HomeFairfax General ForumArrest/Ticket SearchWiki newPictures/VideosChatArticlesLinksAbout
Fairfax County General :  Fairfax Underground fairfax underground logo
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Gerhardt ()
Date: June 15, 2006 12:46AM

who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?

these are white tombstones that appear to be very, very old. they
are hard to miss if you make a turn into Micro Center's parking lot.

Thanks for any info!

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Gravis ()
Date: June 15, 2006 02:31AM

here is link to google maps what shows the microcenter inside it's shopping center. please center in and zoom in on the area your are talking about. ive been there plenty of times but im not sure where it is exactly you are talking about. i dont remember any tombstones.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&ie=UTF8&t=h&om=1&ll=38.870562,-77.261621&spn=0.003467,0.007296 : microcenter is the building at the very bottom of the screen in the middle.

note: when you are zoomed in on it, copy the location of the "Link to this page" link


"the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish."095042938540

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: pgens ()
Date: June 15, 2006 09:23AM

Yeah, there are at least four entrances into that shopping center and it's a big parking lot... help us out a little.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: gerhardt ()
Date: June 15, 2006 12:03PM

Please see attached picture... the red arrow points to a white dot on the Google Earth map.... that's the one I'm talking about.... thanks!

If photo doesn't show up, it's also posted here at:

http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/1615/micro0bs.jpg
Attachments:
Micro.jpg

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Blanka MD ()
Date: June 15, 2006 12:10PM

Go to windows live local and look under birds eye view.
http://local.live.com/


I've always wondered myself. It does seem like a rather sad thing to have graves next to a mega shopping center.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: RESton Peace ()
Date: June 15, 2006 03:14PM

If the graves were there and marked, I would imagine they had to build around them to avoid some huge hassle with the local authorites/historical association.

I believe it is illegal to improperly move a marked grave.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Mike22Va ()
Date: June 15, 2006 03:53PM

http://www.interment.net/data/us/va/fairfax/thompson.htm

There is the answer to your question.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Fairfax MF-er ()
Date: June 15, 2006 05:35PM

Gerhardt Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> who's buried under the old tombstones in front of
> Micro Center?
>
> these are white tombstones that appear to be very,
> very old. they
> are hard to miss if you make a turn into Micro
> Center's parking lot.
>
> Thanks for any info!


George Mason and his family. He is one of the most overlooked Founding Fathers, afterall.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: RESton Peace ()
Date: June 15, 2006 05:37PM

Everyone knows george mason is buried in grant's tomb, thus the riddle.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Hawaii ()
Date: June 16, 2006 10:04PM

Historically, families in this area had family cemetaries which were located on their property. As the developers do their thing, old family farms and properties have been bought and subdivided to new owners, but the graves stay there. There are less in Alexandria, etc., because those areas were always highly trafficked areas, even way back when. Currently, you see this more in Prince William county and more rural areas. For example, if you go to the plaza in Gainesville at Rt. 29 & Linton Hall Rd, the Shirley family cemetary lies right in the middle of the parking lot.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Date: June 17, 2006 10:48AM

Many times they cant move a cemetery when relatives cannot be notified. Imagine if you came back to visit your father/mother/sister/brother's grave and MicroCenter was in its place. It was probably less expensive to build around it than to track down the family.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: WashingToneLocian ()
Date: June 17, 2006 01:32PM

God I hate this login crap Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Many times they cant move a cemetery when
> relatives cannot be notified. Imagine if you came
> back to visit your father/mother/sister/brother's
> grave and MicroCenter was in its place. It was
> probably less expensive to build around it than to
> track down the family.


Yeah. And you can get a decaf Moca Latte from Starbucks when visiting great, great Aunt Lizbeth.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Hawaii ()
Date: June 17, 2006 04:06PM

If you'd like to get real morbid, and check out more cemetaries/graveyards in Virginia, you may want to take a look at this site:

http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/va/vastones/vastones.htm

Or hell, if you want a tour, look at this one. I did this tour years ago, and it was pretty good:

http://www.alexcolonialtours.com/graveyard.html

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: amp ()
Date: June 20, 2006 01:44PM

I always wonder that my self. At this point it seems worst for the graves to be in that area then to be moved somewhere else. They could use more parking at that safeway..

Now wtf is up with two Starbucks like 20 feet apart from each other.

Starbucks, Baja Fresh, Safeway(w/ Starbucks)

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: WashingToneLocian ()
Date: June 20, 2006 07:30PM

amp Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I always wonder that my self. At this point it
> seems worst for the graves to be in that area then
> to be moved somewhere else. They could use more
> parking at that safeway..
>
> Now wtf is up with two Starbucks like 20 feet
> apart from each other.
>
> Starbucks, Baja Fresh, Safeway(w/ Starbucks)


In case you need another Starbucks fix in the time it takes you to walk from Starbucks, past Baja Fresh and to Safeway.

Actually, I think the Starbucks was there first, and then Safeway cut a deal to have Starbucks' at its stores. Kind of like how you will see a McDonald's across the street from a Wal-Mart with a McDonald's in it.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: my 2 cents ()
Date: June 20, 2006 09:44PM

The sad thing here is that there are enough people willing to pay $5.00 for a cup of coffee that they can justify having two starbucks within 30 yards of each other.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: RESton Peace ()
Date: June 21, 2006 12:16AM

with all the bank sub-deals a lot of banks are part of this phenomenom of main branches and mini-branches for one particular bank being located in the same shopping center.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Dizbuster ()
Date: June 27, 2006 01:47AM

This might explain why I keep hearing voices from within Micro Center screaming "GET OUT!!!" I always thought it was because I don't give them my email address and phone number at the checkout.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: RESton Peace ()
Date: June 27, 2006 02:17AM

I don't either. I have no idea why they ask you to confirm your address, either. I have been "confirming" the wrong address for seven years.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: TheExxonTiger ()
Date: April 12, 2008 01:14AM

sorry to dig up this old thread... (yes, "dig") :) but I didn't want
to start another thread asking the same thing....

so nobody has yet figured out who were buried under those two tombstones
in front of Micro Center?

