Today the current year is ending, so I want to remember the past with cemeteries.
I was looking at Herndon Historical Society’s web site for some information on this topic.
I’m always learning something new by reading it. I noticed on their site they have a tab of local cemeteries. So I clicked through it.
Why Cemeteries Are Important in Remembering the Past
Cemeteries are important because they provide a link to the past by documenting people, history, the church, and the community.
It was quite a surprise for me to learn that the school I visited before had an old family cemetery adjacent to its property. However, oddly, I had never seen it. The cemetery belonged to the Thompson/Kidwell family. I recognized the last name of the Kidwell family and wanted to find out more.
So I got in my car and drove to the A. Scott Crossfield Elementary School, the location of the family cemetery. It was fortunate for me that the school is out on holiday break. I started to drive slowly around the empty parking lot area looking for a clue to the location.
Opening to fenced cemetery.
Then I noticed a fence structure seen through the woods. I parked my car and proceeded on a nearby path. At first I wasn’t sure if I had found it but when I got closer, it was evident that there were a few grave markers within the fenced in area.
Many of the old headstones had crumbled away over time and I wasn’t able to read any of the inscriptions, so I’m glad this area has been marked off.
Cemetery Survey
I, also, learned the Fairfax County Library has a cemetery survey so you can find graves under such categories as church, community, commercial, family, institutions, military, slave, and the unknown. So, a lot of the research work on remembering the past with Cemeteries blog has already been done.
A thank you goes out to Jane Kirkpatrick-Wall who back in 1977 gifted her transcripts of 100 Fairfax cemeteries to the library. Apparently, staff and volunteers continue to add to her original lists.
Remember the past with cemeteries blog finds this type of information most useful.
A lone pinecone on a branch in the woods.
Remember the Past with Cemeteries Blog
Also, of interest is the Fairfax County Cemetery Preservation Association, Inc. The organization works with documenting, preserving, and protecting local cemeteries from development, neglect or vandalism.
I scanned their section on cleaning gravestones marred with environmental grim and mold, moss, lichens, or bird droppings.
This is a huge section and they even have a class one can sign up for. Basically, they follow the motto of “Do No Harm” when cleaning gravestones.
Gravestones can be made of limestone, slate, marble, sandstone, granite or even concrete and there are different ways to clean each.
The object is to clean the stone but not have it new looking again.
This topic is deserving of more space, so perhaps I’ll will do an update blog at another time.
For now, I’m counting down the hours until the new year begins. For me, it’s never out with the old, in with the new.
Happy New Year everyone!
Resource Sites: Herndon Historical Society’s web site, Fairfax County Library System, and the Fairfax County Cemetery Preservation Association, Inc.