|
Mt. Zion Church Cemetery
Moving rapidly and carefully along Route 50, the driver makes
an abrupt turn onto the Mt. Zion Church grounds. The fading
red-and-pink brick building sits in its grove of trees facing
east. Behind it, enclosed by a waist-high stone wall, is its
cemetery, containing over 50 graves. The total figure is estimated
because not all 19th century interments were marked by permanent
non-degradable grave markers. There are 240 burials with inscribed
tombstones, most of which are legible, as well as several
field stone markers of graves of unknown burials. Outside
the south wall, in a separate section, are other graves. A
recent archeological survey done for the Mt. Zion Preservation
Association (MZCPA) identified approximately 34 grave sites,
only two of which are marked. It is strongly believed that
these are burials of black church members. In nearby Herndon
is the Frying Pan Old School Baptist Church, which was considered
a “companion church” with Mt. Zion. As its written
history indicates that it had both black and white members,
it is felt that Mt. Zion also included black members in its
congregation. This separate area is partially enclosed by
a low split-rail fence.
The earliest date on a Mt. Zion gravestone is 1852, one
year after the church’s construction. The most recent
date is 1992, 140 years later. So, unlike the church itself,
whose dwindling congregation ended regular Sunday services
in 1979, the cemetery is still a “working” operation,
owned and maintained by the Mt. Zion Cemetery Corporation
of Aldie, Inc. Curiously, the cemetery wall has as part
of its construction a flat stone on which an authenticated
footprint of a dinosaur can be discerned. The stone was
removed many years ago from a quarry near the Oak Hill estate,
and may have been given to the church by the Fairfax family,
twice-owners of Oak Hill.
During the July 6, 1864, cavalry engagement between Confederate
Col. Mosby and Union Maj. Forbes, the church was used as
a hospital. A letter written shortly after this event mentioned
that Union troops buried eleven coffins in a mass grave
in the cemetery, not noting the exact location. A twelfth
interment was made later of a Union soldier whose body had
been initially buried at a nearby farm. These twelve causalities,
whose names and ranks were known, were men from Massachusetts
and New York, all under Maj. Forbes’ command. It is
believed that their remains are still here in the cemetery.
Based on this, three years ago, the MZCPA, with the cooperation
of the U.S. Veteran’s Administration, placed the twelve
markers in the southwest corner of the cemetery. The gravestones
are identical to all other V.A.- provided markers for U.S.
service personnel throughout the country. Every summer,
in a brief and moving ceremony, the little U.S. flags are
replaced by a squad of Union re-enactors. Elsewhere, are
several graves decorated with Confederate battle flags marking
the burials of Southern veterans, who died after the end
of the War.
|