InsideNOVA: Coalition tries to preserve historic Western Prince William cemetaries

Members of the historic Thoroughfare community in Broad Run are asking for help from Prince William County and nearby property owners to preserve two cemeteries on John Marshall Highway.

Earlier this month, the coalition held a protest to call for the preservation of the cemeteries, with representatives from the county’s NAACP chapter and the Coalition to Save Carver Road.

The coalition’s concern began when brothers Frank and Dulany Washington – whose ancestors were among the earliest residents of the Thoroughfare – were preparing to bury their aunt, another longtime resident, in one of the two cemeteries.

They realized that the area was undergoing changes. Some of the land had been cleared of trees, a gate limiting access to the graveyards had been installed, and surveyors from one of the adjacent properties were working nearby. Dulany Washington was told that one of the properties had been sold and that homes were slated to be built toward the rear of the community cemetery.

According to county property records reviewed by InsideNoVa, three of the adjacent parcels were sold last year, although contact information for the new owners was not available. The brothers and other community members say they just want to ensure that the plots are protected and that more exploration for graves can be done.

Dulany Washington, the minister at the Thoroughfare’s Oakrum Baptist Church, says his group is trying to reach out to the owners of a group of properties including and adjacent to the cemeteries, but exactly where some of the property lines end and who owns the land on which the cemeteries are located isn’t completely clear. Washington said the parcels were largely marked in a rudimentary way hundreds of years ago.

One such owner, who runs the adjacent Farm Brewery at Broad Run, told organizers she wanted to help them in their effort to preserve the cemeteries last week.

“Thoroughfare was a thriving community; there were a lot of people,” Washington told InsideNoVa. “We’re trying to figure out who owns what and who’s who. We’re trying to get clarification as far as who holds deeds. Way back when Thoroughfare was being formulated, you had Native Americans, you had freed slaves, and so a lot of times with these properties, the deeds would say something like ‘more or less.’”

At one of the cemeteries, Washington and others originally knew of just 10 graves. But in the time they’ve spent clearing and maintaining some of the land recently, they’ve found more. The other gravesite, where more of Washington’s family is buried, has about 20 graves.

Washington and his brother are now working with the county to have an archeologist come to the site in an effort to provide a more comprehensive accounting of gravesites. At the same time, they’re working to hire a lawyer to assist with any property disputes and to clarify the property lines.

“My hope is that if there are more graves out there that we cordon those graves off and that whoever wants to buy the property next to it, that’s OK, fine. But don’t include the graveyard as part of that particular property,” Washington said. “The goal ultimately for the community graveyard is to determine if there are other graves around there … and that those graves are not disturbed. If they’ve been there for a number of years, they need to remain there.”