Casey the Cardinal -- Our School Mascot History of Cunningham Park Elementary School
 
 



On March 25, 1915, William Kingsley Cunningham (1865-1947), originally from Pennsylvania, purchased 64 acres on a farm in Vienna, Virginia.  Mr. Cunningham became a farmer and a fruit grower in Vienna.  The farm he acquired had been previously planted with Japanese plums, cherry, and crabapple trees.  His son, Glenn, said his father had been credited with introducing the Golden Delicious apple to Fairfax County.

Mr. Cunningham and his wife, Lettie Lomberger Cunningham (1870-1969) had three sons, two of whom were active in the Fairfax County School system in the 1920s as teachers and principals.  Frederick Bruce (1898 – 1985) and Harry Glenn Cunningham (1903 - ) were instrumental in organizing athletic activities (track, baseball, and basketball) and competition between the high schools.

Parts of the Cunningham farm were sold in 1947 and 1955.  The widow of William Kingsley Cunningham, Lettie L. Cunningham, sold the remaining 10 plus acres, including the house site, to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, who in turn, sold the 10 plus acres to the Fairfax County School Board on September 29, 1965 to build Cunningham Park Elementary School.

The above information is from:

    This Was Vienna, Virginia Facts and Photos, 1987, by Connie Pendleton Stuntz and Mayo Sturdevant Stuntz.

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This page was last updated March 21,2005.
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