089-0067-0037 Union Church and Cemetery

For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF

VLR Listing Date 06/19/2008

NRHP Listing Date 09/10/2008

NRHP Reference Number 08000896

The approximate three-acre property containing Union Church and Cemetery in the Falmouth Historic District, includes the surviving narthex of the brick ca. 1819 Union Church, the remaining vestige of the brick building after it was severely damaged by a storm in 1950; two sites of earlier frame (ca. 1733) and brick (ca.1750) Anglican churches; and a large cemetery containing some ornately carved early gravestones and many marked and unmarked African American graves. For many years the site of Falmouth’s sole church, which was used as a hospital during the Civil War, the property reveals the evolution of religious patterns in Stafford County through the dominance of the Anglican Church in early Virginia, the disestablishment of the church after the American Revolution, and the popularity of union churches during the 19th century. Despite being a ruin, the imposing narthex serves as a good example of Federal-style church architecture. The cemetery contains graves and markers from the colonial period to the present, including soldiers from the Revolutionary War to Vietnam.

Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.

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

Updated: March 7, 2022