Cunningham Park Elementary School opened on September 5, 1967. Our first principal was Theodore Moshos. Cunningham Park Elementary School was built at a cost of $594,000. During construction our school was referred to as Vienna Woods Elementary and Kingsley Park Elementary. The name Kingsley was in reference to William Kingsley Cunningham, the former owner of the land on which our school was built. At its meeting on June 23, 1966, the Fairfax County School Board voted to officially name our school Cunningham Park, accepting the recommendation of the Cunningham family and the endorsement of the Mayor and other officials of the Town of Vienna.

The Cunningham Family

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 (1903-1991) 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 on the history of the school is from: This Was Vienna, Virginia Facts and Photos, 1987, by Connie Pendleton Stuntz and Mayo Sturdevant Stuntz.)

School Song

by: Mrs. Kathy Quarles

Cunningham Park is a school with a future inside.
Cunningham Park is a school where the children have pride.
We have reading and writing and arithmetic.
We have P.E. and Art and * Music.
We have programs for after school you can pick.
YES, Cunningham Park is a school with a future inside.

What's in a Name?

Learn more about the Cunningham family and the origin of our school's name in this video produced for Fairfax County Public Schools’ cable television channel Red Apple 21.