There were fresh flowers left there yesterday... why?

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Mofo ()
Date: April 12, 2008 01:44AM

Apparently that is the Thompson family.

Thompson Family Cemetery

Located on the east side of Lee Hwy., @100' north of Nutley St., Fairfax, Va..

This 1/2 ac. cemetery stands on a rise in the western part of the Pan Am Shopping Center parking lot. There are only two headstones, but there are many unmarked graves present. Below is a list of additional individuals thought to be buried here. The cemetery is clean and well maintained.
(1)
IN MEMORY OF
ARMISTEAD T. THOMPSON
SON OF
Lawson T. & Fannie A. Thompson
A member of Co. C, 5 Regt. Va. Vols.
Who died at Point Lookout, Md.
a prisoner of war Nov. 23, 1864
After an imprisonment of
17 months.
Mouldering though thy body be
Yet in our dreams thy form we see:
Our tears in torrents duly fall
O! thee we would but can't recall.
Thou art gone to Christ thy God
He who bought thee with His blood
Enabled thee to run thy race:
Raised thee now to see His face.
(2)
JOHN COMPTON
TOBIN
OCT. 1825
JULY 1918
LAURA VIRGINIA
TOBIN
JUNE 22, 1845
SEPT. 5, 1915


(Front) AMANDA ABIGAIL
TOBIN
APRIL 4, 1876
FEB. 1, 1904
Other persons thought to be buried here:
(a) Henry Allen
(b) Rita A. T. Covington
(c) Daniel Thompson (1755-c. 1835)
(d) Ellen Thompson
(e) Fannie A. Thompson (d. 1884)
(f) Katie Thompson
(g) Rev. Lawson T. Thompson (d. 1886)
(h) Lola Thompson
(i) Marshall Thompson
(j) Nat Thompson
(k) Samuel P. Thompson (b. 1705)
(l) Carmey Tobin
(M) Mamie Tobin (d. 1890)

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/branches/vr/cem/cem014.htm




What I find more interesting is the number of graves that have been plowed over for parking lots or roads etc. No doubt everyday each one of us drives over many a grave, or eat fries there...

CIVIL WAR BURIALS - RTE. 28

5931 Fort Dr., Centreville, Va.


Around 1994 a grave was discovered by relic hunters on land slated for development. On Jan. 30, 1997, a team headed by Fairfax County Archeologist Michael Johnson disinterred the remains of six Civil War soldiers. All six were white males, ages 18-24, dressed in army uniforms. It is unknown whether they were Union or Confederate soldiers, but availible evidence indicate Union. Reinterrment is planned for St. Johns Episcopal Church. A McDonalds Restaurant now occupies the original site.



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 04/12/2008 02:04AM by Mofo.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Ric ()
Date: May 16, 2008 12:18AM

Mofo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Apparently that is the Thompson family.
>
> Thompson Family Cemetery
>
> Located on the east side of Lee Hwy., @100' north
> of Nutley St., Fairfax, Va..
>
> This 1/2 ac. cemetery stands on a rise in the
> western part of the Pan Am Shopping Center parking
> lot. There are only two headstones, but there are
> many unmarked graves present. Below is a list of
> additional individuals thought to be buried here.
> The cemetery is clean and well maintained.
> (1)
> IN MEMORY OF
> ARMISTEAD T. THOMPSON
> SON OF
> Lawson T. & Fannie A. Thompson
> A member of Co. C, 5 Regt. Va. Vols.
> Who died at Point Lookout, Md.
> a prisoner of war Nov. 23, 1864
> After an imprisonment of
> 17 months.
> Mouldering though thy body be
> Yet in our dreams thy form we see:
> Our tears in torrents duly fall
> O! thee we would but can't recall.
> Thou art gone to Christ thy God
> He who bought thee with His blood
> Enabled thee to run thy race:
> Raised thee now to see His face.
> (2)
> JOHN COMPTON
> TOBIN
> OCT. 1825
> JULY 1918
> LAURA VIRGINIA
> TOBIN
> JUNE 22, 1845
> SEPT. 5, 1915
>
>
> (Front) AMANDA ABIGAIL
> TOBIN
> APRIL 4, 1876
> FEB. 1, 1904
> Other persons thought to be buried here:
> (a) Henry Allen
> (b) Rita A. T. Covington
> (c) Daniel Thompson (1755-c. 1835)
> (d) Ellen Thompson
> (e) Fannie A. Thompson (d. 1884)
> (f) Katie Thompson
> (g) Rev. Lawson T. Thompson (d. 1886)
> (h) Lola Thompson
> (i) Marshall Thompson
> (j) Nat Thompson
> (k) Samuel P. Thompson (b. 1705)
> (l) Carmey Tobin
> (M) Mamie Tobin (d. 1890)
>
> http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/branches/vr/c
> em/cem014.htm
>
>
>
>
> What I find more interesting is the number of
> graves that have been plowed over for parking lots
> or roads etc. No doubt everyday each one of us
> drives over many a grave, or eat fries there...
>
> CIVIL WAR BURIALS - RTE. 28
>
> 5931 Fort Dr., Centreville, Va.
>
>
> Around 1994 a grave was discovered by relic
> hunters on land slated for development. On Jan.
> 30, 1997, a team headed by Fairfax County
> Archeologist Michael Johnson disinterred the
> remains of six Civil War soldiers. All six were
> white males, ages 18-24, dressed in army uniforms.
> It is unknown whether they were Union or
> Confederate soldiers, but availible evidence
> indicate Union. Reinterrment is planned for St.
> Johns Episcopal Church. A McDonalds Restaurant now
> occupies the original site.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Ric ()
Date: May 16, 2008 12:20AM

