The history of the northern Virginia and the Potomac River Valley since European contact dates to 1608 and the voyage of John Smith up the Potomac River. However, for the purposes of this report the history of the this region, as it directly relates to the history of Fort Myer, need only be traced to ownership of the land immediately prior to military occupation in 1861. The Civil War, which began in that year, had a profound impact on the landscape of the region that is now Fort Myer. There is little or no trace of the original Civil War forts today, but the landscape reflects the changes that occurred to vegetation and topography. Furthermore, the location of Fort Myer itself resulted from the location of the Civil War forts. Subsequent use of the post as a Signal Corps School led to the first semi-permanent and permanent construction and established the general layout of the post as it exists today. The next phase of military use involved the transformation of the post into a cavalry show place and home of Army Generals. Extensive building and re-building between 1891 and 1944 resulted in all but one of the 91 historic structures that survive today, the exception being Building #42, the restored 1878 Meigs House. Each of these time periods is filled with fascinating stories of persons and events. However, the following brief discussions of these time periods focus on the relationship between historical circumstances and their effect on the landscape and do not provide comprehensive historical accounts of the persons and events that define Fort Myer's rich history.
The landscape of Fort Myer evolved over the years according to the need of the Army. the spatial organization and pattern of use have clearly developed in close relationship to existing natural features. A set of transparent overlays illustrates the stages of development in Appendix C.