Wash Woods Cemetery
False Cape State Park, Sandbridge, City of Virginia Beach, Virginia

Lat: 36° 34' 19"N, Lon: 75° 53' 10"W

Contributed by Steve Aird, Sep 03, 2007 [sdaird@earthlink.net]. Total records = 11.

False Cape State Park is accessed by driving south from Sandbridge to Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Access is then by bicycle or on foot. It is 3.3 miles to the northern edge of the state park.

The cemetery is in a pine-oak woodland west of the main dunes. The area is extremely sandy, but the cemetery and headstones are in good shape. The state park is custodian of the cemetery and should be contacted for further information.

According to park literature, "In the 1800s, False Cape gained a reputation as a shipping graveyard. The area got its name because its land mass resembled Cape Henry, luring boats into shallow waters. One of the area's first communities, Wash Woods, was developed by survivors of such a shipwreck. The village's church and other structures were built using cypress wood that washed ashore from the wreck."

I visited this cemetery and transcribed all existing and legible headstones on Sep 03, 2007.

- Steve Aird

Brinson, Mary W., b. 09 Jun 1852, d. 08 Apr 1895
Bunch, James E., d. 16 Jun 1939, age: 89 years
Bunch, Mamie E., d. 11 Jul 1909, age: 39 years
Ewell, Derwood, no data, Headstone and footstone, child’s grave
Newbern, G. L., b. 04 Jul 1882, d. 12 Oct 1906, At rest
Pallette, Fred Lee, b. 28 Aug 1895, d. 27 Mar 1917
Pallette, Zina Clara, b. 10 Jan 1865, d. 17 Mar 1922, In God we trust
Stevens, W. H. D., b. 06 Aug 1902, d. no date, The H. is a guess, The bottom of the stone is missing
Waterfield, Delia, d. 28 Feb 1900, age: 54yr, Wife of Robert Waterfield; Aged 54 years; Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord
Waterfield, John C., b. 06 Sep 1848, d. 11 Feb 1907, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord
Waterfield, Mary W., b. 20 Feb 1845, d. 23 Dec 1915, Wife of John C. Waterfield

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