Westview Cemetery was established in 1832 when William Black deeded a few acres to the Town with the express purpose of creating a community burial ground. At the time, Blacksburg was not yet incorporated. The land that became Westview lay about half a mile from the central settlement area, indicating a possible desire to establish a rural cemetery. The rural cemetery innovation was a reaction to the overcrowded cemeteries of larger cities at the time, allowing burial grounds to be spacious, garden-like and serene.

In 1900, Westview expanded when Alexander Black, the great grandnephew of William Black, sold 1 ¾ acres to the Town for one dollar. In exchange for this land, the Black family became the governors of the cemetery establishing a five-dollar fee for plots, and requiring that funds be directed specifically toward the upkeep of the grounds. Alexander Black would eventually be buried in Westview upon his death in 1935.

Another notable figure buried in Westview is Alexander Black’s father, Dr. Harvey Black. Black was a prominent Town doctor and Civil War veteran who assisted in the amputation of General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s arm following the battle of Chancellorsville. Later in life, Black served on the board of trustees of Blacksburg’s Preston and Olin Institute and was a lobbying voice in the decision to bring a new land grant university to Town; this land grant university eventually became Virginia Tech.

Westview is an active burial space in which both Town residents and non-residents may be buried. A resident is defined as an individual owning a business, owning, or leasing real estate within the corporate limits of the Town of Blacksburg.

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