Harry Hoosier, the first known black Methodist preacher, gave a now famous sermon on the Fairfax Chapel grounds (today's Oakwood Cemetery). — — Map (db m186968) HM
Early black families in the area included Brice, Wade, Barnett, Jackson, Clay, Gilliam, Honesty, Hall, Scipio, Gaskins, Richardson, Rector, Deskins, Denny, Sims, and others. — — Map (db m186984) HM
Harriet Foote Turner, a free black woman, led 12 enslaved people to freedom. In 1867, she owned 7 acres, including the land on which you stand. — — Map (db m186971) HM
Philadelphia Quaker abolitionist Emily Howland supported efforts in Falls Church to operate a school for black people before, during, and after the Civil War. — — Map (db m186972) HM
John Read and daughter Betsy secretly taught classes for black poeple even though it was against the law. Attendance put students and teachers in danger. — — Map (db m186973) HM
Local black men, including Charles Tinner, Isaac Payton, and others joined the Home Guard, an interracial militia protecting the Village. — — Map (db m186976) HM
Mosby's Confederate raiders killed Frank Brooks, a black man, kidnapped John Read, and his black companion, Jacob Jackson. Read, believed to be a Union spy, was executed. Jackson though wounded survived. — — Map (db m186977) HM
Some white landowners would not sell to black people or price gouged. Daniel Minor and John S. Crocker sold land at fair prices. Harriet Brice and Fred Foote, Sr. were the first black landowners in the Village. — — Map (db m186979) HM
Falls Church became a town. Frederick Foote, Jr. was elected Town constable and was the first black person on the Town Council (1880). Foote, George Thomas, and Eliza Henderson owned businesses patronized by black and white customers. — — Map (db m186983) HM
The Democratic Town council voted to cede one third of the Town to Fairfax County, eliminating an area of potentially powerful black Republican voters. — — Map (db m186989) HM
To meet civic and social needs, community members created organizations: House of Ruth, Mothers Council, King Tyre Masonic Lodge #292, Grand United Order of Odd Fellows, Buena Vista Social Club. — — Map (db m187015) HM
Dr. E.B. Henderson introduced basketball to African Americans to help break down racial barriers. In 2013, he was inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame. — — Map (db m186992) HM
William Henderson, a black man, filed a lawsuit after he was illegally thrown from the Falls Church trolley. Local white Attorney Jacob DePutron's testimony helped win his lawsuit. — — Map (db m186993) HM
The Falls Church Town Council proposed as residential segregation ordinance requiring that all black people live in specific, confined areas of town. — — Map (db m187004) HM
E.B. Henderson and Joseph Tinner convened a meeting at the Joseph and Mary Tinner home to protest the segregation ordinance. The Colored Citizens Protective League was founded by nine men. — — Map (db m187006) HM
Joseph Tinner, an oustanding orator who served as spokesperson in community discrimination disputes, was elected first CCPL president. — — Map (db m187007) HM
CCPL filed suit in Fairfax County Circuit Court stopping enforcement of the ordinance and gaining their first civil rights victory. — — Map (db m187009) HM
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled, in Warley vs. Buchanan, that residential segregation districts are unconstitutional, nullifying the Falls Church ordinance. — — Map (db m187011) HM
African American teachers, Mary Ellen Henderson and Lola Saunders, taught at the overcrowded two-room wooden county schoolhouse, the only school in the area for black children. — — Map (db m187022) HM
Though Mary Ellen Henderson and Ollie Tinner spent 20 years lobbying for a new school for black children, it was Henderson's published study that proved the disparity in spending on black and white schools. — — Map (db m187023) HM
Black children from Falls Church were sent to segregated schools in Fairfax County which ended at 7th grade. Students traveled to Manassas, VA or Washington, DC for high school. — — Map (db m187020) HM
