Virginia Township was one of the last townships to be settled. Many of the earliest settlers were from the state of Virginia. John A Lindsley was the first person to enter land in the township and did so on March 28, 1851. William Conner built a cabin in Virginia Township in 1852. George Richards arrived in May, 1853. Other pioneers were Abraham Felton, Thomas Proudfoot and sons, and the Reeds and Knotts. The first child born in the township was Hester Felton, daughter of Abraham Felton. She was born in June of 1855.
New Virginia was laid out in the spring of 1856 and was not recorded until 1859/ The land had been owned by John Felton, Francis H. Reed, Absalom Knotts and Joseph Knotts.
The first known death in the new Virginia community was an unknown man, a stranger passing through. He was never identified. Some accounts say that people traveling in a covered wagon left the gravely ill man at a hotel there, where he died. In 1938 Alonzo E. Sayre said that the man died at the home of William Read. Robert Irwin said the man was found in a camp in the draw to the south of the cemetery and was carried to the top of the hill and buried. In any event, the stranger was buried in a cleared area in a spot which became the New Virginia Cemetery. In 1953 a collection was taken and a stone was purchased for the man's grave. The inscription on the stone reads:
"An unknown Pioneer Man First burial in this Cemetery, 1854 Erected, 1953 By Kind Hearted People"
In December, 1854, the first known person was interred in the New Virginia Cemetery. Eliza Jane Stickel died December 6, 1854, at the age of five months and six days. She was the daughter of Nicholas E. and Martha Ann Proudfoot Stickel. Her stone is under a tree in the north central part of the cemetery and the markings on the stone are still very readable.
The citizens of the community erected a soldier's monument which stands on the west side of the cemetery drive. The inscription reads: "In memory of the Soldiers Who Gave Their All for Home, Fireside and Liberty. Erected by the citizens of New Virginia and Community." A flag pole with hanging flower pots stands behind the memorial.
This beautiful cemetery contains the remains of many of the early and later residents on the community and two famous persons:
The Honorable William Shane Beardsley is buried in the cemetery. He was Governor of Iowa and was nearing the end of his term when he was killed in an auto accident in November, 1954.
Margaret Murchison Hossack - Nov. 19,1843 - Aug. 25, 1916
An alleged Murderess, considered the "Lizzie Borden of Iowa." She was accused of killing her husband, John Hossack, with an ax while he was sleeping in his bed. She claimed that she had been sleeping next to him at the time of the murder but that she had not heard a thing. Despite her claims of innocence, she was charged with the murder. In one of the most sensational murder trials in Iowa history, she was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. The conviction was overturned on appeal and she was tried for a second time. This time, the trial ended with a hung verdict with 9 jurors voting for her guilt and 3 voting not guilty. She was not tried a third time and no one was ever convicted of the crime. She was buried in the family plot next to the husband that she was accused of murdering. The murder and trials are depicted in the book Midnight Assassin.