Slide Show: Burke Historical Society Slide Presentation

The history of Burke, Virginia is told in 80 captioned images, from the village's start in the 1850's as a railroad depot to the early 1990's. The slide set was originally put together by the Burke Jaycees for the U. S. Bicentennial Celebration. The slides were taken and organized originally during 1974-76. The slide set was given to the Burke Historical Society in 1978. From 1988 to 1990, the slides were updated and more were taken in the early 1990's. The slides subsequently were archived and organized by Tom Giska. The slides were digitally scanned, edited and "recreated" by Gil Donahue in 2005-2006, and some of them were used in Braddock's True Gold: 20th-Century Life in the Heart of Fairfax County, which was published by the County of Fairfax in June 2006.

The slide show has been divided into six numbered parts to keep file sizes low for faster download and viewing. They are best viewed in sequence from part one to six.

Tom Giska was a member and president of the Burke Historical Society. The Society, which was inactive for many years, resumed operations under a new charter and leadership in May 2010.

Courtesy Tom Giska

Historic Marker: The Guinea Road Cemetery Reinterment

This historic marker in Pleasant Valley Memorial Park Cemetery commemorates the reinterment of remains from the Guinea Road Cemetery. The marker reads: "The Guinea Road Cemetery Reinterment. Virginia 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 American 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."

Photo by Mary Lipsey

Guinea Road Cemetery Excavation

The Virginia Department of Transportation's (VDOT) excavation of the Guinea Road Cemetery was conducted under the guidance of archaeologists, with care to identify and preserve all remains and artifacts. They discovered only one tombstone; the inscription which could be read was "S.A. Williams" "11 years" and "1851."

Tombstone image by Mary Lipsey; excavation image, courtesy, Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)

Guinea Road Cemetery

When road construction threatened the Guinea Road Cemetery in 2004, the Virginia Department of Transportation sought information about those buried there. Dennis Howard of Springfield told the history of his family members, the families of slaves and freedmen, buried in the graveyard.

Mary Lipsey

Oral History: Dennis Howard

Dennis Howard traces part of the history of African Americans in Fairfax County from the nineteenth century. He recreates the story of his own family from slavery to the present day. His ancestor, Horace Gibson, and fellow former slave Moses Parker established a blacksmith shop and purchased land near the intersection of Little River Turnpike and Prosperity Avenue after the Civil War. The partners eventually expanded their holdings to 400 acres, and the area later became known as Ilda.

Oral History: Dan Cragg

Dan Cragg, former Braddock District History Commissioner, traces the history of Braddock District through stories about early families--the Fitzhughs and the Lees, among them. He traces the growth of the railroads through streets now occupied with houses, parks, and shopping facilities. Through careful research, Dan Cragg determined the original location of the Ravensworth mansion, constructed on the Fitzhugh tobacco plantation in 1797.

Marshall Family Gravestone

The Marshall Family Cemetery is located in Colonel Silas Burke Park near the intersection of Old Burke Lake Road and Burke Road in Burke, Virginia. The home of John A. and Mary Marshall, which had stood nearby, was relocated and later burned in the 1970s. The Marshalls owned the general store in Burke and were prominent landowners in the mid to late 1800s. They donated land for the original Church of the Good Shepherd and for the Ashford School.

During the Civil War, a soldier shot in one of the skirmishes crawled to the Marshall House . Before the family could get his name, he died on their doorstep. He is buried in the Marshall family plot, referred to as Burke's Unknown Soldier. Whether he fought for the Union or the Confederacy is also unknown.

Photo by Gil Donahue

Copyrighted material, not to be reproduced without permission of owner, Gilbert Donahue