A profiteering group of white businessmen built Lee Highway through the thriving black community and dissected black-owned properties. — — Map (db m187013) HM
Falls Church Town became a City. Black residents started businesses: Blossom Inn, Annie's Dress Shop, Francis Jackson's Beauty Salon, Smitty's Barber Shop, Tinner Well Digging, Deskins Plumbing. — — Map (db m187018) HM
The African American community launched letter-writing campaigns and picketed to protest segregated businesses. Ciy businesses integrated without incidents. A cross was burned on the Henderson lawn. Hate mail attributed to the KKK was sent to homes . . . — — Map (db m187028) HM
Falls Church black activists included Claudis Brown, Audrey Williams, Joseph Tinner, Viola Hudson, Mary Ellen Henderson, E.B. Henderson, and Reverends Powell, Costner, and Colbert. — — Map (db m187030) HM
Emboldened by school desegregation in Arlington, Falls Church City Public Schools followed suit. The first children to integrrate were from the Costner, Lindsey, and Byrd families. — — Map (db m187026) HM
Early civil rights battles in the Town of Falls Church centered on basic rights, equality in education, city services, voting rights, and public transportation. — — Map (db m186990) HM
Alixa Naff (1919-2013) was a pioneering historian of Arab American culture. Her research highlights Arab immigrant experience from 1880-1950s, documenting community diversity. Her oral histories and collections are in the Smithsonian Institution. — — Map (db m294592) HM
Annie Henderson Briggs (1892-1989) was an astute businesswoman. She owned residential, commercial, and vacation properties, including Annie's Dress Shop, which was located in the center of Falls Church. She worked for National Security Agency at . . . — — Map (db m294610) HM
Before and during the Civil War she, her father, and uncle secretly ran a school where they taught reading and writing to free and enslaved Black people, although it was against the law. — — Map (db m231962) HM
Betty Blystone (1926-2020) served on both Falls Church School Board (12 years) and City Council (6 years), including terms as both School Board Chair and Mayor. She was also president of the Virginia School Boards Association in 1980 and was a . . . — — Map (db m294607) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m4192) HM
Hiram Read, white pastor of Columbia Baptist, encouraged black worshipers to organize their own church. Second Baptist (1870) and Galloway United Methodist (1867) churches still exist. — — Map (db m186985) HM
By 1860, approximately 250 free and enslaved black people lived here. They built a strong black community. Some escaped to freedom, others were freed. Many defied prohibitions to learn reading and writing. — — Map (db m186970) HM
Carol DeLong (1930-2003) was the first woman to lead as Mayor of Falls Church City, devoting eight of her 16 years on City Council to the position. Her many accomplishments include advancing affordable housing, regional transportation projects, . . . — — Map (db m294604) HM
Caroline Kerfoot (mid-1800s) was enslaved in Africa and brought to America. Because she rose at dawn and called others to prayer in an unknown language, people believed her to be Muslim. In Falls Church, she was known as a deeply religious woman, . . . — — Map (db m294603) HM
Cay Wiant (1944-2009) was an educator and storyteller, teaching English at George Mason Middle and High Schools, serving as as an advocate for school employees. She wrote creative fiction exploring the heroic quest and fairy world. — — Map (db m294593) HM
In 1872 visionaries Charles & Mary Elizabeth Tinner purchased this land. They subdivided it into lots for their 10 children. The land has been passed down primarily to members of the Tinner family ever since. — — Map (db m294578) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m555) HM
Built by Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority in 1992, the bridge resolved critical transportation and safety concerns of the 45-mile long W&OD Trail.
