St. Mary's Church and Cemetery
St. Mary’s Catholic Church sits on a parcel of land bestowed
by a couple of Catholic families in 1838.
Their wishes were to have a Catholic church with a cemetery located on
that piece of terra firma. Fairfax was
in need of a place to hold services since on occasions the pastor held mass in
railroad boxcars for the immigrants moving to and working in town. In 1858, the first cornerstone was laid, and
the wooden church was constructed. By
1860, it was completed, the steeple bell was added, and the church was
dedicated.
During the Civil War, St. Mary’s became the center target
for both the north and south looking to take over the nearby railroads. The ground for which St. Mary’s sat on saw
many fierce battles. St. Mary’s also
became a place where the injured were brought.
They were scattered amongst the hill where the church sat, and laid on
pews taken from the church. The wounded
were then sent to Alexandria by train.
In the cemetery surrounding the church, many Civil War
soldiers were buried there. All were
eventually relocated to Arlington Nation Cemetery except a Confederate soldier
named Kidwell. His family asked that his
remains stay buried on the Catholic grounds.
In 1972, Fairfax County declared St. Mary’s a historic district and had
strict zoning put on the land surrounding the church and cemetery to preserve
it. It was listed on the National
Register of Historic Places in 1976.
Also, the Grotto located in the cemetery, was hit by lightning.
The Grotto |
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