Alexandria, Virginia · Est. 1749
America’s Most Historic
Cemetery Complex
Alexandria’s only historic cemetery tours led by a working historian — David Heiby, superintendent of the historic Presbyterian Cemetery — with over a decade of tour experience.
For history lovers who want the stories others miss — a journey through American history told through the lives buried here.
Historic Cemeteries in Alexandria, Virginia — America's Most Significant Burial Landscape
Alexandria’s cemeteries preserve the city’s history better than almost any archive. Within these burial grounds lie Revolutionary War patriots, Civil War soldiers, Cold War figures, and generations of Alexandrians whose lives shaped the nation. The historic cemeteries of Alexandria, Virginia hold 35,000+ extraordinary lives across 52 acres of consecrated ground — more documented Revolutionary War patriots than most American cities, more Civil War soldiers than many battlefield cemeteries, and more original research discoveries in the past decade than any comparable historic site in Virginia. Our historic cemetery tours in Alexandria, Virginia — led by a working historian and cemetery superintendent — bring this unparalleled landscape to life through original research unavailable anywhere else.
Explore the Complete Directory of Alexandria’s Historic Cemeteries →
The Tour That Goes Deeper
Where George Washington’s pallbearers, a Soviet spy, the highest-ranking Confederate general, and 35,000 stories await beneath your feet in America’s Most Historic Cemetery Complex.
While other Alexandria tours stay on King Street, our tours take you into a site-specific landscape of discoveries — many from limited-access locations and records other operators don’t use.
Just west of Old Town is the Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex, which contains 13 historic cemeteries (1796–1933) that serve as final resting places for revolutionaries, enslaved Alexandrians, wartime heroes, and everyday townspeople who shaped the nation.
Sources: City of Alexandria (Alexandria Archaeology) · Greenly Survey PDF
America 250 Recognition
“Unlock Your Story” Featured Profile
February 7, 2026 · Visit Alexandria
Visit Alexandria selected Gravestone Stories as an official spotlight feature for its America 250 campaign, recognizing David Heiby’s documentation of more than 35,000 individuals buried in Alexandria’s historic cemeteries — connecting visitors to the city’s Revolutionary foundations and the individuals who shaped its history.
David Heiby serves on the Alexandria America 250 Committee.
Read the full feature →Leadership & Expertise
- ›Superintendent, Presbyterian Cemetery & Columbarium
- ›Treasurer, Virginia Trust for Historic Preservation
- ›Member, Alexandria Archaeology Commission Subcommittee — Wilkes Street National Register Nomination
- ›America250 Alexandria Committee Member
- ›Treasurer, Alexandria Historical Society
- ›Community Partner, Lee-Fendall House Museum
Leading preservation efforts and sharing Alexandria’s hidden history, grounded in a lifelong connection to the Old Presbyterian Meeting House and Presbyterian Cemetery.
- 162 Documented Revolutionary War PatriotsBuried across Alexandria — among the largest documented concentrations in Virginia — 46 within this complex alone. View the complete registry →
- Second-Oldest National CemeteryIn the United States — predates Arlington.
- Direct Descendants of Declaration SignersAnd founding families buried within the complex.
- Over 3,900 Civil War SoldiersIncluding 249 U.S.C.T. soldiers and Buffalo Soldiers.
- A U.S. Army SurgeonWho identified Custer’s body at Little Bighorn.
- War of 1812 HeroWho died in the battle that led to the National Anthem.
Why Leave King Street?
Just minutes west lies 52 acres of American history.
Alexandria’s tourist corridor offers familiar stories told a hundred times over. But just minutes west lies a 52-acre landscape of American history — thirteen historic cemeteries and more than 35,000 lives whose stories we’ve spent over a decade uncovering. These aren’t tales you’ll hear on any other tour. While others walk you past historic buildings, we walk you to the graves of the people who made history happen.
More Than a Tour — A Research Archive
Gravestone Stories isn’t only about walking tours. Behind every story stands an extensive archive: 130+ historical timeline entries, nearly 400 documented biographies, 80+ in-depth research blogs, and five interactive maps. Our archive continues to grow each week as new discoveries emerge from Alexandria’s cemeteries. Together, they form the most comprehensive digital record of Alexandria’s past — an unparalleled resource for genealogists, students, and serious researchers.
