The school suffered $4.5 million in fire damage as the result of arson on December 30, 1978, when two seniors at the school and a 1978 graduate[2] threw Molotov cocktails into the building.[3][4] The fire resulted in the forced relocation of 1,700 students[5] who were sent on a split shift to nearby Groveton and Mount Vernon High schools 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,[6][7] Fort Hunt was combined with Groveton High School to form West Potomac High School, 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,[8] organizing regular all-school and all-year reunion gatherings,[9] and granting annual scholarships to graduating seniors of West Potomac High School.[10]
School institutions
The yearbook was called The Fortress. The school paper was called The Frontline. The athletic teams were called the Federals.
^Fort Hunt High School 1969 Yearbook - "The Fortress" vol. VI. Fairfax County, Virginia. 1969. p. 376. pg. 97, Graduating Senior class picture.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Barton, Mary Ann (October 8, 2011). "NBC's Hoda Kotb Returns to Northern Virginia, Talks Success, Survival". GreaterAlexandriaPatch. Archived from the original on February 19, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2014. Award-winning broadcast journalist returns to her roots (she's an '82 grad of Fort Hunt High School) to wow crowd Friday night at Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce dinner.