West Virginia National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located Grafton, Taylor County, West Virginia. It encompasses. Along with Grafton National Cemetery, it is one of the two national cemeteries in the state of West Virginia, both of which are located in Grafton. After it was determined that the Grafton cemetery had inadequate space for new burials, West Virginia groups began petitioning for a new national cemetery for the state. The federal government appropriated the site of the former West Virginia Industrial School for Boys for the new cemetery, which was dedicated and opened in 1987.HistoryBy the 1960s the small, 3acre Grafton National Cemetery had limited free space for new burials. A 1975 study of the cemetery determined that the remaining unused space was either too steep or too costly to use. West Virginia veteran groups such as the West Virginia United Veterans National Cemetery Committee campaigned state and federal government officials for a new national cemetery.Negotiations between the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and the state resulted in the selection of a 58acre site that was part of the West Virginia Industrial School for Boys. Construction was delayed by work negotiations and poor weather conditions. A dedication ceremony took place on September 28, 1987 and the cemetery was opened for interments the next day, even though construction was incomplete.