My cousin stood in front of the bulldozers that were going to make this part of the parking lot.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: fascinating ()
Date: May 17, 2008 05:18PM

Thompson - any relation to the Thompson rd off of Lee's Corner dr? (franklin farm area)

you guys should see the amount of old gravestones located inside Dulles. FAA (CAA back then) forgot about some graveyards when they were dismantling that old town Willard.

you should see the wells, pumps, old basements of civil-war era houses and barns, gravestones, papers/maps/documents from the early 1900s, and 3 or 4 actual buildings remaining, deeeeeply hidden in the woods at Dulles.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Dirty Jersey ()
Date: May 17, 2008 06:13PM

There was this one near us in Jersey, supposedly some lady was buried on a hill overlooking the Raritan river. Now its a Loews movie theater and huge parking lot. With the re-leveling for the parking lot, her grave is now like 6 feet high.
Attachments:
grave.jpg

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: mariokart ()
Date: May 17, 2008 06:35PM

Sounds fascinating.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Hoffa's There ()
Date: May 19, 2008 09:51PM

Dirty Jersey Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There was this one near us in Jersey, supposedly
> some lady was buried on a hill overlooking the
> Raritan river. Now its a Loews movie theater and
> huge parking lot. With the re-leveling for the
> parking lot, her grave is now like 6 feet high.


That's just one of the many spots that parts of Jimmy Hoffa is buried!

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: 496 ()
Date: May 20, 2008 08:42AM

Off topic but Meade's descendents are buried under a TGI Fridays in Richmond...

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Paul ()
Date: May 20, 2008 11:25AM

Hey there well the shopping center and the new townhouses on the hill were owned by my grandmother she sold the land in the 70's but not the grave site there are two stones still standing Lawson Turn Thompson and another there are over 20 unmarked graves 3 revl. wars soliders and 3 civil war. My grandmother Rita Covington and there family were tennet farmers for Lord Fairfax and were gifted the land i think it was 95 ac at first but was sold off over the years. When they were building lee hwy the hwy dept used some of the stones to fill pot holes. We found out about the other graves when VDOT wanted to widen the hwy they were going to take it from the grave side so the family had to hire someone to mark the graves and thats when they found out about all the others and then VDOT decided to go on the other side of the street. Well if you want to know any more just ask
Paul

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: The Truth ()
Date: May 20, 2008 12:36PM

"who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?"


Jesus.

Ever read The Book of Mormon???

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Date: May 29, 2008 03:49PM

There's one who Turley Hall use to be by Franklin Middle School. But they were just slaves

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: rosep ()
Date: July 10, 2008 09:23AM

any relation to the Thompson rd. off wext ox....theres also a small graveyard to one side of the rd. with three marked head stones...and there was a confederate and american flag in the ground when i was there...

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Lurker. ()
Date: July 10, 2008 10:15AM

Do mean the Ox Hill battle memorial on West Ox?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ox_Hill

On July 7, 1915, Ballard and his wife deeded a small plot near the site of Stevens' death for the purpose of "allowing any person or persons the privilege of erecting appropriate monuments or markers commemorating the death of any Confederate or Federal Soldier who fell in the battle fought on the Fruit Vale Farm, this battle was fought on the 1st day of September 1862, being known as the Battle of Ox Hill or Chantilly." The plot was deeded to six trustees; three from New Jersey (Kearny's home) and three from Virginia. Trustees have since been appointed by court order. The monuments to Stevens and Kearny were dedicated on October 2, 1915, by the First New Jersey Brigade Society.[2]


Satellite view of the parkIn the 1980s, the area of the battlefield began to be commercially developed. The company which acquired rights to the park area wanted to move the monuments to a new location, but following opposition to this plan (including articles in The Washington Post), in 1987 the developer agreed to leave the stones in place and donated 2.4 acres surrounding the monuments to Fairfax County. In 1994, the county purchased an additional 2.4 acres. The rest of the battlefield is now completely developed.[3][1][4]

Signs designating the Ox Hill Battlefield Park were placed on the site, but little else was done with the park for many years. In 2004, the Fairfax County Park Authority developed plans to improve the park, including restoration of some elements of the Civil



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/10/2008 10:19AM by Lurker..

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: rosep ()
Date: July 10, 2008 10:21PM

no i mean there is a thompson rd. off west ox by Navy school. with a small graveyard....

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: ExJersey ()
Date: July 10, 2008 11:24PM

That lady in Edison, NJ was waiting for her sea captain to come home - she always stood there overlooking the Raritan - so they buried her there.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: rosep ()
Date: July 11, 2008 07:47PM

you do realize that were talking about Fairfax virginia

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: nunyabusiness ()
Date: August 03, 2008 08:44PM

Many older black families native to Virginia have tombstones like this.... People of that time were typically farmers, sons and daughters of sharecroppers and former slaves. You will see this all the time in Faquier County and Culpeper county just 60 miles outside the beltway.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Benjamin ()
Date: October 03, 2008 12:35AM

I find this kind of fascinating. I have been wondering since I transferred to that Safeway who was buried there, as the stones look very ancient and the grounds around them are far bigger than just 2 graves.

Fairfax history!

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: jeffs345 ()
Date: October 03, 2008 09:18AM

ben there are about 100 people buried there jeff s

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Registered Voter ()
Date: October 03, 2008 03:57PM

Most of the land out here was family farms - usually when they were sold to developers they had a stipulation as to whether or not the family graves could be moved. No doubt that is what happened here.

