History of Falls Church

Rarely is a little city gifted with such an abundant background, and Falls Church is lucky to have not just a history, but one that it can boast of.

Falls Church traces its roots back to Colonial settlements of the 1600s, and to the Native Americans populating the areas in and around the modern-day city. People from Tidewater in Virginia migrated towards these Native American lands, building what was known as the “Big Chimneys” house in 1699. This set the date for the founding of Falls Church, which took its name from the Episcopalian Falls Church established in 1734. The actual Falls Church got its name due to its location near the Great Falls of the Potomac River. American president George Washington and George Mason, author of the Virginia Bill of Rights, were churchwardens of the original Falls Church.

The American Civil War in 1861-865 saw Falls Church become the site of significant military activity. It served as a recruiting station for soldiers and was first occupied by Federal troops. The area would then change hands several times between the Federal and Confederate Armies. It was where the “Battle of the Peach Orchard” took place, one of the town's popular legends. Falls Church was the site of the world's first aerial attack, launched from Taylor's Tavern by Thaddeus Lowe with his hot-air balloon called the “Union.” It was in the Falls Church area that Gen. McClellan, a Union commander, held a “Grand Review” for President Abraham Lincoln and other political figures, prompting Mrs. Julia Ward Howe to write the Battle Hymn of the Republic.

Falls Church saw considerable action as trenches, forts and battlements were built upon it, while gunfire and cannons rang in the air and armies marched across the lands. It also witnessed much suffering in the casualties of the war, and in the destruction of buildings and homes. Several of the churches and houses became hospitals to aid the wounded, including Falls Church itself. After the war, Falls Church returned to being an idyllic town that evolved into the bustling community it is now. Remnants of the war though, along with all items of historical value, have been carefully preserved in Falls Church's museums through the efforts of the city's historical and cultural organizations.