News & Notes

Notice

PUBLIC NOTICE OF INTENT TO RELOCATE INTERMENTS WITHIN THE GALLAHAN-LUNSFORD CEMETERY, 936 COURTHOUSE ROAD, STAFFORD COUNTY

  1. APPLICANT:
    Mark Bowman, General Counsel

The Garrett Companies/Courthouse West

  1. PROPOSED WORK AND NEED FOR RELOCATION: The applicant proposes to relocate unmarked interments within the Gallahan-Lunsford Cemetery, located at 936 Courthouse Road in Stafford County.

The cemetery, which has been evaluated by professional archaeologists, contains one marked grave and an unknown number of unmarked graves. Although the cemetery first appears on property maps in 1956, it was likely established in the late 19th or early 20th century. The cemetery was formally documented by the Stafford County Cemetery Committee in 2011, at which time a headstone inscribed to Mrs. M. E. Lunsford (3/16/1895-2/5/1913) was identified. Research indicates that this may be Margaret E. Lunsford (nee Horton), mother of former landowner William Edgar Lunsford. Other family names associated with the cemetery include Ball, Fairfax, and Gallahan.

Courthouse West has determined that disturbance of the cemetery cannot be avoided due to planned development of the parcel as a whole. Pursuant to the requirements of VA Code §10.1-2305, the application has applied for a burial permit through the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) to allow the archaeological excavation and relocation of the aforementioned cemetery. A copy of the application may be requested from DHR. The exhumed human remains and funerary objects will be temporarily curated at the offices of Dovetail Cultural Resources Group, and will be respectfully reburied at Regester Chapel Cemetery in Stafford County unless otherwise requested by interested parties.

  1. COMMENT PERIOD:  Comments on this project should be made in writing, addressed to the following:

Andrew Martin, Dovetail Cultural Resources Group, 11905 Bowman Drive, Suite 502, Fredericksburg, VA or by email at [email protected] ; and

Joanna Wilson Green, Virginia Department of Historic Resources, 2801 Kensington Avenue, Richmond, VA 23221 or by email at [email protected].

Written comments should be received by the close of business on August 22, 2024. A public hearing may be requested by any respondent to this notice.

  1. CONTACT INFORMATION

If you have any questions about this project, please contact Mr. Andrew Martin.