When I was a kid we used to cut through the cemetery on 236 across from NVCC Annandale all the time. There are a lot of old tombstones there that you don't see normally. When I was a kid there were large overgrown sections with markers not even visible. Kind of creepy - bad enough avoiding the graves that were marked.. :) Many of them went back to the early 1800s and before - most were pretty well worn even then, and that was 30 years ago.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/03/2008 03:58PM by Registered Voter.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Benjamin ()
Date: October 03, 2008 05:21PM

So that makes me wonder if any of them got paved over. I sure hope not :(

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: ThompsonDescendant ()
Date: February 07, 2009 11:46PM

I have read all the posts about this family cemetery with great interest. You see, I'm from the family that is buried there. My mother's cousin, Alfred Thompson (still living in Fairfax) was instrumental in insuring that VDOT did not back out on their obligation to preserve this site. As far as I know Alfred and his family are still taking care of it. I haven't been down there since my parents died but it's nice to know that the graves remain unmolested.

Mofo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Apparently that is the Thompson family.
>
> Thompson Family Cemetery
>
> Located on the east side of Lee Hwy., @100' north
> of Nutley St., Fairfax, Va..
>
> This 1/2 ac. cemetery stands on a rise in the
> western part of the Pan Am Shopping Center parking
> lot. There are only two headstones, but there are
> many unmarked graves present. Below is a list of
> additional individuals thought to be buried here.
> The cemetery is clean and well maintained.
> (1)
> IN MEMORY OF
> ARMISTEAD T. THOMPSON
> SON OF
> Lawson T. & Fannie A. Thompson
> A member of Co. C, 5 Regt. Va. Vols.
> Who died at Point Lookout, Md.
> a prisoner of war Nov. 23, 1864
> After an imprisonment of
> 17 months.
> Mouldering though thy body be
> Yet in our dreams thy form we see:
> Our tears in torrents duly fall
> O! thee we would but can't recall.
> Thou art gone to Christ thy God
> He who bought thee with His blood
> Enabled thee to run thy race:
> Raised thee now to see His face.
> (2)
> JOHN COMPTON
> TOBIN
> OCT. 1825
> JULY 1918
> LAURA VIRGINIA
> TOBIN
> JUNE 22, 1845
> SEPT. 5, 1915
>
>
> (Front) AMANDA ABIGAIL
> TOBIN
> APRIL 4, 1876
> FEB. 1, 1904
> Other persons thought to be buried here:
> (a) Henry Allen
> (b) Rita A. T. Covington
> (c) Daniel Thompson (1755-c. 1835)
> (d) Ellen Thompson
> (e) Fannie A. Thompson (d. 1884)
> (f) Katie Thompson
> (g) Rev. Lawson T. Thompson (d. 1886)
> (h) Lola Thompson
> (i) Marshall Thompson
> (j) Nat Thompson
> (k) Samuel P. Thompson (b. 1705)
> (l) Carmey Tobin
> (M) Mamie Tobin (d. 1890)
>
> http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/branches/vr/c
> em/cem014.htm
>
>
>
>
> What I find more interesting is the number of
> graves that have been plowed over for parking lots
> or roads etc. No doubt everyday each one of us
> drives over many a grave, or eat fries there...
>
> CIVIL WAR BURIALS - RTE. 28
>
> 5931 Fort Dr., Centreville, Va.
>
>
> Around 1994 a grave was discovered by relic
> hunters on land slated for development. On Jan.
> 30, 1997, a team headed by Fairfax County
> Archeologist Michael Johnson disinterred the
> remains of six Civil War soldiers. All six were
> white males, ages 18-24, dressed in army uniforms.
> It is unknown whether they were Union or
> Confederate soldiers, but availible evidence
> indicate Union. Reinterrment is planned for St.
> Johns Episcopal Church. A McDonalds Restaurant now
> occupies the original site.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Rita ()
Date: July 26, 2009 11:24PM

My grandmother was Rita A. (Thompson) Covington - she is not buried there but there is speculation that 40+ people are buried there. It was part of a family farm that was sold by her brother-in-law after his wife's death to a doctor who developed the property - the will of my grandmother's great grandfather, Lawson Turner Thompson set aside a 1/2 acre (yes, it has been encroached upon) as a family cemetery - the family farmed the land which used to run from Nutley street to bear branch (towards merrifield) and over to route 50 - it was parceled off as children married. The purchaser was unaware of the cemetery or the will of Lawson Turner Thompson - in court a judge upheld the will and decreed that the cemetery could only be moved if the heirs and descendants agreed to the moving. It is speculated since my family was poor that there was no money for fancy head stones and markers so stones would have been used for head stones and foot stones - it is further speculated that while Lee Highway was used as an artillery route during the civil war that the stones were taken and used to fill pot holes. I have found similar civil war markers and read a few years ago that the government allowed families to have these stones done for soldiers at their expense after the war. We had archeologists from the county look at the property and they marked 20+ graves they could see by shelfing, vegetation changes and where they found roots that made right angles around where stones had been.
The shopping center is now maintaining it but we noticed they had cut into the back side :( - I don't think people ful understand how many people are buried there - it would be nice to have a marker which describes the history of the family and the farm and who is buried there - there are supposed to be soldiers from the war of 1812 and the american revolution.
Records back then were kept in the family Bible and because of a bad house fire the Bible was destroyed - - - memories and stories are all that we have from that era to document who is buried there.

Rita

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Thanks ()
Date: July 26, 2009 11:57PM

Fascinating history, Rita. Thank you for sharing that.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Thurston Moore ()
Date: July 26, 2009 11:57PM

Rita Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> are buried there - it would be nice to have a
> marker which describes the history of the family
> and the farm and who is buried there - there are
> supposed to be soldiers from the war of 1812 and
> the american revolution.
> Records back then were kept in the family Bible
> and because of a bad house fire the Bible was
> destroyed - - - memories and stories are all that
> we have from that era to document who is buried
> there.
>

It doesn't seem unreasonable for the county to put up one of those historical markers that can be seen all over the county, describing this.

I think it is up to you and your family to petition for it, though.

From what I've read in this thread, there are civil war soldiers buried there. Maybe you can contact some group that deals with civil war history in this area and have them petition the county on your behalf. We have parks that were Union Artillery emplacements, and signs on the side of the road at various seemingly random locations describing some event in the civil war, and all sort of other historical markers.

