City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: NOVEMBER 21, 2023
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
THROUGH: JAMES F. PARAJON, CITY MANAGER /s/
FROM: GRETCHEN BULOVA, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF HISTORIC ALEXANDRIA
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Consideration of the Acceptance of a Deed of Quitclaim to Douglass Cemetery.
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ISSUE: Consideration of the acceptance of a one-quarter interest Deed of Quitclaim in the case of the ownership of historic Douglass Cemetery, 1421 Wilkes Street, in order for critical stormwater issues to be resolved and preservation actions be undertaken.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council authorize the City Manager to approve and accept the Deed of Quitclaim from a current owner of real property located at 1421 Wilkes Street in the City of Alexandria also known as Douglass Cemetery.
BACKGROUND: Douglass Cemetery sits on approximately 1.4 acres in the Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex. It was established in 1895 by the Douglass Cemetery Association as a segregated, nondenominational African American cemetery and named in memory of Frederick Douglass (1818-1895). Records suggest over 2,200 people may have been buried at Douglass Cemetery making it Alexandria's largest African American cemetery. The last known burial at the cemetery was in 1975 and the work of the Douglass Cemetery Association ended at some time prior. Mowing was then assumed by the City, through the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities.
Beginning in at least 2018, the Cemetery started experiencing severe flooding. With no organization or apparent property owner to maintain the cemetery, family members of those buried in the cemetery and community members contacted City Staff about the increasing damage to the landscape and remaining headstones with each storm. This contact was facilitated through the leadership of the Friends of Douglass Cemetery and the S...
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