Discover Extraordinary Lives Buried Beneath Your Feet
From Revolutionary War heroes to Cold War espionage — explore stories you won’t find on any other tour.
Why History Enthusiasts Travel Here From Across America
This isn’t just Alexandria history — it’s the full American story in one extraordinary place.
✓ 162 documented Revolutionary War patriots buried across Alexandria — among the largest documented concentrations in Virginia — 46 within this complex alone. See the complete registry →
✓ Second-oldest National Cemetery in the United States (predates Arlington)
✓ Direct descendants of Declaration signers and founding families
✓ Over 3,900 Civil War soldiers including 249 U.S.C.T. soldiers and Buffalo Soldiers
✓ A U.S. Army surgeon who identified Custer’s body at Little Bighorn
✓ War of 1812 hero who died defending his country in the battle that led to the National Anthem
No other location in America brings together such a concentration of figures who shaped our nation’s destiny — 13 cemeteries, 35,000 stories in one extraordinary complex.
George Washington’s Lost Pallbearer Found After 200 Years
Col. George Gilpin’s grave was lost for over two centuries until rediscovered through original research and fieldwork in 2024. He was one of Washington’s pallbearers and a trusted member of the President’s inner circle — his story had been waiting in plain sight.
The First Man to Call Washington “Mr. President”
Among Washington’s pallbearers and inner circle members resting in Alexandria’s cemeteries is the man who first addressed him with the title that would define the American presidency. Their stories — and even that of the enslaved chambermaid who witnessed Washington’s final moments — converge in this extraordinary complex.
The Teenage Sailor Who Witnessed Cook’s Final Voyage
He was just a teenager aboard Captain Cook’s ship when they became the first Europeans to discover Hawaii — and witnessed Cook’s death on those distant shores. Decades later, this same sailor and his adventurous wife — who had crossed the equator three times — became respected Alexandria merchants. She died just three weeks before him.
The Confederate Banker Whose Son Inspired the Clotilda’s Final Voyage
A Confederate-aligned banker and steamship pioneer survived one of America’s most famous shipwrecks, sued the U.S. government and won — all while his son’s slave-trading activities inspired the final illegal voyage of the Clotilda, the last slave ship to reach American shores.
Where Fiction Met Horrific Reality in Alexandria
The slave dealer who operated one of Alexandria’s largest slave pens inspired key scenes in Uncle Tom’s Cabin — including the fate of the Edmonson sisters. Joseph Bruin’s Duke Street slave jail held the Pearl fugitives and became evidence in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s follow-up book proving her novel was based on real horrors.
The War Began in His Front Yard and Ended in His Parlor
One man experienced history’s most extraordinary coincidence: the Civil War’s first shots rang out in his Yorkshire farm yard at Bull Run, forcing him to flee 120 miles south — only to have Lee surrender to Grant in his Appomattox parlor four years later.
Robert E. Lee’s Nephew Helped End the War 7 Months After Appomattox
Learning of his uncle’s surrender from newspapers aboard a British merchant ship in the Pacific, this Confederate naval officer helped sail the CSS Shenandoah 17,000 miles to England — making the final surrender of the Civil War in November 1865, seven months after everyone thought it was over.
The Confederate General Who Outranked Robert E. Lee
The Cooper Dynasty: From Boston Harbor to ‘Traitor’s Hill’ — a 16-year-old Tea Party rebel’s son rose to become the highest-ranking Confederate general, outranking even Robert E. Lee, only to die in poverty, stripped of citizenship, living in his former slave quarters.
Grandson of the “Father of the Bill of Rights” Authored America’s Most Oppressive Law
The grandson of George Mason — who refused to sign the Constitution without the Bill of Rights — became the U.S. Senator who authored the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act. Later, as a Confederate diplomat, he was captured in the Trent Affair, nearly dragging Britain into the Civil War.
Chicago’s Notorious Everleigh Sisters Hide in Plain Sight
America’s most famous madams — who ran the world’s most luxurious brothel and entertained millionaires, politicians, and royalty — rest quietly in their family plot under their real names, their scandalous empire hidden beneath simple Alexandria gravestones.