It shouldn't be too hard to get someone to do something for this cemetary.

I haven't driven by there for years, but there may already be one of those historical marker signs there. If I ever get by there again, I'll be sure to look. But I remember seeing that cemetary all the way back when I was in high school.

Hell, I saw one historical marker in Cherrydale that talked about the building being the first Masonic Hall in Arlington or something like that. It's now Cherrydale Hardware.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/26/2009 11:58PM by Thurston Moore.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Mofo ()
Date: July 27, 2009 12:27AM

I did notice one of the graves had a confederate battle flag on it (properly as who is buried there is a Confederate veteran), though a couple months ago but that has not been removed that there is only a Virginia flag.

I guess some PC retards got offended by the stars n bars.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Thurston Moore ()
Date: July 27, 2009 12:37AM

Mofo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I did notice one of the graves had a confederate
> battle flag on it (properly as who is buried there
> is a Confederate veteran), though a couple months
> ago but that has not been removed that there is
> only a Virginia flag.
>
> I guess some PC retards got offended by the stars
> n bars.


That's stupid. I think it is only proper to mark a soldier's grave with whatever emblem or flag he fought under.


Did they change the name of Fairfax High School's football team to appease the bed wetters?

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: GMU Hokie ()
Date: July 28, 2009 12:08AM

Registered Voter Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Most of the land out here was family farms -
> usually when they were sold to developers they had
> a stipulation as to whether or not the family
> graves could be moved. No doubt that is what
> happened here.
>
> When I was a kid we used to cut through the
> cemetery on 236 across from NVCC Annandale all the
> time. There are a lot of old tombstones there that
> you don't see normally. When I was a kid there
> were large overgrown sections with markers not
> even visible. Kind of creepy - bad enough avoiding
> the graves that were marked.. :) Many of them went
> back to the early 1800s and before - most were
> pretty well worn even then, and that was 30 years
> ago.

You are referring to the Gooding family cemetery.

There was a skirmish during the War Between the States at a tavern owned by the Gooding family. Go to www.google.com and look up the Skirmish at Gooding's Tavern or the Skirmish at Billy Gooding's Tavern.

There are supposedly graves of African American slaves north of the family enclosure.

Brian Conley mentioned the Gooding Seaton cemetery in his book on cemeteries.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: GMU Hokie ()
Date: July 28, 2009 12:11AM

Rita Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My grandmother was Rita A. (Thompson) Covington -
> she is not buried there but there is speculation
> that 40+ people are buried there. It was part of a
> family farm that was sold by her brother-in-law
> after his wife's death to a doctor who developed
> the property - the will of my grandmother's great
> grandfather, Lawson Turner Thompson set aside a
> 1/2 acre (yes, it has been encroached upon) as a
> family cemetery - the family farmed the land which
> used to run from Nutley street to bear branch
> (towards merrifield) and over to route 50 - it was
> parceled off as children married. The purchaser
> was unaware of the cemetery or the will of Lawson
> Turner Thompson - in court a judge upheld the will
> and decreed that the cemetery could only be moved
> if the heirs and descendants agreed to the moving.
> It is speculated since my family was poor that
> there was no money for fancy head stones and
> markers so stones would have been used for head
> stones and foot stones - it is further speculated
> that while Lee Highway was used as an artillery
> route during the civil war that the stones were
> taken and used to fill pot holes. I have found
> similar civil war markers and read a few years ago
> that the government allowed families to have these
> stones done for soldiers at their expense after
> the war. We had archeologists from the county look
> at the property and they marked 20+ graves they
> could see by shelfing, vegetation changes and
> where they found roots that made right angles
> around where stones had been.
> The shopping center is now maintaining it but we
> noticed they had cut into the back side :( - I
> don't think people ful understand how many people
> are buried there - it would be nice to have a
> marker which describes the history of the family
> and the farm and who is buried there - there are
> supposed to be soldiers from the war of 1812 and
> the american revolution.
> Records back then were kept in the family Bible
> and because of a bad house fire the Bible was
> destroyed - - - memories and stories are all that
> we have from that era to document who is buried
> there.
>
> Rita

Rita,

How many acres were on the farm?

How many families lived on the property?

Isn't there another cemetery in the woods between Nutley and Circle Towers?

Was that part of your property?

Please advise.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Kat G ()
Date: November 15, 2009 06:28PM

Gooding Seaton Cemetery is on Little River Turnpike directly across from NOVA Community College - Annandale.

Options: ReplyQuote
Why is the shopping center on Lee Highway called "PAN AM" ?
Posted by: Carol ()
Date: December 08, 2009 07:44PM

Why is the shopping center on Lee Highway in Fairfax called "PAN AM"?

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Why is the shopping center on Lee Highway called "PAN AM" ?
Posted by: 496 ()
Date: December 08, 2009 10:03PM

Carol Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Why is the shopping center on Lee Highway in
> Fairfax called "PAN AM"?


To commemorate the crash of Pan Am Flight 101 at that very site. 1000's died.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Ducky ()
Date: December 09, 2009 08:51AM

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/branches/vr/cem/cemsurv.htm

A Fx Co employee Brian Conley - Historian at archives - did a project on county cemetaries.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: bbdoll17 ()
Date: April 21, 2010 12:35PM

I have been doing some amature geneology and came across your post. I too am related to a few of the people buried in the small shopping center cemetary in Fairfax Co. Samuel, Daniel, and Fannie Thompson are all direct decendents of my great grandfather. Is there other family still living in the area? Would you have any information regarding the Thompson's past or present? Any information would be appriciated. Thank you

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: The Wrong Guy ()
Date: April 22, 2010 09:00AM

BBdoll,

Yes, here is some info on the Thompsons:

