1. Alexandria Canal
2. L'Overture General Hospital
3. St. Mary's Catholic Church Cemetery
4. Lutheran Churchyard Site
5. Freedmen's Cemetery
6. "Original" Penny Hil Burying Ground

More Cemeteries

• Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex
• Central Old Town Cemeteries
• Beyond Old Town

Back to Introduction

• The Value of Historic Cemeteries
• Defining Old Town Alexandria
• Countering the Threats to Cemeteries
• Alexandria Archaeology's role in Locating and Protecting Gravesites

1. Alexandria Canal
Montgomery and North Royal Street

Human remains were found during the 1843 excavation of the Alexandria Canal. The Alexandria Gazette attributes these graves to victims of the 1803 yellow fever epidemic.

2. L'Overture Gneral Hospital
Prince and West Streets

L'Overture Hospital was a Union military site provided for the care of sick and wounded African American soldiers and escaped slaves or slaves freed by Union forces. The hospital covered most of the city block at Prince and West Streets. In 1879, construction workmen found bones from amputated limbs here.

3. St. Mary's Catholic Church Cemetery
South Washington and Church Street

St. Mary's the oldest public Catholic Cemetery in Virginia and the oldest active cemetery in Alexandria. Parish records indicate that William Thorton Alexander deeded the land to St. Mary’s in 1803.

4. Lutheran Churchyard Site

The 1803 Alexandria map refers to a German Lutheran church, implying that there may have been burials at this location. No physical evidence has come to light.

5. Freedmen's Cemetery
South Washington and Church Street

Freedmen's Cemetery, across from St. Mary's Cemetery, was created during the Civil War as a burial place for contrabands and African American Union soldiers. The soldiers were disinterred and reburied at the Alexandria National Cemetery before the end of the ware, but many other graves remained on this site. It was recognized as a cemetery as late as 1939 and remained undisturbed until a service station and an office building were built on the site. Many graves are still here and under adjoining Washington Street. By January 1, 1866, more than 1,200 bodies were interred here. Nearly six hundred more burials occurred after this date. Coffins for Freedman Cemetery were stored at L’Overature Hospital. It is possible that invalid African American Soldiers quartered there provided funeral escorts for some of the burials. A State historic marker is on the corner of South Washington and Church Street. As part of the mitigation for the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project, the cemetery will be preserved as a memorial park.

6. "Original" Penny Hill Burying Ground

An old newspaper article notes a public burying ground where 1803 yellow fever epidemic victims were buried. Due to extensive development in the area, whatever cemetery that may have existed here has been obliterated.

Beyond Old Town

Cemeteries lying outside of Old Town have been uncovered through construction and oral tradition. Details can be found in the Alexandria Archaeology publication Those Upon Whom the Curtain Has Fallen by Mark Greeley, available at the museum or from the Historic Alexandria Museum Shop.

1. Alexander Family Cemetery
2. Auld Family Cemetery
3. Bloxham Family Cemetery Site
4. Dove Family Cemetery
5. Fendall Family Cemetery Site
6. Goings Family Cemetery Site
7. Howard Family Cemetery Site
8. Ivy Hill Cemetery
9. Lebanon Union Church Cemetery
10. Moore-Holland Cemetery Site
11. Macedonia Cemeteries
12. Oakland Baptist Church Cemetery
13. Shuter's Hill Cemetery Site
14. Summer Hill Plantation Cemetery Site
15. Summers Family Cemetery
16. Terrett Family Cemetery
17. Trisler Family Cemetery Site
18. Union Military Cemeteries at Virginia Theological Seminary
19. Unidentified Cemetery at Fort Ward Park
20. 4141 Mount Vernon Avenue
21. Unidentified Cemetery near Orlando Place
22. Unidentified Site, South Side of Colvin Street
23. Virginia Theological Seminary Burying Ground
24. Virginia Theological Seminary Cemetery