Cemetery discovery causes reconsideration of future fire station location

Appearances can be deceptive. What looks like ordinary stones in a patch of woods is actually much more.

In a wooded area near the Coles District Fire and Rescue (Station No. 6) building in Manassas are several stones marking grave sites. But these are not the typical tall tombstones with inscriptions that make it obvious a cemetery is there; instead, these are simple headstones and footstones that appear to be quartz stone with 16 to 18 graves.

The abandoned cemetery is on fire station property, which is in the Hoadly area of Manassas. The small cemetery is to the left of the station.

However, a new fire station was projected to be built on the property to replace the current one, which was built in 1980.

Plans included for it to open by late 2015 to meet the needs of current and projected growth. But the discovery of the cemetery has caused officials to push the pause button when it comes to determining the best location for the new station on this stretch of land.

Lou Ann Dorrier is the county architect and also serves as chief for facilities construction management in Prince William County’s Public Works Department. She said, “The county owns the whole property; it’s actually one big tract of land and the cemetery is on it.”

Public Works has been working with the firefighters to design a new facility. Dorrier explained, “We found out about the cemetery when we met with the architect in early 2014. So we brought in the archaeologist and Versar, a project management company, to start the research process.”
 
The vast majority of last summer was spent researching land records of owners of the property. Last September, Versar completed its research, and in November 2014, Public Works made a presentation to the Prince William County’s Historical Commission to inform the group of plans and to get guidance from them.

“Historians in the RELIC Room at Bull Run Regional Library were brought into the discussion; we wanted to find out who was buried there,” Dorrier explained.

It was determined that there may be up to 17 graves in what is known as the Norman Cemetery, which includes members of the Norman, Lynn and Tansill families.

From 1988 records, the only inscribed headstone in the cemetery belongs to Charles E. Norman (1814-1855). Norman married Mary Frances Lynn (1820-1910); his father-in-law was Benson Lynn (circa 1785-1858/9) who is believed to have owned the land. They had at least six children: Andrew (born 1845), William F. (“Fielder”, born 1849), Mildred (born 1850), Eppa (born 1852), Lucinda Lynn (born 1853) and Charles E. Jr. (born 1855). In 1882, George W. Tansill is said to have purchased the land from the Lynns.

To accommodate for the cemetery, Public Works has had to make considerations regarding the location of the new station.

One consideration is safe access outside the station onto Route 234 (Dumfries Road) and working with strict requirements from the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). Getting in and out of the station quickly to respond to calls is, of course, imperative. There are also issues regarding large firefighting equipment that requires lots of room; these considerations play into the overall design of the new station. “We’ve looked at the operations of the fire station, the proximity to the road, and we have to be mindful of the cost,” Dorrier says. “It’s weighing options.”

One of those options is to relocate the cemetery to another area on the site. A permit for disinterment of the graves was sent to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (VDHR) in Richmond to archaeologically recover buried human remains in the cemetery.

According to Bill Olson, a member of the Prince William County Historical Commission and chairman of its cemetery subcommittee, alternative suggestions were made to avoid disturbance of the cemetery.

The VDHR permit application for disinterment is being held until the issue of other possible alternatives is resolved.

The other three options include building the station on three other sections on the property, which is oddly-shaped, and the station can only be built a certain distance from the property line and the cemetery.
In March, Public Works will provide the Prince William County Historical Commission with the four options, each with its set of advantages and challenges.

Then they will go to the Board of County Supervisors (BOCS) with their recommendation. The BOCS is the final authority, and Marty Nohe is the supervisor for the Coles District.

“We should have a clear direction by the end of April-that’s what we’re shooting for,” Dorrier said. “Then we still need to complete our architectural plans and the permitting process.”

Ground breaking might begin in early 2016 with a possible completion time in early 2017. During construction, the existing station will remain operational.

“The current station is really outdated,” Dorrier said. “We recognize that and are doing all we can to move the project forward. Once a decision is made, we’ll want to jump on it; we want to do the best thing for the community.”
Coles District Fire and Rescue Station 6 is located at 13712 Dum-fries Road (VA 234), Manassas.