The great grandson and grand-nephew of Samuel married twin sisters Elisa and Julissa Ramirez of the Culmore area, while Daniel's great-granddaughter Sarah married Rubio Hernandez-Olivares from the Hybla Valley area.
They had four anchor babies: Miguel, Santos, Jesus, and Marisa.
Of course, Fannie Thompson was extradited to Bolivia with her finance, Pedro Arias-Rodriguez, where I believe she became an English teacher and did mule running to Mexico on the weekends.
Fifteen of her descendants now wash cars in Manassas at the Quick-Clean on Liberia Ave.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Jon Mosby ()
Date: April 27, 2010 02:19AM

Whomever's family cemetary that is at Pan Am they seemed to have stopped going by to place flowers like they use. Wonder if any gravesites on the land across Nutley/Pan Am shopping center contains any old grave sites. Does Fairfax County government have any requirements for developers to check out the land for any old graves? I imagne if a grave was found a developer being the scum they are would keep it on the down low I been around here 45 years and can recall that being woods for seems like forever.
How about over at the MetroWest debacle. You want more traffic than roads can already not handle why here you go.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: roooo ()
Date: August 10, 2010 10:28PM

that is the NICEST SAFEWAY EVER

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: yeah ()
Date: August 11, 2010 11:39PM

Sometimes someone leaves flowers and/or a Confederate flag or State flag.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Westminster ()
Date: August 14, 2010 09:16AM

This information is helpfull to me. Armistead Thompson was my second cousin, obviously several time removed. I am from the Maryland branch of the family and have been researching my family's history. As such, I would welcome any information.

Thanks for being so interested in one family's history. It's informationmal exchanges such as this that help to document history. Myn grandfather was Meryl Thompson.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: bearhugs ()
Date: September 22, 2010 05:04PM

My GGG Grandfather is Lawson Turner Thompson and his daughter Sarah Jane Thompson Caton is my GG Grandmother. The reason for the Confederate Flag is Armistead (Lawson's son) was a POW at Point Lookout MD during the Civil War. He died there and his father brought him home. In reply to "The Wrong Guy"s posting, you're a jerk and should find something better to do with your sarcasm. As was posted earlier by someone, Alfred Thompson fought the developers of Pan Am in order to protect the Thompson Family Cemetary. I have copies of the news articles. I can be contacted through Ancestry.com under Caton Family.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Ann ()
Date: November 06, 2011 11:23AM

My great grandmother is Sarah Jane Thompson Caton. Her son, Milton E. Caton, is my grandfather. Since I never knew any of Milton's siblings, I have always been interested as to any information about them.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Rebecca ()
Date: January 08, 2012 01:14PM

Ann,

I can be contacted at Ancestry.com under Caton family. Sarah and Johnathan Wesley Caton had nine children, including Milton. I would give you my email but I don't want some "wrong guy" harassing me! I have info back into the 1600's. Our families have been here a very long time!


Rebecca Caton (bearhugs)

Options: ReplyQuote
old friend used to live next to Dan and David Head (Scott & Wade)
Posted by: Scott McCullough ()
Date: January 17, 2012 08:01PM

Just wanted to say Hi
contact me - would like to talk to you.
Would like to do some remember whens
We used to go riding sugar and henrietta on your partents and grandparents
property and up to Fair Hill Elementary.
Working at Eddies junk yard......
Scott

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Fegelein ()
Date: February 16, 2012 11:39PM

Anyone know who is buried at the tombstone that's at the corner of Rolling Road and Braddock Road?

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: rose hill ()
Date: February 18, 2012 11:11PM

I realize this thread is supposed to be about the graves at Micro Center, but I see some are mentioning other old family graveyards in the area. I attended Forestdale Elem. and there is a family graveyard adjacent to the school. I remember it being located alongside the long driveway that used to come out to Frontier Drive.

And I know this is a Fairfax forum, but I find this topic interesting and want to mention that there is a small graveyard in the Potomac Mills Mall parking lot near Costco.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Merrifield Mike ()
Date: February 19, 2012 06:01PM

Mike22Va Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> http://www.interment.net/data/us/va/fairfax/thomps
> on.htm
>
> There is the answer to your question.


Thompson's owned land around there until about 1990. They had a big farm where all those new townhouses now stand next to the fire station on Route 29 heading towards Merrifield. They had a few good looking daughters back in the early 1970's.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: james ()
Date: July 13, 2012 03:32AM

John and Laura Tobin are my great great grandparents. Thier granddaughter Marjorie Vaughn Tobin was my grandmother

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: meh ()
Date: July 13, 2012 04:18AM

Rebecca Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Ann,
>
> I can be contacted at Ancestry.com under Caton
> family. Sarah and Johnathan Wesley Caton had nine
> children, including Milton. I would give you my
> email but I don't want some "wrong guy" harassing
> me! I have info back into the 1600's. Our
> families have been here a very long time!
>
>
> Rebecca Caton (bearhugs)

Doesn't want people emailing her... puts email in email field. lolol
?

anyway, I'm scared of ghosts, does anyone wanna visit the tomb tomorrow at 2 with me?


I'll buy u a mcdonalds burger.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: dumb korean ()
Date: July 13, 2012 01:00PM

Does anyone know who's buried in Grants tomb?

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: JoJo Simpson ()
Date: April 27, 2013 06:27PM

Anyone know who is buried at the tombstone that's at the corner of Rolling Road and Braddock Road?

