| Virginia, Falls Church — Big Chimneys |
| | Large log house named for its two huge chimneys. One datestone was inscribed 1699, the traditional date quoted for the community's founding. First recorded owner of site is Henry Gunnell (1773 22.75 acre grant). James Gordon, owner 1803-1836, had license for an inn. Thompsons owned cabin from 1845-1868 and Lynchs from 1868, until it was torn down about 1908. At that time cabin was about 25x55 feet with 3 chimneys, 4 rooms on ground floor and 3 rooms above. Foundation stones were dug up in 1972 . . . — Map (db m4192) |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Cherry Hill |
| | Greek revival house believed built in 1845 by Wm. Harvey, who bought 66.5 acres (part of 1729 248-acre Trammell grant). Outbuildings added about 1857. Name derived from trees lining lane from Leesburg Turnpike. In 1870, Joseph S. Riley bought the property. In 1875 he became a key figure in incorporating the town and establishing a public school. Nephew, poet James Whitcomb Riley, visited farm many times. House was occupied by descendants for nearly a century. City bought and restored the . . . — Map (db m555) |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Columbia Baptist Church |
| | In 1859, the church trustees bought this ½ acre (part of 1729 248-acre Trammell Grant) for $100. The 2-story clapboard over timber church served as a Union hospital and appears in Matthew Brady photos. Pastor John Read was shot by Mosby Troops as Union spy. When congregation became inactive, church was site of 1875 first town council meeting and first public school. Jefferson Institute, 1875 to 1882. Church was reorganized in 1880 and relocated in 1909 to West Columbia St. Church here was . . . — Map (db m17576) |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Dulin Methodist Church |
| | After the Civil War demolition of Fairfax Chapel, the original part of this Gothic revival church was built by Southern sympathizers in 1869 on 2 acres donated by Wm. Y. Dulin (Part of 1742 208-acre Geo. Harrison Grant). Original chapel now forms the right and rear side of the sanctuary and vestibule, a tower, new entrance, and stained glass windows were added in 1892. In 1926 Gothic Sunday-school wing was added in the west; Church exterior was stuccoed because color of handmade brick in the . . . — Map (db m2841) |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Fairfax Chapel |
| | Circuit riders brought methodism to area in the late 1700s, holding meetings in homes. Fairfax Circuit initiated in 1776. Clapboard chapel built in 1779 and enlarged in 1798 on acre of land donated in 1918 by heirs of George Minor (a part of 1731 271-acre T. Harrison grant). Larger red brick structure built in 1819. Services suspended in 1861; Union soldiers demolished chapel using bricks for fireplaces. Site abandoned by methodists after war, but surrounding Oakwood Cemetery remains. In 1885, . . . — Map (db m2832) |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Falls Church — Between the Armies |
| | In 1861, Falls Church was a farm village located on the Alexandria-Leesburg Turnpike. On May 24, when Virginia's vote of secession became effective, Union troops crossed the Potomac and occupied Arlington Heights and Alexandria. On June 1, the 2nd U.S. Cavalry left the Falls Church area to launch the first major skirmish of the war against Confederate forces at Fairfax Court House. After the Union defeat at the First Battle of Manassas (Bull Run) on June 21, Union troops withdrew from the area . . . — Map (db m2825) |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Henderson House |
| | This colonial revival bungalow (part of 1724 1,279-acre Pearson Grant) bought by Dr. Edwin B. Henderson in 1913. Henderson's ancestors include Powhattan Chief Mimetou. In 1904 he was first African-American certified to teach physical education; 1920-1954 director of P.E. in D.C. segregated schools. Long active as organizer, coach, and official in New "Negro" leagues. Author in 1939 of "The Negro in Sports"; He also wrote over 3,000 letters to editors stressing need for equal opportunities. He . . . — Map (db m4202) |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Jefferson Institute |
| | (Front Side Text): In 1875, citizens of newly chartered town subscribed to build school, as classes were held in Baptist Church, in 1880 Joseph Birch donated land (a part of 1837 24.5-acre Kidwell grant) specifying it always must be used for education. In 1882 Jefferson Institute opened as county primary school in this 2-story brick building with belfry, 6 classrooms and 3 teachers. In 1926, Jefferson became town high school, and reverted to grade school when a new county administered . . . — Map (db m2856) |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Presbyterian Church |
| | In 1846 Presbyterians first met in private homes. In 1854, Dr. Simon J. Groot bought 11 acres for $179 (part of 1729 246-acre Trammell grant); Built two-story Groot Hall in 1856; Used for Sunday services, private school, community groups, town hall, and Union army hospital. Presbyterians bought hall in 1866; Used until torn down in 1925. East of Groot Hall, Gothic style church with steepled bell tower was built in 1884 from local granite; It was the town's first stone building. At least half of . . . — Map (db m2865) |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Rolling Roads |
| | Site believed near intersection of two indian trails, later used by colonial horsemen and wagons. Tobacco growers improved the routes for delivering this valuable crop which was about ½ of all colonial exports. Draft animals pulled large rolling cylindric casks or hogsheads along the original courses of Alexandria-Leesburg and Little Falls Roads. 1730 law established dockside warehouses & inspectors. They set the quantity and quality of tobacco casks and issued notes to farmers. Notes were . . . — Map (db m4204) |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Star Tavern |
