A Marker on the Taken Land Reads as of 2021: "At the turn of the 20th century, a close-knit African American community was established here. The Johnson, Robinson, Sprigg and Collins families were the first to purchase lots. They cleared pine trees to enable truck farming and saw mill operations. Residents created a vibrant community through worshipping at First Baptist Church of Merrifield, school functions and social gatherings. Situated in this park is the Liberty Lodge Cemetery where church members are buried. In the 1960s, during a period of school desegregation and population growth, the public school system purchased land through eminent domain, displacing numerous families. A school was never built."
Link to 2021 video - Mr. Marshall recalls living in The Pines and Wreath Laying Ceremony. This video is a highlight filled with unique and interesting information.
Tidbits in the video: The soccer fields were built on dirt dug up to build the Exxon Complex which is now part of INOVA Fairfax Hospital. Slaughter Springs was one source of water for the residents. The entrance to the cemetery was almost opposite from the entrance in 2022. There are markers for people buried in unknow surrounding locations.
Civil War and San Juan Hill Veterans Mary Lipsey Writing for the African American History Inventory. "The sign in the cemetery says William Collins was Civil war veteran that’s Senior. William Collins Jr was a veteran of the Spanish American War. Junior is the one who purchased the land and divided up among his siblings and father, William Collins Senior. I found him in Troop C of the 10th Cavalry who accompanied TR up San Juan Hill. Here is the link."
Link to Fractured Fairfax - The Pines Factured Fairfax includes references to newspaper articles and this statement. "Annoyed by the last-minute switcheroo, and because the money from the sale would have to be used for capital improvements, the School Board told the BoS to get lost.[5]
Location The Pines community land is now (2021) Pine Ridge Park owned by Fairfax County. Entry to the park is at Lat. 38.854222 Lon. -77.229014. and is South of Inova Fairfax Hospital. Pine Ridge Park, 3401 Woodburn Road, Annandale, VA 22003 42.74 acres
More Information: In 1905 William Collins Jr., the descendant of freed slaves, bought 22 acres there with money he saved from serving with Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders in the Spanish American War. The Johnson, Robinson, and Sprigg families soon purchased lots, too. They operated small truck farms, selling their produce in Washington, D.C., set up a sawmill, and worshipped at First Baptist Church of Merrifield. When Fairfax County decided it needed to build another high school fit forced the residents of The Pines to sell their land. After years of litigation, the residents were given 60 days to vacate the homes that had been in their families for generations. A school was never built. Repository: https://annandaleva.blogspot.com/2016/10/new-historic-marker-commemorates-pines.html
Only One Original Gravestone Survives From FCPL online cemetery survey FX187 This 1/4 acre parcel was deeded to Ebenezer Lodge No. 14, Sons and Daughters of Liberty for use as a graveyard in 1907 (Db X6:539). The cemetery and surrounding property was condemned by the Fairfax County School Board in 1965 for a school that was never built. The Fairfax County Park Authority was eventually given use of the land and constructed ball fields on part of the parcel in 1983. The cemetery was not maintained and suffered severely from neglect and vandalism. In 1990 the School Board cleared, fenced, and surveyed the site for burials, locating forty-five graves. Only one original gravestone survives, all others on the site were placed by the School Board in 1990. BETTE E. COLLINS Death: JAN 9, 1920 Comment: Inscription "BETTE E. Wife of WH. H. COLLINS Died Jan. 9, 1920 Aged 39 ì Yrs. Rest Sweet Rest......COLLINS."