Community Corner
Memories Abound in Chestnut Grove Cemetery (Part 2)
Herndon's Chestnut Grove Cemetery has a wealth of interesting people from the town's history buried there.
By Barbara Glakas
Herndon’s history is a reflection of the many people who have lived here over the years. And many of those people now rest in Chestnut Grove. This is a continuation of the list we began in last week’s edition.
Read more about how Chestnut Grove Cemetery came to be in Part One of this two-part article here.
Charles William Kitchen (1837- 1891): Son of Elizabeth Butler Kitchen and brother of Kitty Kitchen Hanna.
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Elizabeth Leonhardt (1867-1953): One of the “Sacred Twenty,” the first 20 nurses in the United States Navy Nurse Corps during World War I.
Jacob Leonhardt (1828-1905): Donated the pulpit to the first church (Methodist Episcopal) in Herndon. His wife, Mary (1833-1899), donated the first bible used in the church. His son John P. (1854-1900) was the first church librarian, and the first marriage conducted in the church was that of his daughter, Mary (1853-1901), to Rev. Joseph B. North (1849-1899).
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Sarah Martz (1870-1952): Lived in the old stone Carroll cabin in what is now Runnymede Park.
Gilbert Allan McLearen (1888-1971): A local dairy farmer whose farm was absorbed by Dulles Airport. He was the last person to use Sully Historic Site as a working farm.
Benjamin McGuire (1879-1933): Owned a grocery store on the southeast corner of Elden and Spring Streets.
W. Floyd Middleton (1857-1929): Owned the Herndon Emporium. A member of the Middleton family who owned a farm in Floris.
William H. Moffett (1897-1984): –Operated the last blacksmith shop in Herndon from World War I until 1955. Known as the Moffett Forge, it is now located at Frying Pan Park.
George Moore (1939-2003): Herndon Historical Society member who was instrumental in bringing the red caboose to Herndon.
Ferenc Nagy (1903-1979): The last freely elected Prime Minister of Hungary who was exiled and arrived in Herndon in 1948. His home still stands at the corner of Elden and School Streets.
John Oliver (1848-1935): Owned a shoe shop on Pine Street that burned down in the Great Fire of 1917.
George Dudley Page (1923-1991): First principal of Herndon Elementary School when it was located on Dranesville Road.
Nelson J. (1914-2000), and Katherine Friant Post (1917-2000): Active in the Herndon Chamber of Commerce, they established the Nelson J. and Katherine Friant Post Foundation.
Dith Pran (1942-2008): A photojournalist for The New York Times who was a refugee and survivor of the Cambodian Holocaust. He was the subject of the award-winning film, “The Killing Fields.”
Thomas E. Reed, Sr. (1856-1918): Herndon’s first undertaker and owner of the Reed Funeral Home.
Dr. Ernest Robey (1869-1938): Farmer, pharmacist, first president of the Chamber of Commerce, and mayor (circa 1911).
Katheryn Hume Robinson (1895-1988): Served as the president, manager, and librarian at the Fortnightly Library for many years. She was appointed to the first Fairfax County Library Board.
Edith Rogers (1887-1978): The first woman to serve on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, 1935-1940.
Robert (1852-1937), and Lottie M. Dyer Schneider (1879-1967): Robert was a Town Council member. Owned Schneider’s Hardware store, at the corner of Station and Lynn Streets, from 1909 to 1919. He and his wife, Lottie, lived in an apartment over the store. Born the year the town was incorporated, Lottie wrote a history of Herndon called “Memories of Herndon, Virginia.” She was among the first school supervisors in Fairfax County.
Conrad T. Shear (1823 – 1913): His family owned Sully Plantation from 1874-1911.
Dr. Earnest Clay Shull (1893-1959): – A Herndon doctor. In 1954, he bought the old Methodist Episcopal Church parsonage house at 808 Elden Street and converted it into apartments. The house is once again a single family home.
Haley Smith (1917-1994): Former Town Council member and active supporter of youth sports. Haley Smith Park is named after him.
Edward Stirewalt (1918-1995): Chairman of the Herndon Planning Commission, he proposed the creation of the Herndon Parkway in 1958.
Lawrence Surato (1906-1971): Chief of the Herndon Fire Department.
William D. Sweetser (1825-1902): Teacher and member of the first Town Council, in 1879.
William W. Taylor (1869-1955): Owner of a jewelry shop on Station Street circa 1900. It was the first three-story building in town.
James Taylor (1831-1913): Owned the grist mill in Herndon.
Ruth McGuire Updike (1916-2010): Charter member of the Herndon Historical Society, president of the Fortnightly Club, and banker at the Herndon Citizens National Bank.
Harlan Waite (1837-1919): -A Civil War veteran, skilled carpenter, and cabinet maker who designed and built the house at 637 Oak Street in 1904.
Magnus T. Wilkins (1884-1956): Ran the Wilkins & Bros. store in the building now occupied by Jimmy’s Old Town Tavern. Served as mayor from 1913-1915.
Harvey (1845-1922) and wife Harriet Wiley (1861-1950): Built a house in the late 1800s that was the last house remaining on Coral Road.
Walter (1894-1975), and Nellie Wiley (1899-1981): Later lived in the Coral Road house. Walter ran a watch repair shop, newsstand, and candy store that was located next to the Nachman building. Nellie had a restaurant and dressmaking shop on Station Street.
George A. Williams (1859-1934): Subdivided 24 acres of his land into 12 lots, which ran from Locust Street to Spring Street to Wood Street. Part of that land was later the site of Herndon’s first library. The building remains, and is now the Herndon Friends Meeting House.
Raymond Wrenn (1884-1956): Mayor of Herndon in 1920.
Virgie Wynkoop (1876-1981): Ran a beauty shop in her home on Elden Street and wrote a history of Herndon called Herndon—Etcetera.
Maurice A. Yount (1880-1966): Owner of a grocery store in downtown Herndon.
Remembering Herndon’s History is written by members of the Herndon Historical Society. Barbara Glakas is a member. The Society operates a small museum that focuses on local history. It is housed in the Depot and is open every Sunday from noon until 3:00. Visit the Society’s website at www.herndonhistoricalsociety.org for more information.
Note: The Historical Society is seeking volunteers to help keep the museum open each Sunday. If you have an interest in local history and would like to help, contact Carol Bruce at 703-437-7289 or carolbrcom@aol.com.
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