Just southeast of this location were radar and other control equipment that formed part of one of three Nike anti-aircraft missile complexes in Fairfax County. Operated by the U.S. Army between 1954 and 1962, the site was established during the Cold War to defend Washington from Soviet air attack. Along with the complexes at Fairfax and Lorton, it was among the thirteen sites that encircled Washington and Baltimore. This ring of Nike missile sites was reminiscent of the perimeter of forts that guarded the capital during the Civil War. The missiles, positioned on above-ground launchers, were located nearby to the west.