Thompson-Kidwell Cemetery is a cemetery located on the grounds of Fox Mill Park in

Reston, Virginia Reston is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia and a principal city of the Washington metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, Reston's population was 63,226. Founded in 1964, Reston was influenced by the Garden City movem ...

. The cemetery dates from the late 19th century and was a burying plot for members of the Thompson and Kidwell families who lived in this area of

Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...

. The cemetery was largely forgotten until the mid-1970s when adjacent neighborhood Fox Mill Woods was built. Even at that point it was located in dense woods only accessible by taking a little-known path from the nearby park. When A. Scott Crossfield Elementary School was built nearby in 1988, the cemetery was cleaned up by the Fairfax County Park Authority, who installed a surrounding fence and a pathway leading from the parking lot of the Park. 24 known graves are known to exist, but due to years of neglect, severe

weathering Weathering is the deterioration of rocks, soils and minerals as well as wood and artificial materials through contact with water, atmospheric gases, and biological organisms. Weathering occurs ''in situ'' (on site, with little or no movement), ...

and

vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The term f ...

no headstones are currently readable. Many of the headstones are broken in pieces and scattered around the grounds.Thompson/Kidwell Family Cemetery
Fairfax County, Virginia The cemetery is currently under supervision of the Fairfax County Park Authority.

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* * Cemeteries in Fairfax County, Virginia Cemeteries established in the 19th century Reston, Virginia