Article
By Al Donley · Published · Updated
This quiet suburban neighborhood was once a massive military camp until a typhoid outbreak shut it down.[1]
This is the history of Dunn Loring, Virginia.[2]
Dunn Loring began in 1886, when General William McKee Dunn purchased 600 acres along the Washington, Ohio and Western Railroad and planned a new residential community.[2]
The Loring Land and Improvement Company built the railroad station and post office, but the overall development stalled after General Dunn passed away.[2]
Then, in 1898, the Spanish-American War brought thousands of soldiers to the area. Camp Russell A. Alger was established here and eventually housed 35,000 troops, some of whom supported General Shafter's campaign in Cuba.[1]
Within months, the camp closed after a major typhoid outbreak. The area became known as Camp Alger Farm.[1]
By the 1940s and '50s, it was being transformed into the suburban community we know today.[2]
