PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, VA. ( DC News Now ) — A land developer is seeking to relocate a 19th-century Black family’s remains, stoking concerns in a community already upended by data center development.
The site, located between Prince William County Parkway and Manassas Region Airport, was once home to the Staffords, a freed Black family of farmers in the 19 th century.
Kathy Kulick of the county’s historical commission and vice chair of the group HOA Roundtable told DC News Now that the relocation plan is troubling as it won’t require oversight by the county board.
John Rinaldi, the attorney for landowner Nottoway Inn Vienna LLC, said that a descendant of the Stafford family has been located out of state and eagerly agreed to the remains’ relocation.
“We’ve been in touch with the family member we could find, and he’s very much in favor of the relocation of the cemetery,” Rinaldi said.
Rinaldi noted that the family member, found via genealogical research and who asked for his identity to be withheld from the public, is not receiving any compensation.
“We’re looking into a couple of different sites,” Rinaldi said. “We’re looking for a cemetery where they would receive appropriate care.”
Fairfax County passes measure to regulate where data centers can be built In Prince William County, data center development has ignited tensions in the community, dividing residents. Civic groups, such as HOA Roundtable have mounted pushback against data center development, fearing encroachment on historic sites and threats to the environment. This year, two other Black gravesites were damaged elsewhere in the county as land developers attempted to build around them. Rinaldi pointed to those instances as justification for the relocation of the graves. Kulick fears history could be lost in doing so.
“There was a very important freed Black history that was largely unknown, and we’re starting to learn about their story,” Kulick said. “Why are they seeking to move this cemetery? It is county policy to preserve these cemeteries in place.”
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Kulick said that landowners can circumvent that process by moving the remains before submitting an application for development.
The plan to move the Stafford graves comes as community members fight recent county zoning decisions in court. A hearing will be held on Oct. 31 as community members sue the county board and two developers, arguing lawmakers took a litany of missteps when they approved rezoning to make way for the Digital Gateway.
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