The Only Record of Liberia’s Founding — Kept by an Alexandria Physician
On July 26, 1847, delegates gathered to create Africa’s first independent republic. Only one person documented the debates, arguments, and compromises that shaped Liberia’s constitution — an Alexandria physician who served as Recording Secretary for the American Colonization Society. His journal is the sole surviving window into how formerly enslaved people structured democratic self-governance in Africa.
Codename ‘Zhora’: The Spy Who Blinded America
He sold jewelry to women at Arlington Hall to access America’s most classified codebreaking secrets. His betrayal blinded U.S. intelligence to North Korea’s invasion, costing 33,000 American lives — and the government he betrayed paid for his headstone.
The City Named for Love — and Betrayal
A 39-year-old Army colonel fell in love with his commanding general’s 13-year-old daughter, and the pleased father named a Florida fort after his future son-in-law in 1850. That romantic gesture gave Fort Myers its name — though the couple later betrayed the Union and fled to Germany during the Civil War.
Lee Descendants Lost in America’s Deadliest Theater Collapse
When the Knickerbocker Theater’s roof collapsed under record snowfall in 1922, killing 98 people, among the victims were direct descendants of Richard Bland Lee — their family line stretching from Colonial Virginia to one of Washington D.C.’s most horrific disasters.
The Female Stranger of Room 8
Room 8, Gadsby’s Tavern, October 1816: A veiled woman dies, her identity forever unknown. Alexandria’s most haunting mystery lies buried in these sacred grounds, her true name lost to time but her story eternal.
Fatal Intelligence: Three Hours That Changed History
Three hours of reconnaissance. Wrong hill. Wrong intelligence. One Confederate scout’s report convinced Lee to launch the bloodiest single day of fighting at Gettysburg — a decision that helped determine the war’s outcome.
And 35,000+ More Extraordinary Stories
Revolutionary War heroes, Civil War leaders, Cold War spies, NASA pioneers, forgotten heroes, and everyday Alexandrians who shaped American history — all waiting to be discovered.
What Visitors Say
Dave is both a great storyteller and well-researched student of history. Dave’s tour of the Alexandria cemetery complex is both an entertaining and enlightening experience in which you learn a lot about Alexandria and multiple eras of American history. It is well worth getting off King Street to spend a couple hours with Dave.
David Heiby is a noted historian and an authority on American history from the colonial era through the 19th century. He is truly a force of nature! As lovers of history, we hit the jackpot when we booked this tour. An exceptional experience in every way.
This was a fascinating walk through history. The guide, David Heiby, was extremely knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and entertaining. The tour includes the first Veterans Memorial cemetery, which predates Arlington cemetery. I never knew it existed in Old Town. Its a tour worth taking!
An amazing trip through Alexandria’s history and America’s history, even quite a few side journeys to world history! Dave’s knowledge of history is surpassed only by his enthusiasm. As we walked through the cemetery, Dave told stories and made connections between people and events that you simply don’t find anywhere else.
The Research Behind Every Visit
Our tours exist because the research exists — over a decade of original fieldwork, archival discovery, and primary-source documentation that no other operator has.
Explore more than 130+ stories already documented in our Alexandria Timeline →
- Built on 10+ years of original archival and on-site cemetery research
- Exclusive discoveries beyond King Street — newly identified graves and overlooked figures drawn from primary sources
- Professional historians, not scripted guides — deep expertise in documented, evidence-based interpretation
- Recently rediscovered burial sites — stand where graves lost for over two centuries have been confirmed
- Limited group sizes — personalized attention and meaningful discussion
- Flexible seasonal schedule — public tours offered during the active tour season
- Comprehensive historical archive — nearly 400 biographies, 130+ timeline stories, 80+ research articles, plus 5 interactive maps spanning four centuries of Alexandria history
From George Washington’s lost pallbearer to Cold War spies — experience 250 years of American history through the people who lived it. Stories you simply can’t find anywhere else.
Many of these stories — and exact burial sites — have only recently been revealed through our research. The best way to discover them is to join a guided tour.
