Course Details: This is a one-day course from 9:30 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Following the course, participants will be ready to undertake, under experienced supervision, a five-year work plan for […]
Interested in your ancestral history within Loudoun, or curious about historic cemeteries in general? Join us at Thomas Balch Library in Leesburg (see map below) and learn why cemetery preservation is important, how to research your ancestry as well as how to use the vast resources available at Thomas Balch Library.
Join us at New Jersualem Lutheran Church in Lovettsville for a hands-on learning experience with experts in the field of cemetery strategic planning, documentation, preservation, and cemetery landscaping.
Are you connected to a cemetery that you would like to help manage? This training is for you.
Join us Friday, November 6, 2026, as we celebrate the cemeteries and individuals who made 2026 remarkable and look ahead to an exciting year of training and preservation for 2027.
Date: February 13, 2027
Location: Thomas Balch Library
This course will continue to provide participants with a thorough grounding in cemetery management, including the role of the courts, insurance, and budgeting practices essential to responsible stewardship.
Date: March 13, 2027
Location: Thomas Balch Library
Expanded to include gravestone photography for documentation, this course will guide participants through genealogy research methods and conclude with a practicum in which they apply their newly acquired skills in a real-world cemetery setting.
Date: April 10, 2027
Location: Thomas Balch Library
This new course is designed to address the unique documentation and research challenges presented by African-American and formerly enslaved historic cemeteries. Participants will learn photography for documentation using techniques specific to these sites and will complete a hands-on practicum to reinforce the skills covered in the course.
Date: May 8, 2027
Location: New Jerusalem Lutheran Church, Lovettsville, VA
This course will provide participants with the skills to develop a strategic plan for a historic cemetery, covering cataloging, surveying and assessing site conditions, landscaping, budgeting, and thorough documentation practices.
