Fort Hunt High School was a public secondary school near

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

from 1963 until 1985, when it was converted to a middle school. Constructed at a cost of $2.5 million, Fort Hunt High opened its doors at 8428 Fort Hunt Road in 1963, toward the end of the

post–World War II baby boom The middle of the 20th century was marked by a significant and persistent increase in fertility rates in many countries of the world, especially in the Western world. The term ''baby boom'' is often used to refer to this particular boom, generall ...

, as part of the

Fairfax County Public Schools The Fairfax County Public Schools system (FCPS) is a school division in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. It is a branch of the Fairfax County government which administers public schools in Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax. FCPS's headqu ...

. The school suffered $4.5 million in fire damage as the result of

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

on December 30, 1978, when two seniors at the school and a 1978 graduate threw

Molotov cocktail A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with flamma ...

s into the building. The fire resulted in the forced relocation of 1,700 students who were sent on a split shift to nearby Groveton and

Mount Vernon High school Mount Vernon High School could refer to: *Mount Vernon High School (Arkansas) — Mount Vernon, Arkansas * Mount Vernon High School (Illinois) — Mount Vernon, Illinois *Mount Vernon High School (Fortville, Indiana) * Mount Vernon High Sch ...

s through the remainder of the 1978–79 school year. In 1985, due to declining enrollment, and after contentious political and legal battles to keep the school open, Fort Hunt was combined with Groveton High School to form

West Potomac High School West Potomac High School, formerly Groveton High School, is a public high school in the Alexandria area of Fairfax County, Virginia. It was founded in 1985 and is part of the Fairfax County Public Schools district. History West Potomac High Sc ...

, located on Groveton's campus. The Fort Hunt campus was converted into Carl Sandburg Middle School, which replaced the older Stephen Foster and Bryant Intermediate Schools. A large community of Fort Hunt High School alumni remains active online, organizing regular all-school and all-year reunion gatherings, and granting annual scholarships to graduating seniors of

School institutions

The yearbook was called ''The Fortress''. The school paper was called ''The Frontline''. The athletic teams were called the Federals.

Notable alumni

* Robert C. Michelson, '69 — American engineer and academicFort Hunt High School 1965-1970 Alumni site
/ref> Recipient of the Pirelli Award for the diffusion of scientific culture, and the first €25,000 ''Top

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Prize'' *

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, '70 —

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winning author * Carl C. Perkins, '72 — member of the

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from Kentucky's 7th congressional district, 1983–1993 *Admiral James A. Winnefeld, Jr., "Sandy", '74 —

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, Aug. 4, 2011 – July 31, 2015 *

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, '76 — Emmy Award-winning TV writer/producer of ''

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'' * Wendy B. Lawrence, '77 —

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astronaut * Rocky Belk, '79 — NFL player *

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, '79 —

winning photographer *

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'79 — founder of Acumen * Robert Novogratz '81 — real estate investor, designer, and television host on HGTV and Bravo *

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, '82 — co-host of the NBC's ''

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'' *

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'84 — investor and CEO of Galaxy Investment Partners.

References

{{authority control High schools in Fairfax County, Virginia Educational institutions established in 1963 Educational institutions disestablished in 1985 Defunct schools in Virginia School buildings in the United States destroyed by arson 1963 establishments in Virginia