The Historian Behind the Discoveries
The Cemetery Steward Who Rediscovered Washington’s Pallbearer
For over a decade, David walked every corner of the 13 separate cemeteries in the Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex. While 1935 library maps showed a “Gilpin plot,” the knowledge had been forgotten — until David’s intimate familiarity with the grounds led him to the unmarked family burial area. In 2024, he led a team using ground-penetrating radar technology to scientifically confirm Col. George Gilpin’s resting place, one of Washington’s six pallbearers.
This is what happens when deep local knowledge meets scientific collaboration.
The Washington Rediscovery
Rediscovered Col. George Gilpin’s burial location through decades of cemetery stewardship — leading a team to confirm the exact spot with ground-penetrating radar in 2024.
The Founding Father’s Secretary
Located Philip Richard Fendall Sr.’s family plot (2023) — the Lee family member who built Lee-Fendall House and served as Arthur Lee’s secretary during Treaty of Alliance negotiations with France.
The Forgotten Hero
Identified Alexandria’s first volunteer firefighter killed in the line of duty (1852) and the probable burial site of Robert Adam, signer of the Fairfax Resolves.
David Heiby leads visitors through Alexandria’s historic cemetery complex, sharing stories discovered through years of dedicated research and stewardship.
This Is How History Should Be Told
David doesn’t just recite dates and names. He brings you into the detective story — the months of research, the moment of discovery, the human drama that makes these figures real.
Nearly 400 documented biographies drawn from published histories, out-of-print books, unpublished manuscripts, historic structure reports, Alexandria Archaeology reports, family letters, and descendant accounts.
Featured presenter to Sons/Daughters of the American Revolution, genealogical societies, Civil War roundtables, and historical societies. Research cited in the Dictionary of Virginia Biography.
Superintendent of Presbyterian Cemetery & Columbarium for over a decade — the sacred grounds where his own parents rest, and where he too will one day be buried.
Treasurer of the Virginia Trust for Historic Preservation · Treasurer of the Alexandria Historical Society · America250 Alexandria Committee Member · Alexandria Archaeology Commission subcommittee advancing the National Register nomination.
Recognition & Impact
Every Gravestone Has a Story. Most Have Been Forgotten.
David’s mission is to bring those lost voices back to life through hands-on, source-driven public history. Here, forgotten American history comes alive through rigorous research, fieldwork, and compelling storytelling.
From Local Research to National Recognition
Scholarly & Digital Recognition
Original Gravestone Stories research is now cited by Wikipedia and the Library of Virginia’s Dictionary of Virginia Biography, affirming its authority as a trusted historical source for Alexandria’s burial records and biographical research used by historians and editors worldwide.
Historic Preservation Impact: Our documentation of nearly 400 historically significant individuals helped secure official City of Alexandria endorsement for the Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex’s nomination to the National Register of Historic Places — recognizing it as a “collection of sacred grounds that spans centuries of events, racial, social, and military change.”
“This is an opportunity for our City to add another site of historic significance to the National Register of Historic Places that is both locally and nationally relevant.”— James F. Parajon, City Manager of Alexandria, July 2025
“Heiby gives those buried in his, as well as the surrounding sections, a ‘second life,’ not only by recounting their tales on tours, but also online for generations to come through high-quality digitization and plot profiles.”— Emerging Civil War, May 2025
America 250 Official Partner
Gravestone Stories is recognized as an official America 250 historical resource by Visit Alexandria, connecting visitors to Alexandria’s Revolutionary foundations.
Plan Your Historical Pilgrimage
Location
1475–1501 Wilkes Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Parking
Available along Wilkes Street & Hamilton Avenue
Metro Access
~1 mile from King Street Metro or free King Street Trolley
Questions about tour logistics, meeting locations, or what to expect?
A tranquil view of the Presbyterian Cemetery, where historic gravestones lie beneath a towering tree — framed by one of the cemetery’s most magnificent canopy specimens.
Photo credit: Michelle Bartels — @soussiaphotography
The Most Historic Cluster of Cemeteries
in America
52 acres unlike anywhere else on earth. When it comes to American history, all roads lead through Alexandria — and they all converge in the stone and soil beneath your feet.
Along the way, you’ll hear exclusive, first-hand researched stories you can’t find in any guidebook.
Page last updated: March 17, 2026