At Gravestone Stories, our expert Alexandria tour guides bring the city’s buried history to life through original research, museum-quality interpretation, and immersive walking tours.
Founder David Heiby specializes in Alexandria’s historic cemetery landscape and American history from the colonial era through the 19th century. Catherine Weinraub brings deep expertise in Alexandria’s firefighting heritage, Victorian cemeteries, and historic preservation.
Together, they offer more than five decades of combined experience in historical research, museum interpretation, and heritage preservation. Their work has helped shape how residents, visitors, and history organizations experience Alexandria’s past—from lifelong history enthusiasts to first-time visitors.
David Heiby: A Living Bridge Between Alexandria’s Past and Present
David Heiby is the founder of Gravestone Stories, a research-driven public history project dedicated to preserving and sharing the stories buried within Alexandria’s historic cemeteries.
As Superintendent of the Presbyterian Cemetery & Columbarium within the Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex, David combines hands-on preservation work with original historical research, digital interpretation, and nationally recognized walking tours. His work explores the lives of Revolutionary War patriots, Civil War soldiers, enslaved and free African Americans, political leaders, immigrants, and everyday Alexandrians whose stories shaped both local and American history.
Through Gravestone Stories, David has created one of the most extensive digital public-history resources focused on Alexandria’s burial grounds, featuring interactive maps, biographies, timelines, archival discoveries, and educational programming. His research has contributed to the rediscovery of long-forgotten graves, including one of George Washington’s lost pallbearers.
David also serves as Treasurer of the Virginia Trust for Historic Preservation, which operates the Lee-Fendall House Museum & Garden, and Treasurer of the Alexandria Historical Society. In addition to his cemetery work, he has led Civil War battlefield tours for more than 25 years.
Before focusing full-time on public history, David built and operated several successful businesses in the technology, industrial supply, and international trade sectors — experience that now helps support the growth and preservation mission behind Gravestone Stories.
“Where history lives — and discoveries still happen.”
Catherine Weinraub: Alexandrian Heritage and Firefighting History Tours
Catherine Weinraub, one of Gravestone Stories’ most knowledgeable guides, brings Alexandria’s past to life through compelling narratives and extensive historical research. Her professional background includes work with the Office of Historic Alexandria, George Washington’s Mount Vernon, and Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial.
She currently serves as Historian for the Ivy Hill Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, where she successfully led the effort to have Ivy Hill Cemetery listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2024. Initiating the process in 2022, Catherine coordinated research with the National Park Service and academic partners to secure this prestigious designation, ensuring lasting recognition for one of Alexandria’s most historic landscapes. She also serves as Historian for the Friendship Veterans Fire Engine Association, continuing her long-standing dedication to public history and preservation.
Catherine leads tours of both Ivy Hill Cemetery and the Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex, each offering a distinct experience of Alexandria’s buried history. Her Ivy Hill Cemetery Tour: Victorian Elegance and Notable Lives takes visitors inside one of the city’s most elegant Victorian cemeteries to explore the historic receiving vault, learn about Victorian funeral customs, and uncover the lives of apothecary owners, financiers, treaty writers, hotel proprietors, and veterans who shaped Alexandria’s story. With its blend of history, atmosphere, and expert insight, her tour offers an authentic encounter with the city’s past unlike any other.
In 2023, Catherine authored Friendship Fire Company 250th Anniversary 1774–2024 Alexandria, Virginia, a book commemorating the city’s firefighting heritage and celebrating its longest-serving volunteer fire company.
Join one of Catherine’s tours to explore Alexandria’s firefighting past and its Victorian-era cemeteries, where heroic volunteers, notable citizens, and timeless stories reveal the city’s enduring character.
Book Your Tour Today
Our expert guides—David Heiby and Catherine Weinraub—invite you to discover Alexandria’s hidden history through immersive, research-driven storytelling. Whether exploring Revolutionary War legacies, Civil War medicine, or Victorian cemeteries, each tour offers a rich and memorable connection to the past.
