Chapter II: Part 2

Few events of moment in government affairs can occur without directly affecting some resident of Falls Church, since this little town has its quota among the officers of the army and navy, in the rank and file of the army, and on the forecastle of the man-of-war, to say nothing of a full representation on the rolls of the several executive departments. When the battle ship Maine was blown up in Havana harbor two jackies from Falls Church were on board, fortunately escaping with their lives. After Aguinaldo's capture by General Funston, it was a Falls Church man who commanded the gunboat which conveyed the captive around the Island of Luzon to Manila. The brave General Lawton, killed on the firing line in the Philippine war, had so recently been a citizen of the town that his death was deplored as a personal loss by his former neighbors.

About the middle of the last century there was a large influx of settlers to Fairfax County from Northern New York and the New England States, attracted by the milder climate and the cheaper lands then offered for sale. Among the families who came about that period and settled nearest the old Falls Church were the Baileys, Birches, Barretts, Coes, Ellisons, Iveses, Lounsberrys, Munsons, Osbornes, Ryers and Sherwoods--all familiar names, and many of them or their immediate descendants now prominent residents of this village.

Early in the seventies two government clerks drove over the rough and hilly road from Washington and looked around the little hamlet of a dozen houses scattered along the Leesburg turnpike from the old brick church to the railroad station at West End. They were impressed with its inviting hills as the ideal situation for country residences. The excellent water from unlimited springs, the cool breezes and pleasing prospect from the hilltops overlooking hot and dusty Washington in the distance, persuaded them to make their homes in this ideal place. At that time the railroad facilities to Washington were most unpromising. The coaches were little better than the present freight car caboose, the schedule was unreliable, the trains slow, and a change of cars had to be made at the Alexandria junction. Such drawbacks did not deter these men from carrying out their purpose of locating here. They decided to ride or drive back and forth to their work in the department at Washington. Others soon followed these pioneers, and a settlement of government employees was the result. Many of those who followed the first two pioneers were from New England. They were families for the most part endowed with all those sturdy qualities of integrity, frugality and piety, characteristic of their section, and soon the church of their fathers stood within a stone's throw of the church of the early Virginians.

Since the day our townsmen, Mr. Charles H. Buxton and Prof. W. W. Kinsley, the pioneers of modern Falls Church, first settled here, the increase of population has been slow, but it has been of steady and sterling growth. The conservatism of the land-owners has given less rapid growth than were its tone purely speculative. The population as reported by the United States census for 1890 was 792; the census of 1900 gives the population at 1007, an increase of over 27 per cent. during the ten years. The tax roll for 1903 shows property of taxable value of $420,125, an increase of $149,040 over 1890.

Of all those who followed Messrs. Buxton and Kinsley to Falls Church, who built homes and made the little straggling settlement at the cross-roads the beautiful village it is to-day, space will not permit even a brief mention. But there are a number of well-known citizens still residing here who formed the nucleus of that "department colony" of thirty years ago, and through whose influence in great measure this village has become a settlement of government employees. Most prominent among these settlers of the 70's who are connected with the executive departments in Washington are Messrs. G. A. L. Merrifield and M. S. Roberts of the Pension Bureau, Albert P. Eastman of the War Department and George F. Rollins of the Treasury Department.

The rate of taxation levied by the town government is 60 cents on the hundred dollars, 30 cents of which is for school purposes and 30 cents for all expenses of the corporation. To this must be added the taxes collected by the county of Fairfax, 75 cents on the hundred dollars, making a total tax on property holders in the town of $1.35 on each one hundred dollars of the assessed valuation. Property within the corporation is exempt from county road tax and district school tax. Property in that part of the village lying within Alexandria County is assessed in like manner by the town and the authorities of the latter county. The tax rate for Alexandria County for the year 1903 on the one hundred dollars of assessed valuation of personal and real property was: State tax, 35 cents; county levy, 40 cents, and for court-house purposes, 10 cents--a total of 85 cents chargeable to the property owners of East Falls Church, the section of the village in this county. An additional tax of 50 cents for road purposes and 40 cents for the district school is levied against taxable property in this county outside of East Falls Church.

When scarcely entitled to be designated by the name of village, the little settlement on the Leesburg turnpike known as Falls Church was, by an act of the General Assembly of Virginia, incorporated as a town. The act in question was approved March 30, 1875, and on April 13 following the new town began its career with the following officials duly installed: Mayor, Dr. J. J. Moran; Clerk, H. J. England; Town Sergeant, E. F. Crocker; Councilmen, Dr. J. J. Moran, George B. Ives, J. E. Birch, T. T. Fowler, Isaac Crossman, J. J. Carter, Dr. L. E. Gott.

