A New Guy On an Old Block

And what does she think of Brown so far?

"He's a very young person," she said. "I have no problem with young people moving in," she added. "But when people come to town to purchase property, they need to come to a town meeting to find out what we're about."

Like Gasser, Tharp and others in town are wary of proposals to redevelop Quantico's eclectic streets or enforce property restrictions in the overzealous style of a suburban homeowner's association. They don't want to see the town homogenized or its layers of character stripped away by those who haven't forged a long-term relationship with the town.

Brown, who moved to Quantico in 2004, said he understands. And lest there be any doubt he is not simply passing through, he has erected a large, two-story, colonial-style modular home for his family right in the middle of town. It's the newest, nicest home in Quantico, but it looks out on a double-wide trailer and a crumbling barracks-style apartment building that appears to have suffered an artillery attack, with a droopy awning out front and wild strands of loose wiring decorating its exterior.

Getting such properties cleaned up is the first step in renewing the town, Brown said, and although some are suspicious of his intentions, he does appear to have the support of Quantico's most elder statesman.

"I'm getting older, so it's good to have some new generations coming in to take over," said council member and former mayor Mitchel Raftelis, 85, who is also project manager for a $1.1 million streetscape rehabilitation project that aims to make Potomac Avenue more eye-pleasing and visitor-friendly.

"We want to welcome people," he said. "A lot of people don't know we have a town here."