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Kim ()
Date: April 27, 2013 09:17PM

My mother-in-law's first husband is buried in the cemetery off Little River Turnpike near Micro Center. He was a Mudd, part of the Dr. Mudd family.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Ye Ole Woodson Man ()
Date: April 27, 2013 11:19PM

Yes you have figured it out The Thompson family, they have lived here in Fairfax Co. a couple hundred years, Dairy farmers many of them, My old boss was a Thompson of the clan. The cemetary was broke down forgotten weeded over till they built the shopping center Pan Am in 1980 and it was found and cleaned up with Boy Scout aid. For intrest that center had Safeway still there and Woolco which was owned by Woolworths where Micro Center and Micheals is now.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Ye Ole Woodson Man ()
Date: April 27, 2013 11:25PM

Fairfax Co. has many small family cemetarys, Go to the main Fairfax Central library and theres a map of them up in the Virginia Room. FX City Lib today.
And yes I have known some Mudds that lived on Rt 236 but thats not where Micro Center is. I knew Aubrey Mudd RIP many years ago.And know of his brother.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Karen Thompson Vaughn ()
Date: July 02, 2013 11:54PM

Who's buried here? Hmmmmm. My family members.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Richard Taylor ()
Date: January 14, 2018 03:33PM

One of the two tombstones is for Sergeant Armistead T. Thompson who enlisted on June 22, 1861 in Co G, 8th Regiment Virginia Volunteers. The 8th was assigned to the Army of Northern Virginia under Longstreet (1st Corps). According to the inscription, he was captured and imprisoned for twelve months at Point Lookout, Maryland, dying there on November 23, 1864.

The Sergeant almost certainly was captured during the Gettysburg Campaign. The 8th came to be known as the "Bloody Eighth" after it participated in Pickett’s Charge on July 3, 1863. Of the 243 soldiers who arrived at the battlefield after sunset on July 2, the unit would suffer a 70% casualty rate (killed, wounded and missing) on the next day during the charge.

Washington Post write up on the charge:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2000/07/02/30-gruesome-minutes-for-bloody-eighth/466087b9-9df5-40ed-9fec-54eec4d67d70/?utm_term=.5e5dff12582f

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Why is the shopping center on Lee Highway called "PAN AM" ?
Posted by: Real Reason ()
Date: January 14, 2018 03:47PM

496 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Carol Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Why is the shopping center on Lee Highway in
> > Fairfax called "PAN AM"?
>
>
> To commemorate the crash of Pan Am Flight 101 at
> that very site. 1000's died.

No it isn't fuck stick - It was named Pan Am to pay tribute to the Pan Am 747 that exploded on July 17, 1996

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Richard Taylor ()
Date: January 14, 2018 03:54PM


Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Diehard Lib ()
Date: January 15, 2018 07:59AM

Richard Taylor Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> One of the two tombstones is for Sergeant
> Armistead T. Thompson who enlisted on June 22,
> 1861 in Co G, 8th Regiment Virginia Volunteers.
> The 8th was assigned to the Army of Northern
> Virginia under Longstreet (1st Corps). According
> to the inscription, he was captured and imprisoned
> for twelve months at Point Lookout, Maryland,
> dying there on November 23, 1864.
>
> The Sergeant almost certainly was captured during
> the Gettysburg Campaign. The 8th came to be known
> as the "Bloody Eighth" after it participated in
> Pickett’s Charge on July 3, 1863. Of the 243
> soldiers who arrived at the battlefield after
> sunset on July 2, the unit would suffer a 70%
> casualty rate (killed, wounded and missing) on the
> next day during the charge.
>
> Washington Post write up on the charge:
>
> https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2000/
> 07/02/30-gruesome-minutes-for-bloody-eighth/466087
> b9-9df5-40ed-9fec-54eec4d67d70/?utm_term=.5e5dff12
> 582f


This reminds me that we must rename Pickett Rd. Perhaps "Hillary St"?

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: causeican ()
Date: January 15, 2018 09:00AM

The Answer Man
March 13, 2011

That relatively small parcel - near a Starbucks and a Safeway, across from a Citgo - has been the subject of some of the biggest battles over road improvements in Fairfax County. But before we get to them, accompany Answer Man back to 1863 and another battle: Gettysburg.

It was there that a Confederate soldier from Fairfax County named Armistead T. Thompson had the misfortune of being captured. He spent 17 months at the Union prison camp at Point Lookout, Md., before contracting typhoid and dying there, one of nearly 4,000 prisoners who perished at the abysmal facility. Armistead was buried on the campgrounds. In the 1880s, his father, Lawson Turner Thompson, went to Point Lookout and collected Armistead's remains for burial in the family graveyard.

We can't say for sure when the first body went into the ground at the Thompson family cemetery. It might have been a veteran of the War of 1812 named Ethan Allen (not that Ethan Allen). What's clear is that when Lawson Turner Thompson died in 1886, his will left a half-acre of land to his heirs for use as a cemetery.

After that, it's a familiar story: What had been rural slowly became anything but. Various members of the Thompson clan sold bits of their land to developers. In the 1920s and 1930s, Lee Highway was widened, nibbling away at the cemetery. In 1973, construction started on the Pan Am Shopping Center. Developers wanted to disinter all the remains and move them to another cemetery to make way for the parking lot.

The Thompsons fought back, persuading a judge to block the shopping center's action. Twice since then, the Virginia Department of Transportation has wanted to encroach on the graveyard to add lanes to Lee Highway. In 1979, 63-year-old Alfred Thompson was arrested after sitting in a lawn chair in the cemetery to block a bulldozer. He vowed to be buried there when his time came.

In 1989, VDOT threatened again. "Now, what is more important?" the Rev. Ronald Clark asked at a family protest held that year at the graveyard. "Getting to the shopping center or considering where we will be when we, too, have gone the way of the earth?"

After determining that it could not be sure that a set of plans prepared in 1937 were accurate, VDOT backed off.

No one knows for sure how many bodies are buried there. Sources mention anywhere from nine to 70. Today, there are only two headstones visible, one for three members of a branch of the family known as the Tobins, the other for Armistead, the Civil War veteran. Other graves might have been marked with simple fieldstones that were taken by vandals or used to fill depressions in the road.

The last recorded burial was in July 1918. That means the lawn chair-sitting, bulldozer-defying Alfred Thompson must be buried somewhere else, right? Nope. He isn't buried anywhere. He is 95 years old and living in Falls Church.

