The Guinea Road Cemetery Reinterment

The Guinea Road Cemetery Reinterment

Aristocrat William Fitzhugh was granted 21,996 acres in 1694: The Ravensworth tract, which was divided into northern and southern halves in 1701 and subsequently subdivided among Fitzhugh heirs throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. The cemetery located at Guinea Road and Little River Turnpike (Route 236) was part of the northern half of the original tract. The community of Ilda grew around this cemetery in the late 19th century. Families of local tenant farmers, African Americans, slaves and Freedmen are believed to have been buried at the Guinea Road Cemetery. The remains were reinterred at this site by the Virginia Department of Transportation in 2006.

Pleasant Valley Memorial Park cemetery, Annandale, Virginia

Related Articles
“Historic Cemetery Halts Road Project” The Connection newspaper April 19, 2006

“Preparing for the Future by Honoring the Past” by John Kelly Washington Post April 27, 2006. Describes how Dennis Howard became involved in the efforts to preserve the memory of his ancestors.

“A Family Burial - Descendants of a 19th century African-American family celebrate the memory of their ancestors with a reinterment of what they believe to be ancestor’s remains.” The Connection newspaper October 5, 2006

"A Tribute to Forgotten Souls Saved from the Bulldozer, Civil War- Era Remains Honored” by Alec MacGillis, The Washington Post October 1, 2006