| | (Front Side of Marker): After no luck in western goldmines Walter H. Erwin in 1852 bought two acres for $100 (part of 1729 248-acre Trammel grant). Built frame tavern on this site which became a landmark on Leesburg Pike. 1861 sketch shows it with a verandah and green glass star atop a pole. After war, the Independent Order of Grand Templars held their temperance meetings in the tavern. Inn was used for many purposes as successively remodeled. It served as community post office until the . . . — Map (db m2874) |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Tallwood |
| | Neo-colonial Brice residence, built in 1870 on 95-acre farm of John Green (Part of 1742 208-acre Harrison grant). Yale Rice, descendant of founder of Yale Univ., bought the property in 1890. Dr. and Mrs. Milton Eisenhower owned the house 1938-1943; Had house painted white and removed front porch. At the direction of Gen. Marshall, Gen. Eisenhower arrived in Washington two weeks after Pearl Harbor, was met by his brother and taken to Falls Church. He and Mamie spent New Year's Eve 1941 at . . . — Map (db m2838) |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Taylor’s Tavern — Professor Lowe's Balloons |
| | At the beginning of the war, Union commanders were uncertain of Confederate intentions and military capabilities. On June 22, 1861, civilian balloonist Thaddeus S.C. Lowe inflated his racing balloon Enterprise at the Washington Gas Company to demonstrate its potential in obtaining military information about Confederate troop movements. With the assistance of a 15-man army detachment, he walked the balloon to Taylor's Tavern at the edge of Union territory on the Falls Church heights. On . . . — Map (db m2826) |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Taylor’s Tavern |
| | Two-story building with verandahs stood on 56 acres bought in 1856 by Wm. Taylor (part of 1731 271-acre T. Harrison grant). Tavern faced Alexandria-Leesburg Pike west of Junction with Georgetown Road (Wilson Blvd.). Near here on June 24, 1861, balloonist Thaddeus Lowe conducted first aerial reconnaissance in U.S. military history. In August-September CSA Col. J.E.B. Stuart's troops fortified Upton's & Munson's Hills. By October 1861 Union troops had reoccupied hills and added forts Taylor, . . . — Map (db m2837) |
| Virginia, Falls Church — The Birch House |
| | Located on 2.1 acres of land purchased by Joseph E. Birch for $105 in 1849 (part of 1837 24.5-acre Kidwell grant). Original house was 1 1/2 story "I" house, raised to 2-stories in 1850s; 1873 addition doubled the size. Blacksmith/farmer Birch was on first town council. A founder of Jefferson Institute, & a methodist church trustee. Wife Mary led a successful temperance movement. Three generations of Birches lived here until 1968. In 1976, the house, empty and vandalized, along with 2.5 acres . . . — Map (db m2858) |
| Virginia, Falls Church — The Falls Church |
| | This Georgian-style church designed and built in 1767-69 by James Wren, related to Sir Christopher, replacing the 1733 frame structure on 2-acre lot (part of 1729 248-acre Trammel grant). Washington and Mason were vestrymen. After the 1788 disestablishment of the Church of England, fell into disuse until repaired in the 1830s. Union troops used it as a Civil War hospital and stable. Repaired by 1866, an Episcopal congregation has worshipped here since 1873. In 1959, church chancel narthex and . . . — Map (db m2870) |
| Virginia, Falls Church — C 90 — The Falls Church |
| | The first church on this site was built in 1734 and was in Truro Parish. George Washington was elected a vestryman, October 3, 1763. In 1765 the church fell within the newly created Fairfax Parish, of which Washington was chosen a vestryman. The present church was built in 1768. It was used as a recruiting station in the Revolution and as a stable by Union troops, 1862-65. — Map (db m4189) |
| Virginia, Falls Church — The Story of Big Chimneys — 1699-1914 |
| | "Big Chimneys," named for its two large brick chimneys, was probably the first permanent structure on the land that is today within the City of Falls Church. The home stood just east of this sign. The year "1699," inscribed on a chimney-stone, is thought to be the date the structure was built. This is also the date that the community of Falls Church traditionally accepts as its beginning. The original cabin was made of logs in the Scotch-Irish style, with a back door directly opposite the . . . — Map (db m4201) |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Tinner Hill Monument |
| | (Left Side Plaque): This monument commemorates the inhabitants of the Tinner Hill area who risked their livelihoods and their lives to defend the principles of the U.S. Bill of Rights. Constructed by the Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation Dedicated June 5, 1999 President - Edwin Bancroft Henderson, II Project Director - David Eckert Designer - John Ballou Engineer - Guy Razzi Architect - Mark Coupard State Sponsor - Delegate Robert Hull Funded by a Commonwealth of Virginia Grant, the . . . — Map (db m4203) |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Town Hall |
| | Town was incorporated in 1875. A simple frame town hall was built here about 1880 on 1/4 acre (part of 1729 248-acre Trammell grant). Town Hall bell was rung for council meetings and fires. Later used only for police station. Torn down in 1953. Town boundaries changed twice: once by charter amendment in 1890 which returned South Falls Church to Fairfax County for political purposes; Then by court action in 1936 which returned East Falls Church to Arlington County for tax advantages to its . . . — Map (db m2871) |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Tracks into History — The Washington & Old Dominion Railroad |
| | The railroad that became the Washington & Old Dominion was born in Alexandria in response to the competition in shipping posed by the port in Baltimore, which was served by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. The B&O was diverting farm produce from the Shenandoah Valley away from Alexandria by way of its junction with the Winchester & Potomac Railroad. It also had access to the rich coalfields of the Ohio Valley.
