Synagogues:
Agudas Achim Congregation, 2908 Valley Drive, Alexandria, VA, 22302, (703) 998-6460 (Conservative)
Beth El Hebrew Congregation, 3830 Seminary Rd. Alexandria, VA 22304, (703) 370-9400 (Reform)
Agudas Achim Congregation Cemetery: 1/88 Synagogue office 703-998-6460. Agudas Achim Cemetery, located just off South Payne Street at the went end of Jefferson Street in Alexandria, was founded in January 1933. Directions: From the Capital Beltway, take US 1 north about 3 blocks. Make a left turn and continue to the cemetery. Turn left on S. Payne St. to a dirt road at the end of cemetery grounds. (Across of high power wires) Follow the dirt road about 100 feet to the gate. All names were published in a book by Wes Pippinger.
The section to the right of the entrance, which has become a "Meditation Garden" was added by the City Council in November 1943 for the use of the Congregation, "so long as the premises is used, kept and maintained by said religious congregation as a cemetery chapel without any manner of excavation." The Meditation Garden has since been enhanced and is a quiet place for contemplation.
At present, there is room in the cemetery for almost 400 plots. About one-third of the plots are occupied or have been reserved. It is recommended that anyone visiting the cemetery not go alone. The gates are opened from about 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. or so, every Sunday and Federal holiday that does not fall on Shabbat or a Jewish holiday.
Home of Peace Cemetery: 1/221 Used by Beth El Hebrew Congregation, Alexandria, VA. Home of Peace is the earliest Jewish cemetery in Alexandria, which has had a Jewish population since the 1830s. In 1857, a Hebrew Benevolent Society was established to provide for a burying ground. Several parcels of adjoining land were added to enlarge the cemetery. Two Alexandria mayors are buried here. See directions under Agudas Achim, which is about 100 feet south of Home of Peace. Home of Peace has a gate at the edge of the street, north of what looks like an open area, but is still part of the main big cemetery. Home of Peace has a gate at the edge of the street, north of what looks like an open area, but is still part of the main big cemetery. Many tombstones may be found for which there is no death record evident in the available newspapers. (Alexandria Gazette's name has changed multiple times since its beginning in 1784.) A gate that marks the west entry of Section A is inscribed with the years 1858-1896; the first year of which commemorates establishment of the Hebrew Benevolent Society in Alexandria. A newspaper article claims (without proof) that the cemetery opened on July 5, 1858 and that it later contained about thirteen unmarked graves of soldiers, who died in Alexandria during the Civil War. Despite this, Fairfax County land records show that on September 1, 1860, trustees of the Union Cemetery of the Methodist Episcopal Church South purchased a parcel. After assigning gravesite numbers, the M.E. Church South, by October 9, 1860, conveyed gravesites 14 to 18 and 32 to 36 in the northeast corner to the Hebrew Benevolent Society to start Home of Peace cemetery. The next conveyance of adjacent gravesites 9 to 13 and 27 to 31 was made on January 20, 1864. A subsequent one was made for the northern bounds of Section A on January 15, 1894. A small portion known as Section B was conveyed on January 21, 1911. Additions were made in 1927 and 1929 and comprise what is known as Section C. Deed information as well as a plat of the Union Cemetery of the M.E. Church South has been provided to the author by Mr. Toivo E. Hedman. When known, the location of the grave is indicated after an entry. It contains the section and row numbers (and the plot number if available), i.e. "C:34:B." The map detail and numbering system were devised by the author as suggested by a grid map drawn in 1989 by Samuel Werth of Norfolk, Virginia. The data is from Tombstone Inscriptions of Alexandria, Virginia (Volume 1) by Wesley E. Pippenger, Alexandria, Virginia and was supplied by the author. Additional information may be learned from the Alexandria Gazzette newspaper.