"I did want to be buried there," Alfred told Answer Man. But he changed his mind. "I just thought it would be kind of lonesome down there." Most of Alfred's contemporaries are buried at Fairfax City Cemetery. That's where Audrey, his wife of 68 years, was buried just last year. And that's where he'll go.

Alfred said he knows some might wonder why his family has gone to so much trouble over a bunch of dead relatives, but he likes the result. "What it is is a little green oasis floating in a sea of asphalt," Alfred says of the graveyard in a shopping center.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/11/AR2011031104710.html

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Inquisitive One ()
Date: January 15, 2018 10:43AM

causeican Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The Answer Man
> March 13, 2011
>
> That relatively small parcel - near a Starbucks
> and a Safeway, across from a Citgo - has been the
> subject of some of the biggest battles over road
> improvements in Fairfax County. But before we get
> to them, accompany Answer Man back to 1863 and
> another battle: Gettysburg.
>
> It was there that a Confederate soldier from
> Fairfax County named Armistead T. Thompson had the
> misfortune of being captured. He spent 17 months
> at the Union prison camp at Point Lookout, Md.,
> before contracting typhoid and dying there, one of
> nearly 4,000 prisoners who perished at the abysmal
> facility. Armistead was buried on the campgrounds.
> In the 1880s, his father, Lawson Turner Thompson,
> went to Point Lookout and collected Armistead's
> remains for burial in the family graveyard.
>
> We can't say for sure when the first body went
> into the ground at the Thompson family cemetery.
> It might have been a veteran of the War of 1812
> named Ethan Allen (not that Ethan Allen). What's
> clear is that when Lawson Turner Thompson died in
> 1886, his will left a half-acre of land to his
> heirs for use as a cemetery.
>
> After that, it's a familiar story: What had been
> rural slowly became anything but. Various members
> of the Thompson clan sold bits of their land to
> developers. In the 1920s and 1930s, Lee Highway
> was widened, nibbling away at the cemetery. In
> 1973, construction started on the Pan Am Shopping
> Center. Developers wanted to disinter all the
> remains and move them to another cemetery to make
> way for the parking lot.
>
> The Thompsons fought back, persuading a judge to
> block the shopping center's action. Twice since
> then, the Virginia Department of Transportation
> has wanted to encroach on the graveyard to add
> lanes to Lee Highway. In 1979, 63-year-old Alfred
> Thompson was arrested after sitting in a lawn
> chair in the cemetery to block a bulldozer. He
> vowed to be buried there when his time came.
>
> In 1989, VDOT threatened again. "Now, what is more
> important?" the Rev. Ronald Clark asked at a
> family protest held that year at the graveyard.
> "Getting to the shopping center or considering
> where we will be when we, too, have gone the way
> of the earth?"
>
> After determining that it could not be sure that a
> set of plans prepared in 1937 were accurate, VDOT
> backed off.
>
> No one knows for sure how many bodies are buried
> there. Sources mention anywhere from nine to 70.
> Today, there are only two headstones visible, one
> for three members of a branch of the family known
> as the Tobins, the other for Armistead, the Civil
> War veteran. Other graves might have been marked
> with simple fieldstones that were taken by vandals
> or used to fill depressions in the road.
>
> The last recorded burial was in July 1918. That
> means the lawn chair-sitting, bulldozer-defying
> Alfred Thompson must be buried somewhere else,
> right? Nope. He isn't buried anywhere. He is 95
> years old and living in Falls Church.
>
> "I did want to be buried there," Alfred told
> Answer Man. But he changed his mind. "I just
> thought it would be kind of lonesome down there."
> Most of Alfred's contemporaries are buried at
> Fairfax City Cemetery. That's where Audrey, his
> wife of 68 years, was buried just last year. And
> that's where he'll go.
>
> Alfred said he knows some might wonder why his
> family has gone to so much trouble over a bunch of
> dead relatives, but he likes the result. "What it
> is is a little green oasis floating in a sea of
> asphalt," Alfred says of the graveyard in a
> shopping center.
>
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/artic
> le/2011/03/11/AR2011031104710.html

Thank you for the interesting piece of history.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: I make my own. ()
Date: January 15, 2018 02:55PM

my 2 cents Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The sad thing here is that there are enough people
> willing to pay $5.00 for a cup of coffee that they
> can justify having two starbucks within 30 yards
> of each other.

My sentiments exactly. Too frugal. These people are crazy.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: pizza pizza ()
Date: September 18, 2022 01:06PM

When I was there a squirrel was there acting crazy.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: V ()
Date: September 18, 2022 07:14PM

Eesh.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: who's buried under the old tombstones in front of Micro Center?
Posted by: Offender 92424-083 ()
Date: September 19, 2022 12:35PM

Christopher J. Tator, the former roommate and accomplice of fellow pedophile William Robert Moreno had provided the Micro Center address to the VA State Police sex offender registry. He was actually living with Moreno and Monique Wells in an apartment on Harvey Street in Fairfax City. "Tator Tots" is now serving time in Sheridan Federal Correctional Facility for child sex crimes. Moreno himself aka "Miz" aka Frank Krow is currently at large.
Attachments:
chris tator 1.png
William Moreno Chris Tator Kris Askins pedophiles.jpg
tator tots inmate.png
06108212-006E-47A1-9A69-F455281F7191.jpeg

Options: ReplyQuote


Your Name: 
Your Email (Optional): 
Subject: 
Attach a file
  • No file can be larger than 75 MB
  • All files together cannot be larger than 300 MB
  • 30 more file(s) can be attached to this message
Spam prevention:
Please, enter the code that you see below in the input field. This is for blocking bots that try to post this form automatically.
 ********  **    **   ******   ********   ********  
 **         **  **   **    **  **     **  **     ** 
 **          ****    **        **     **  **     ** 
 ******       **     **        **     **  **     ** 
 **           **     **        **     **  **     ** 
 **           **     **    **  **     **  **     ** 
 ********     **      ******   ********   ********  
This forum powered by Phorum.