Fairfax Parish’s original glebe house was built in 1773 on land purchased by the parish in 1770. One of its occupants was David Griffith, George Washington’s chaplain at Valley Forge. The house burned 1808, and in 1815 Wallis Jones built the wing of the present house, possibly using the glebe house bricks. From 1836 to 1846 The Glebe was owned by John Peter Van Ness, a former mayor of Washington. From 1870 to 1878 The Glebe was the residence of the diplomat and statesman Caleb Cushing. In 1926 The Glebe became the home of state senator Frank Ball. The Arlington County property later served as the headquarters of the National Genealogical Society; The Glebe has since been converted back into a private residence.