A Falls Church burial ground nearly as old as the nation itself will soon have its history explored in a new tour series throughout the coming year.
A series of monthly walking tours will explore Oakwood Cemetery and the lives of some of those interred there. The first tour will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 24, followed by a series of monthly tours planned through November.
“There is a lot to talk about,” said Carol Ann Siciliano, who is coordinating the series and has created a website focused on the cemetery’s 247-year history.
“We will encounter poets and soldiers, spies and villains, faith leaders and storekeepers, ornithologists and egg farmers,” organizers said. “Moreover, locals will recognize some of the family names that grace our city’s streets, parks, and even our public library.”
The tours are part of Falls Church’s commemoration of the nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026 and are a welcome addition, said Jim Coyle, who chairs the Falls Church250 Committee.
“It’s really good to see this come to fruition,” he said.
Located near present-day Seven Corners at 401 N. Roosevelt Street, the cemetery began as an adjunct to Fairfax Chapel, the first Methodist Church in Falls Church. The first burials were believed to have occurred in 1779.
During the Civil War, the 121st New York Regiment used many of the stones in line defenses, according to a history on the cemetery’s website.
Incorporated in the 1920s and overseen by an independent board of trustees, the cemetery’s grounds not only serve as a final resting place, but also are home to more than 40 types of birds.
In-ground burials and above-ground inurnments in two columbariums continue at the cemetery.
After May, future tours are slated for June 21, July 19, Aug. 16, Sept. 20, Oct. 11 and Nov. 15.
Tours will begin at the small stone building near the Roosevelt Street entrance. Registration is suggested but not required, and tours may be canceled due to inclement weather.
