Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
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 was demolished for a new chancel.
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 14, 2023