A group of Northern Virginia businessmen formed the Alexandria, Loudoun & Hampshire . . . — Map (db m2902) |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Train Wrecks |
| | Accidents happened on the Washington & Old Dominion. Mishaps resulted from washouts of the roadbed, loose rails, rotting ties, or from livestock wandering across the tracks. Crew negligence also played a part. One of the earliest and most serious accidents occurred in Round Hill, Virginia. On Christmas Day 1874, an engine in the process of being turned around fell off the turntable and crushed a crewman. Perhaps the most dangerous situation arose from dozens of at-grade street crossings. . . . — Map (db m2899) |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Turnpike Tollgate |
| | (Text on Front of Marker): Alexandria-Leesburg Pike, chartered in 1813, was completed after 1838. An 1862 map shows a house and tollgate on four acres bought by John Williams in 1857 (Part of 1837 24.5-acre Kidwell grant). An older tollhouse is suspected but tolls may have been collected at Joseph Birch's smithy across the turnpike. Gate was just west of private wagon road (Cherry St.) used by some to evade toll. Pike was important route to move agricultural products & goods but role . . . — Map (db m2845) |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Virginia Training School |
| | (Front Side of Marker): The Duryee home and 11 acres were bought by Mattie Gundry in 1899 for $2,500 (part of 1773 22,75-acre Gunnell grant). On this site she opened the Virginia Training School for retarded children. At that time, it was the only school of its kind in the South and the second largest such school in the nation. It operated until her retirement in 1946. School was torn down by 1947 to make way for Tyler Gardens. Ms. Gundry served 3 terms on the town concil; 37 years as . . . — Map (db m2878) |
| Virginia, Falls Church — West Falls Church Station |
| | In 1912, from the station that stood nearby to your right, you could board a modern interuban passenger coach at 7:34 a.m. and arrive in Georgetown by 8:00 sharp. It was a new century and Washington, D.C., was on the move. The demand was heavy in the early 1900s for passenger service along the mostly residential corridor of the Washington & Old Dominion. Its owners replaced steam power with electricity and scheduled dozens of commuter runs. Often, however, schedules were not met, cars were . . . — Map (db m2901) |
| Virginia, Falls Church — Wren’s Tavern |
| | Famous ordinary believed to be part of Federal-style mansion built on 145 acres bought for $291 in 1787 by James Wren (part of 1742 208-acre G. Harrison grant). Lying north of Alexandria-Leesburg Rolling Road, tavern operated 1789-1815 under James and To 1821 under son John. It was visited by Thomas Jefferson enroute to his presidential inauguration in 1801, as well as by James Madison fleeing from the British in 1814. Wren was architect of The Falls Church, Ponick Church, Christ Church Fairfax . . . — Map (db m2842) |
| Virginia (Fairfax County), Falls Church — Bailey’s Crossroads |
| | In 1837 Hachaliah Bailey (1774-1845) from Westchester County, New York, purchased 526 acres in the northeast quadrant formed by the intersection of Leesburg and Columbia Pikes. Here he built his home, known as "Moray," which was destroyed by fire in 1942. Before moving to Fairfax County Bailey operated a traveling "menagerie" of elephants. His son, Lewis Bailey (1795-1870), introduced the canvas circus tent to the world and owned a traveling circus before settling on this land that he farmed . . . — Map (db m632) |
| Virginia (Fairfax County), Falls Church — T 40 — Lincoln Reviews Troops at Bailey’s Crossroads |
| | After the Union defeat on 21 July 1861 at the First Battle of Manassas, Lincoln appointed Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan as commander of the demoralized army. A superb organizer, McClellan rebuilt the army and on 20 November 1861 staged a formal military review here, between Munson's Hill and Bailey's Crossroads. Lincoln and his entire cabinet attended. Occupying nearly 200 acres, some 50,000 troops, "including seven divisions—seven regiments of cavalry, ninety regiments of infantry, [and] . . . — Map (db m180) |
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