The name honors those local citizens who provided political and financial support for . . . — — Map (db m214537) HM
To all men and women who served their country during war and peace
[Dedication plaque on Flag Pole]
Flag Pole
Dedicated
on the
50th Anniversary of
The American Legion
Falls Church Posts
and Auxiliary Units . . . — — Map (db m125855) WM
In the early 20th century, African Americans in Falls Church addressed inequities and discrimination through legal means. The black community prospered socially and in civic life. — — Map (db m187001) HM
In 1915 the Town Council proposed a segregation ordinance to force all Black residents to live in certain areas. EB, Joseph Tinner, and 7 other men started the Colored Citizens Protective League (CCPL) to fight it. — — Map (db m186880) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m17576) HM
Jacob C. and Mary E. (Sherwood) DePutron built this large two-story gabled brick Victorian-style house in 1893-94 on a 217-acre farm that she inherited. All house walls were of bricks made on site; facing brick on the front (from Georgia) and porch . . . — — Map (db m191565) HM
Principal organizer of the first N.A.A.C.P. rural branch, Dr. Henderson was the most vocal civil rights advocate in this region for over 50 years and was former owner of the land adjacent to this monument. — — Map (db m151018) HM
E.B. Henderson, whose pioneering work fostered African American participation in athletics early in the 20th century, lived in Falls Church from 1910 to 1965. After studying physical education at Harvard, he popularized basketball in his hometown of . . . — — Map (db m186877) HM
Black doctor, Dr. Harold Johnson and dentist, Dr. Harry Montgomery served black patients as well as white patients. Viola Hudson led the campaign to obtain utilities and mail services for the black community. — — Map (db m187019) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m2841) HM
On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation and created the United States Colored Troops. Local black men George Brice, Fred Foote, Sr. and Charles Lee enlisted. — — Map (db m186974) HM
Free and enslaved African Americans lived in the Village. They worked as laborers, household help or worked on small plantations. They helped build canals and railroads. Some were carpenters, blacksmiths, sea traders — — Map (db m186963) HM
Edith Abramson (1918-2001) was a community activist, involved in the founding of Citizens for a Better City, Temple Rodef Shalom, and the Falls Church Commission for Women. — — Map (db m294587) HM
She escaped slavery after the Battle of Vicksburg, walking from Mississippi to Washington, DC to reunite with family members. She eventually settled in Falls Church and owned a grocery store for many years. — — Map (db m186887) HM
Emily "Todie" Henderson (1908-1978) was a founding member of Gaucho Social Club, where African Americans socialized, met to discuss issues, and safely gathered in a segregated community. She owned and operated a boarding house. As a beautician . . . — — Map (db m294590) HM
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 1818 by heirs of George Minor (a part of 1731 . . . — — Map (db m86184) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m2825) HM
All persons who died serving in the line of duty during wars from 1775 to 1975
Revolutionary War
(Apr 1775 - Sep 1783)
War of 1812
(Jun 1812 - Jan 1815)
Mexican War
(May 1846 - Feb 1848)
Fairfax, Henry • . . . — — Map (db m206643) WM
Falls Church early local civil rights pioneers organized to oppose the residential segregation ordinance. Their successful action influenced the state and the nation. — — Map (db m187005) HM
Fairfax County's FCHS opened September 1945 with 28 classrooms and 522 students. It was preceded from 1926-1945 by Jefferson HS (formerly Jefferson Institute) on E. Broad. The City of Falls Church became independent in 1948 with a separate school . . . — — Map (db m191575) HM
Although soldiers repeatedly overran and raided Cherry Hill Farm during the Civil War, this ca. 1845 farmhouse and the ca. 1856 barn behind it survived almost intact. William Blaisdell, of Massachusetts paid $4,000 for the 66-acre property in . . . — — Map (db m65407) HM
The Falls Church Community Center Gym was dedicated to E.B. Henderson (2002). The new middle school was named in honor of Mary Ellen Henderson (2005). — — Map (db m187032) HM
Fran Richardson (1917-2018) was an accomplished journalist, writer and educator, serving as a Red Cross volunteer in North Africa, Italy, France, and Germany during World War II. She was active in League of Women Voters, AAUW and CBO, and helped . . . — — Map (db m294609) HM
Frances "Pud" Jackson (1922-2009) ran a home based hair salon in Falls Church for 50+ years, helping women access food, clothing, and shelter. Her shop remained intact after she retired because she "might need to put a curl in the hair of one of . . . — — Map (db m294581) HM
Frances Tinner Coates (1887-1971) was one of the first women identified as a member of the Colored Citizens Protective League. Her family donated property for the Luther Jackson High School, which was the first new high school for Black students . . . — — Map (db m294580) HM
In 1867, African Americans built Galloway United Methodist Church and established the historic cemetery you are facing. According to local tradition, before and during the Civil War enslaved people on the Dulany plantation secretly worshiped in the . . . — — Map (db m72029) HM
On this site stood the
Hangman's Tree
According to legend, an old oak used by Col. Mosby to hang Union
spies after the Battle of
The Peach Orchard during the
Civil War.
The tree was removed 1968.
