The station takes its name from its geographic location on McMurdo Sound, named after Lieutenant Archibald McMurdo of . Under the command of British explorer James Clark Ross, the "Terror" first charted the area in 1841. The British explorer Robert Falcon Scott established a base camp close to this spot in 1902 and built a cabin there that was named Discovery Hut. It still stands as a historic monument near the water's edge on Hut Point at McMurdo Station. The volcanic rock of the site is the southernmost bare ground accessible by ship in the world. The United States officially opened its first station at McMurdo on February 16, 1956 as part of Operation Deep Freeze. The base, built by the U.S. Navy Seabees, was initially designated "Naval Air Facility McMurdo". On November 28, 1957, Admiral George J. Dufek visited McMurdo with a U.S. congressional delegation for a change-of-command ceremony.