Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 06/19/1973
NRHP Listing Date 07/26/1973
NRHP Reference Number 73002210
The former rural character of the small Northern Virginia city of Falls Church is embodied in the Cherry Hill farmstead that is now part of a seven-acre park in the heart of the city. On the property is a ca. 1845 Greek Revival house and a ca. 1845 frame barn. From 1870 to 1945 Cherry Hill was owned by the Joseph Riley family. Poet James Whitcomb Riley was Riley’s nephew and some of his poems include descriptions of Cherry Hill and its residents. Joseph Riley led the drive to incorporate Falls Church in 1875 and also helped start its first public school. The city purchased Cherry Hill in 1956. The house has since been restored and furnished as a museum interpreting the lifestyle of the area’s prosperous antebellum farm families. The barn houses a 19th-century tool collection.
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
