is also notable for its high population of senior citizens and for being one of the first suburbs in wealthy Fairfax County. The population was 17,231 at the 2020 census.
Fort Hunt encompasses the 22308 ZIP code of Alexandria, composed of much of the most affluent section of southeast Fairfax County, close to the George Washington Memorial Parkway and Potomac River, including the neighborhoods of Riverside Gardens, Tauxemont, Herbert Springs, Waynewood, Plymouth Haven, Potomac Valley – River Bend, Collingwood, Stratford Landing, Stratford on the Potomac, Hollin Hall, Wellington, Arcturus and (in ZIP code 22307) Villamay and Marlan Forest. As of the 2010 census, Fort Hunt also includes the neighborhood of Hollindale in ZIP code 22306 and much of Hollin Hills in 22307. Prominent Fort Hunt residents include U.S. Senator Tim Johnson, former House Speaker Bob Livingston and Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.
Geography
Fort Hunt is located in southeastern Fairfax County at (38.732814, −77.058066). It is bordered to the south and east by the Potomac River, which forms the Maryland state line. Neighboring Virginia CDPs are Belle Haven to the north, Groveton to the northwest, Hybla Valley to the west, and Mount Vernon to the southwest across Little Hunting Creek. According to the United States Census Bureau, the Fort Hunt CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 6.59%, is water.
Located within Fort Hunt is Fort Hunt Park, currently operated by the National Park Service, with a history of military activity dating from 1676.
History
The site of present-day Fort Hunt Park was used as an asset for the United States military beginning in the Spanish–American War. The fort had been completed on land that used to belong to the River Farm plantation of George Washington. The fort was used to complement Fort Washington across the river in Maryland, but it was not involved in an actual battle during the Spanish–American War.
During World War II, the fort was used as an interrogation center called P. O. Box 1142 where captive German officers were kept and questioned. Fort Hunt is the site of the death of Lieutenant Commander Werner Henke, the highest-ranking German officer to be shot while in American captivity during World War II.
During the war and after, neighborhoods such as Waynewood and Snowden began arising in the area around the fort, and the commercial center for the community, Hollin Hall shopping center, was constructed on Fort Hunt Road.
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Fort Hunt CDP, Virginia – Racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |Pop 2020
!% 2000
!% 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|11,739
|14,184
|style='background: #ffffe6; |14,204
|90.84%
|88.40%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |82.43%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|304
|359
|style='background: #ffffe6; |356
|2.35%
|2.24%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.07%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|20
|22
|style='background: #ffffe6; |23
|0.15%
|0.14%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.13%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|323
|437
|style='background: #ffffe6; |515
|2.50%
|2.72%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.99%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|6
|9
|style='background: #ffffe6; |14
|0.05%
|0.06%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.08%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|26
|20
|style='background: #ffffe6; |99
|0.20%
|0.12%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.57%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|163
|316
|style='background: #ffffe6; |849
|1.26%
|1.97%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.93%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|342
|698
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,171
|2.65%
|4.35%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |6.80%
|-
|Total
|12,923
|16,045
|style='background: #ffffe6; |17,231
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Fort Hunt had a population of 17,231. The median age was 43.6 years. 27.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 97.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 94.4 males age 18 and over.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 5,967 households in Fort Hunt, of which 41.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 73.4% were married-couple households, 8.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 15.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 15.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.