Peake Family Cemetery Preservation Project
Peake Family Cemetery Preservation Project
The Fairfax County Park Authority’s Archaeology and Collections Branch is preparing to undertake a project to preserve the Peake Family Cemetery in the Mount Vernon District. This project is part of our ongoing efforts to preserve and restore historic cemeteries in Fairfax County. To learn more about this work, you can visit the Park Authority’s Cemetery Survey website.
Historic cemeteries are some of the most important and unique cultural resources in Fairfax County. They show us how people settled, demographic changes, historic events, public health trends, religious beliefs, and societal norms. These cemeteries also contain folk art ranging from simple to inspirational. However, many cemeteries, especially small family plots and those of marginalized groups like enslaved and free Blacks, Native Americans, the imprisoned, and the poor, are hard to research and locate. These cemeteries are important for scholarship and serve as physical reminders of our complete history.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
The restoration of the Peake Family Cemetery will be overseen by archaeologists with specialized training in cemetery care. All work will be conducted with little to no ground disturbance with the only exception being the resetting of headstones.
Work will include:
- Gravestone cleaning, setting and repair
- Addressing landscape issues
- Conduct a ground-penetrating radar survey of the site to determine if there may be unmarked burials
- Update interpretive signs working in collaboration with community stakeholders
The site restoration work and survey are anticipated to begin by Spring 2025. The results of the ground-penetrating radar survey, coupled with the researched histories obtained from the community will inform the narrative and design of interpretive signs later in the year.
Additional history and cemetery background is available in the Peake Family Cemetery Preservation Plan.
Questions related to this project may be directed to Aimee Wells at Aimee.Wells@fairfaxcounty.gov.
HELP US PRESERVE OUR HISTORY
The Park Authority is seeking assistance from the community to help identify potential persons who may be buried in this cemetery whose graves are unmarked. Potential burials could include members of the Ford, Javins, Brown, Bigsby and Fisher families. Our archaeologists are seeking any historic records and/or family histories (written or oral) which may help in identifying unmarked graves and contribute to the interpretive history of the site. Those who would like to submit materials for review may contact our archaeology team using the form below.
