110-0001

Falls Church

VLR Listing Date

12/02/1969

NRHP Listing Date

02/26/1970

NRHP Reference Number

70000870

Lending its name to the surrounding city of Falls Church, this colonial house of worship was preceded by a 1733 wooden church. Determined unfit to repair thirty years later, church wardens George Washington and William Fairfax advertised for proposals. A design by James Wren was accepted, and the new Falls Church was completed under Wren’s supervision in 1769. With its rectangular, two-story mass and hipped roof, Wren’s scheme has the secular quality favored by low-church Anglicans. During the Revolution, American forces used Falls Church as a recruiting station. It was abandoned after the disestablishment but was returned to service in 1839. Union troops caused considerable damage when they used the building as a hospital and then as a stable. After the Civil War the federal government awarded the Falls Church parish $1,300 for damages. In 1959 the east wall of the Falls Church was demolished for a new chancel.

Last Updated: July 19, 2023

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Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark

For additional information Read

Nomination Form

000-0022-0011

West Cornerstone of the Original District of Columbia

Arlington (County)

110-0221

Dr. Edwin Bancroft and Mary Ellen Henderson House

Falls Church (Ind. City)

110-0015

Mount Hope

Falls Church (Ind. City)