Falls Church is in Virginia, within the United States of America.



Falls Church is an independent city in Virginia, United States. The population was 10,377 at the 2000 census. This city is a part of the Washington Metropolitan Area. A much larger number of people reside in Greater Falls Church and use Falls Church as their mailing address. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Falls Church (along with Fairfax City) with Fairfax County for statistical purposes. Although two stations on the Washington Metro subway system have "Falls Church" in their names, neither is in the City of Falls Church. (One is in Arlington County and the other is in Fairfax County.)

Geography

---

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.2 km² (2.0 mi²), all land.

Falls Church is the smallest county-level political subdivision in the United States by area and, obviously, the smallest by size in Virginia. The smallest independent city by population in Virginia is the City of Norton.

While parts of neighboring Fairfax County share the Falls Church mailing address, the city remains an independent city. Falls Church also borders Arlington County.

The church from which the city takes its name was first built in 1734 of wood. George Washington was one of the churchwardens. On December 17, 2006, the church voted to break away from the Episcopal Church and join the Church of Nigeria under Archbishop Peter Akinola. This was set in motion by the Episcopalians' consecration of Gene Robinson, an openly gay man, as Bishop of New Hampshire.

History

---

For thousands of years, up to about 1667, Native Americans inhabited the area in and around present-day Falls Church. Today's Broad Street and Great Falls Street follow their prehistoric footpaths.

In the late 17th century, settlers from the Tidewater region of Virginia began to migrate to the area. The former "Big Chimneys" house, located on Annandale Road about a block west of Maple Ave., was built in 1699. Thus 1699 is generally accepted as the founding date of Falls Church.

In 1734 a wooden church was built to serve Truro Parish, which had been formed two years earlier from a larger parish centered in Quantico. By 1757, the building was commonly known as "The Falls Church", as it was along the main north-south road to the Great Falls on the Potomac. The present-day brick church, designed by James Wren replaced the wooden one in 1769, at which point it became the seat of the newly-formed Fairfax Parish.
By the start of the American Civil War, Falls Church had seen an influx of Northerners seeking land and better weather. Thus the township's vote for Virginian secession was about 75% for, 25% against. The town changed hands several times during the early years of the war. Confederate General James Longstreet was headquartered at Home Hill (now the Lawton House on Lawton Street) following the First Battle of Manassas. The world's first wartime aerial reconnaissance was carried out from Taylor's Tavern (near Seven Corners)...