The act of incorporation was successively amended by the State Legislature in 1879, 1890 and 1894. Sections 1 and 2 of the act of incorporation as amended, approved March 2, 1894, read as follows:

SECTION 1. So much of the territories in the counties of Fairfax and Alexandria, together with all the improvements and appurtenances thereunto belonging, as is contained in the following boundaries, to-wit: Beginning at the corner of Alexandria and Fairfax counties, on J. C. DePutron's farm; thence to the corner of J. C. Nicholson and W. S. Patton, in Mistress Ellen Gordon's line; thence to the corner of Sewell and L. S. Abbott on the new cut road; thence to the corner of A. A. Freeman and Mrs. Henry J. England on the Falls Church and Fairfax Court House road; thence along centre of said road to centre of bridge over Holmes Run; thence easterly in a straight line to the northwest corner of the colored Methodist church on the road leading to Annandale; thence easterly to the crossing of the Alexandria and Georgetown roads at Taylor's corner; thence along the north line of said Georgetown road to the corner of T. M. Talbott and Emma Taylor's estate; thence to a pin oak tree near Dr. L. E. Gott's spring; thence to a stone on the property of J. A. and Mrs. J. H. C. Brown, formerly the northeast corner of John Brown's barn; thence to the crossing of Isaac Grossman's and Bowen's line on the chain bridge road; thence to the place of beginning, is and shall continue forever to be a body politic and corporate under the name and style of the town of Falls Church, and shall possess and exercise the rights and powers conferred on towns by the general laws of this State and shall be subject to the restrictions and limitations imposed by said law in so far as the provisions thereof are not in conflict with the provisions of this act.

SEC. 2. Be it further enacted. That the government of said town shall be vested in a council of nine qualified voters, who shall be elected by ballot on the fourth Thursday in May, eighteen hundred and ninety-four; three of whom shall hold that office for one year, three for two years and three for three years respectively, the same to be determined by lot. The successors of the three whose terms expire each year shall be elected annually on the fourth Thursday in May and shall hold their offices for three years, or until their successors are duly elected and qualified. The terms of office of all councilmen shall begin on the first day of July of each year succeeding their election. Any person entitled to vote in the magisterial districts of Falls Church or Providence, in Fairfax County, or Washington magisterial district in Alexandria County, and residing in said corporation and duly registered by the town clerk, shall be entitled to vote at all elections for councilmen. The town clerk and two members of the council whose terms of office do not expire with that year, and who shall be designated by the mayor, shall conduct such election between the hours of one and seven, post meridian, and shall make return of the same to the mayor who shall issue certificates, countersigned by the clerk, to those elected. Tie votes shall be decided by lot, and contests shall be decided by the council under the law governing contests for the county offices.

Section five provides that the council shall annually levy and collect necessary taxes for roads, streets, school and corporation purposes, which tax for all purposes shall not exceed sixty cents on one hundred dollars without the consent of two-thirds of the resident freeholders of the corporation. An amendment gives the council the privilege of levying an additional tax of ten cents on the hundred dollars for the purpose of establishing and maintaining a high school course in Jefferson Institute, the public school, whenever requested by the town school board.

Section eight provides that the "town sergeant shall be the executive officer of the council, and shall have the authority, jurisdiction and fees of a constable of Fairfax and Alexandria counties within and one mile beyond the corporate limits. He shall, unless otherwise provided, be the town treasurer and as such shall collect all taxes, fines and licenses, and disburse the same upon the warrant of the council, signed by the mayor and clerk."

The same section makes the sergeant overseer of roads and streets, giving him the same powers as overseers of roads under the special road laws of Fairfax and Alexandria counties, his compensation to be fixed by the council.

Section nine provides that no district school tax and no district road tax shall be assessed and collected, except by the council, on any property within the corporation limits.

