Tysons Corner was named for William Tyson, a Maryland native who became the postmaster at Peach Grove in the 1850s. Before the shopping malls, this was a rural crossroads with a name borrowed from one of its residents.
We went looking for the man behind the name, and the census records let us follow William, his wife Susan, and their children. The old newspapers fill in a few details of his later years.
William Tyson and the Peach Grove post office
Peach Grove was the older name for the area. The federal postal register for 1855 lists William Tyson as the postmaster at Peach Grove in Fairfax County. Later geographic-name records preserve several versions of the name, including Tysons Crossroads and Tysons Corner.
The family story starts earlier, in the 1850 U.S. Census, where William was listed with his wife Susan and their children.
The 1860 census also lists William and Susan with their children. The handwriting is faint, as you can see below. The page is easier to follow if you open the image at its full size.
In the 1880 U.S. Census, William was recorded as a farmer, and Susan was listed as his wife.
Combing through old newspapers, we found a brief mention of the Tysons in the Alexandria Gazette and Virginia Advertiser on February 19, 1897. Its Fairfax Notes column reported that William’s wife, identified as Mrs. William Tyson of Lewinsville, had died the previous Sunday, and that William himself was very sick.
William Tyson’s final years
By 1900, William was a widower. We found him in that year’s census, living with his daughters Amelia and Bessie.
William Tyson died on May 21, 1903. His notice in the Evening Star named his home as 300 T Street NW and announced a funeral there the following afternoon.
He is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Falls Church.
You can read more Tysons Corner history in our story of the Rotonda.
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