Our History

The Story of Falls Church: History Panels

The City’s history is recognized and showcased through a series of history panels installed at S. Washington St. and Hillwood Ave. The panels tell the story of the City of Falls Church through eight unique periods, including:

The People to 1700: Native Peoples and Their Land
Settlement 1700 - 1815: Tobacco and the Early Economy
Virginia Village 1815 - 1861: Turnpikes and Tolls
Civil War 1861 - 1865: A Village Divided

Entire panel history → available here

Rebuilding 1865 - 1890: Coming of the Railroad
Turn of the 20th Century 1890 - 1920: The Spanish-American War
The Emerging City 1920 - 1950: From Horse to Highway
1950 and Beyond: A Small Independent City

Why is Falls Church called Falls Church?

This video from the Falls Church Historical Commission explains the history of the name, including some historical figures, wars, and other events that helped shape our little city.

The Falls Church

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Falls Church’s history dates back to the late 1600s when it was an early Colonial settlement that co-existed with Native Americans. The community grew around The Anglican Church (now The Falls Church – Episcopal), which was the established religion of the Colony of Virginia, with a second location here “near the falls” of the Potomac (1734), built of wood, likely by enslaved workers. In 1748, George Mason was made a vestryman of this church. George Washington and George William Fairfax were appointed wardens in 1763 to construct a new building.

The brick Falls Church (1769) standing today was designed by James Wren and also likely built by enslaved people. The church provided our place name, was the center of local life, and was key to the area’s growth and many historical events. The Declaration of Independence was read on the church steps in 1776 and served as a Fairfax Militia recruiting station at the beginning of the Revolutionary War.