The last important section of the act of incorporation, which assures the peace and quiet of this village, is the restriction placed upon the liquor traffic. It reads as follows:

SEC. 10. That any person applying to the county of Fairfax or the county of Alexandria for a license to sell liquors of any kind, either as a keeper of an ordinary or eating house, or as a merchant, within the corporate limits of the town of Falls Church in the said counties, or within one mile beyond the limits of the said corporation shall produce before the courts or boards having control of the issuance of licenses for the sale of liquor of said counties a certificate of said council of said town to the effect that the applicant is a suitable person and that no good reason is known to said council why said license should not be granted. And the courts of said counties or boards having authority shall not grant the said license to sell liquors within the limits above prescribed until and unless such a certificate be given. And under no circumstances and in no event whatever shall the sale of liquors be licensed in any part of the corporation where license for the sale thereof has been prohibited under the provisions of chapter twenty-five of the Code of Virginia, known as the local option law.

The town is divided into three wards and each ward is represented by three councilmen.

THE BOARD OF HEALTH, appointed annually by the council, looks after the health of the town, with authority to carry out such sanitary regulations as may be deemed wise and expedient. The Board of Health for the present year consists of Dr. T. C. Quick, Chairman, and Councilmen John H. Wells and Elmer I. Crump.

THE FIRE DEPARTMENT of the village was organized in 1898. The officers are a chief engineer and three fire wardens, one from each ward, and a captain of the fire company. The equipment for fighting fires consists of one fifty-five and two twenty-five gallon chemical engines of the most approved pattern and one fully equipped hook and ladder truck. The larger engine is kept in the central part of the village while the two smaller ones are stationed at East Falls Church and West End respectively. The officers are Chief Engineer, Dr. J. B. Gould; Fire Wardens--1st ward, Geo. T. Mankin; 2d ward, Edgar A. Kimball; 3d ward, D. B. Patterson.

THE VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT SOCIETY, an important factor in the growth and development of the village, was organized about twenty years ago. The chief object of the society has been the improvement and adornment of the streets and the fine shade trees which emborder the village thoroughfares everywhere attest the fidelity of its members to the object in view. In addition to the work of this character the society has aided in various other ways in the work of improving the village besides furnishing social entertainments for its members and friends. About fifteen hundred dollars have been raised by the society and disbursed to excellent advantage in securing substantial benefits to the public weal.

The Village Improvement Society was organized in the fall of 1885, the first officers being Mr. W. H. Doolittle, President; Rev. D. H. Riddle, Vice-President; Mr. S. V. Proudfit, Secretary and Mr. A. P. Eastman, Treasurer.

This society was modeled after the famous Laurel Hill Society of Stockbridge, Mass., and from a pamphlet published some years ago setting forth its object we learn that its funds have been expended on roads, sidewalks and street lamps, for a survey of the corporation, a piano for the public school and other improvements at the school, for taking the census and for Arbor Day expenses--a total expenditure up to that time of about eight hundred dollars. The greater part of the money raised by the society is from voluntary dues or the proceeds of lectures or other entertainments. The funds raised in this manner are generally expended through the town council or in conjunction with appropriations made by that body.

The first observance of Arbor Day in the State was by the Falls Church Village Improvement Society, when in 1892 this society instituted the observance of the day by the public school. Since that date the society has defrayed all Arbor Day expenses.

By an ordinance of the town adopted February 8, 1904, the third Friday in April of each year is designated as Arbor Day, to be observed under the auspices of the Village Improvement Society for the planting of such trees, plants or shrubs as it may desire.

The officers of the Village Improvement Society for the present year are as follows:

President, M. E. Church; Vice-President, Franklin Noble, D. D.; Secretary, Miss Belle Merrifield; Treasurer, George W. Hawxhurst; Assistant Secretary, Dr. George B. Fadeley.

The meetings are held on the first Monday of each month, except July and August, at the homes of the different members.

On these occasions after the adjournment of the business meeting, a literary and musical programme is provided by the hostess of the evening. Aside from the matter of business, the social part of these gatherings is a distinct feature of the society, which serves to keep alive the interest of its members, bringing together congenial friends and giving "new-comers" an opportunity to become acquainted with their neighbors.

PIONEER BUSINESS MEN. Among the most prominent business men of Falls Church who located here about the time the place was incorporated as a town, or soon thereafter, may be mentioned Mr. M. E. Church. Mr. Church is a native of Vermont, and upon settling here engaged in the drug business; he now conducts a successful real estate, loan and insurance business. He is also connected with other important commercial interests, and has been an indefatigable worker in promoting the welfare of the village.