Marker by the Falls Chruch . . . — — Map (db m37608) HM
You are standing across the street from land that Harriet Brice, a “free woman of color,” purchased in 1864. Together with her husband, George Brice, she struggled to farm the property during the Civil War. Although she had gained her freedom . . . — — Map (db m206332) HM
She was the first free Black woman to own land in the center of town & was one of the founders of Galloway United Methodist Church. — — Map (db m186885) HM
Harriet Foote Turner (1810-1892) was a free, Black woman who led 12 enslaved people to freedom in Canada in 1858 by posing as their owner. She was never able to return to Falls Church, although she owned the land in the block across the street . . . — — Map (db m294584) HM
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; . . . — — Map (db m4202) HM
In Memory of
Henry Fairfax
An upright magistrate
A sincere Christian
Died in command of
The Fairfax Volunteers
at Saltillo Mexico 1847
But for his munificence
This church might still
have been a ruin.
Erected by the . . . — — Map (db m77662) HM WM
This neighborhood along Railroad Avenue and the train tracks known as "Gravel Bank" was once home to several African-American families and businesses, and a vibrant part of the larger community. Lucinda Gaskins, an African-American woman, had . . . — — Map (db m144998) HM
Wooden house built in 1854 on 10.1 acres bought by Robert Judson for $100 (part of 1729 248-acre Trammell Grant); named by second owner. During Civil War, used by CSA Gen. Longstreet in 1861; rafter marks identify later Union troops. Used as private . . . — — Map (db m191569) HM
This was the home of Mary Ellen Meriwether (Miss Nellie) and Dr. Edwin B. Henderson (EB). They wed in 1910 and moved to Falls Chruch, the home of EB's ancestors since colonial times. — — Map (db m186878) HM
Ida Quick Hawxhurst (1867-1952) was a member of Columbia Baptist Church for 63 years. She helped form Women's Suffrage League of Fairfax in 1913, advocating for women's right to vote. — — Map (db m294599) HM
In 2013 EB was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame because he introduced basketball to African Americans (1904). The Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School was named for Mary Ellen, noting her 30-year battle for equal education for Black . . . — — Map (db m186883) HM
Jane Dexter (1919-2001) served on Falls Church School Board in its infancy, fighting for facilities, funding, and staff. She was the first President of the Falls Church League of Women Voters and led Citizens for a Better City. — — Map (db m294591) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m2856) HM
Jessie Thackrey (1913-2013) and her husband, Franklin, were leaders in the effort to establish Falls Church as an independent City and the development of Falls Church City Public Schools. She was part of the committee that facilitated peaceful . . . — — Map (db m294596) HM
In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court decision affirmed "Jim Crow" separate but equal laws. African Americans lost legal rights gained through 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. Segregation became the rule. — — Map (db m210468) HM
Garland Hicks organized and interracial baseball league. Viola Hudson organized a black girl scout troop. Black men served in segregated units during World Wars I and II. — — Map (db m186997) HM
In 1915 Joseph and Mary Tinner opened their home for the first meeting of the Colored Citizens Protective League to oppose segregated housing in the town of Falls Church. They risked lives and livelihoods in an area where the Ku Klux Klan was . . . — — Map (db m294579) HM
First president of the Falls Church branch of the N.A.A.C.P. and stonemason who quarried from the base of Tinner Hill, the billion year-old granite used in this monument. — — Map (db m151017) HM
Leah Porzel (1918-2016) was a founding member of Aurora House, which provides community-based residential support to girls. She was a leader in Northern Virginia Mental Health Association, and a member of AAUW for more than 65 years. — — Map (db m294586) HM
Confederate Col. John Singleton Mosby's Partisan Rangers (43rd Battalion Virginia Cavalry) conducted raids on Falls Church through the summer and fall of 1864. On the night of October 17, a detachment of Mosby's command rode through the village down . . . — — Map (db m69552) HM
Lola Saunders (1903-1980) was one of two teachers at Falls Church Colored School. She served with House of Ruth, a group organized to provide social and financial support to African Americans, who were unable to access life insurance, disability, . . . — — Map (db m294595) HM
Louisa Mars Henderson (1862-1962) and her husband, William, ran the family store, while raising 5 children, including E. B. Henderson. She was a member of The Order of the Eastern Star, Second Baptist Church and the NAACP. She died shortly before . . . — — Map (db m294600) HM
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