Quantico (; formerly Potomac) is a town in southeastern Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 578 at the 2020 census. Quantico is approximately 35 miles southwest of Washington, D.C., bounded by the

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

to the east and the Quantico Creek to the north. The word Quantico is a corruption of the name of a Doeg village recorded by English colonists as ''Pamacocack''. Quantico is surrounded on its remaining two sides by one of the largest U.S. Marine Corps bases, Marine Corps Base Quantico. The base is the site of the HMX-1 presidential helicopter squadron, the FBI Academy, the FBI Laboratory, the Marine Corps Combat Development Command, the Officer Candidates School, The Basic School, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration training academy, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the United States Army Criminal Investigation Division, and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations headquarters. A replica of the United States Marine Corps War Memorial stands at one of the entrances to the base.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , all land.

Climate

Quantico has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Cfa'').

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 561 people, 295 households, and 107 families living in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . The racial makeup was 61.32%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 20.32%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 10.16% Asian, 0.36% Native American, 2.32% from other races, and 5.53% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino people of any race were 5.53% of the population. The median income for a household in the town was $36,250. About 22.4% of families and 21.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 39.4% of those under the age of 18.

Popular culture

The headquarters of the FBI Academy at the Quantico Marine Corps Base are featured in the 1991 film ''The Silence of the Lambs'', the 2013–2015 TV series ''Hannibal'', and the 2015–2018 series ''Quantico''. The headquarters of the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit are also featured in the 2005–2020 and 2022–2023 series '' Criminal Minds'', and the 2017–2019 series ''Mindhunter''.

Transportation

There are no significant highways passing through Quantico. All road vehicles must pass through Marine Corps Base Quantico in order to reach the town. You must gain authorization to visit Quantico. More thorough searches and checks may also be undertaken, according to the discretion and authority of base security.

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

's Northeast Regional and

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

services, as well as the local Virginia Railway Express, all stop at Quantico station. Stafford Regional Airport is the closest non-military airport, though the airfield exclusively serves general aviation and has no regularly scheduled commercial flights. Airports serving Washington, D.C. are the primary commercial air links for Quantico, with the closest being Reagan National Airport and the primary hub for international flights being Dulles International Airport.

Notable people

* Robert L. Crawford Jr., actor on '' Laramie'' * Stuart Duncan, bluegrass musician * Geof Isherwood, artist * Shelby Lynne, musician, singer, songwriter, producer, owner of Everso Records, actress * Brian Shul, decorated retired USAF major, pilot of the SR-71 Blackbird, author, nature photographer, Eagle Scout * Roy Thomas, former pitcher for the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

* Julie S. Cabus, criminal investigator

References

External links

Town of Quantico
(Town has not paid for renewal, link is not working) * https://www.quantico.marines.mil/Info/Base-Access/Civilian-Non-Military/ {{Coord, display=title, 38.521871, -77.289757 Virginia populated places on the Potomac River Towns in Prince William County, Virginia