Mr. George W. Mankin, a native of this State, was one of the early settlers in the village. He conducted a general merchandise business for a long period of years, but at present is engaged in the drug business with his son Mr. Geo. T. Mankin, under the firm name of George T. Mankin & Co. Mr. Mankin has established as high reputation as a business man and citizen as had his brother Mr. Charles Mankin, the well known dry goods merchant, but recently deceased.

Mr. Wm. M. Ellison, whose father was one of the early northern settlers in this community, is a successful lawyer and real estate broker. Mr. Ellison stands high as a business man and citizen, having served his town as a councilman for many years past and as mayor of the town for several terms. He was recently re-elected councilman from the West End ward.

Among other prominent merchants who early settled here are Mr. J. W. Brown, dealer in hardware and general merchandise, and Mr. George Gaither, dealer in groceries.

Mr. Isaac Crossman, who came here from Pennsylvania soon after the civil war, purchased for farming purposes a large block of land which is now situated almost in the center of the village. The price paid was about forty dollars per acre. A large part of this land has been divided into town lots and sold. To indicate the increase in real estate values since the war, the land of this Crossman property lying nearest the northern boundary of the village sells for one thousand dollars and upward per acre.

FEW OLD HOUSES. Practically all the houses of the village are modern, but there are a few old buildings of historic interest. Among these is the Lawton house, at one time the residence of General Lawton. This house was the headquarters of General Longstreet when the place was in possession of the Confederates soon after the first battle of Manassas. What was once known as the Star Tavern, now a grocery store, is a relic of by-gone days. It flourished in the days before the railroad came, and was a favorite stopping place for travelers over the road from the mountains leading past its doors to the then important mart, Alexandria. The place was kept during the civil war by W. H. Erwin, father of our townsmen Messrs. Walter, George and Munson Erwin.

The old big chimney house situated in the field opposite the Odd Fellows' Hall was built in Revolutionary times and is probably the oldest dwelling in this vicinity. It is owned by the venerable John Lynch, who was the sexton of the Episcopal Church for so many years before and after the civil war. Mr. Lynch is now a resident of Maryland.

THE COLORED SETTLEMENT. The colored people have a settlement a short distance south of the town limits, consisting of probably a hundred cottages with a population of between four and five hundred. They have a school building and three churches and many of the little cottages and surroundings indicate industry and thrift in the occupants.

HOTELS. The Falls Church Inn, where an old Virginia welcome awaits the way-farer, accommodates transient and regular boarders. Besides there is the "Evergreens," a large summer boarding place which has a high reputation. There are numerous other homes, in or near the village, where boarders are taken for the summer months.

NEWSPAPER. Falls Church has one newspaper published weekly, called "The Falls Church Monitor." This paper was first established by Mr. E. F. Rorebeck, under the name of "The Falls Church News." Mr. M. E. Church is Editor and Mr. R. C. L. Moncure, General Manager.

EXCELLENT NATURAL DRAINAGE. Four Mile Run, traversing the northeastern section of the corporation, separates the main part of the village from all that portion lying in Alexandria County and known as East Falls Church. This little stream empties into the Potomac four miles below Washington, whence its name. Where it breaks through the hills at Barcroft its water-power is used for milling purposes, as in the days when General Washington's flour mills were situated at or near the same point. The southern section of the village is drained by Holmes' Run, which empties into the Potomac just south of Alexandria. The two rapid little streams named take their rise a short distance to the west of the village and afford ample drainage for all the territory embraced within the corporation boundaries.

RAILWAY DEPOTS AND POST-OFFICES. Indicating the wide extent of territory covered by Falls Church, it possesses two railway depots and three independent post-offices. The Southern Railway's East Falls Church and West End stations are one mile apart. The electric railway also has stations and ticket offices near those of the steam road. The Falls Church post office is on Broad street in the center of the village. East Falls Church post office is located at the electric railway station and West End post office at the West End steam railway station, the former being one-half mile and the latter about one mile distant from the main office.

STREET LIGHTS. The village streets are now lighted by kerosene lamps, but a movement is already on foot looking toward a better system of street lighting and it is probable that an electric light plant will be installed for that purpose within the near future.

A BANK IS NEEDED. The organization of a bank is being considered by a number of enterprising citizens. There is already a sufficient amount of banking business transacted by the residents of the village, which is now divided among the banks located at Leesburg, Fairfax, Alexandria and Washington, to make such an institution a paying investment from the start.

THE PARK. Crossman Park, the densely wooded hill over which the electric road runs from East End to West End, is an attractive spot to nature lovers. Hundreds of old chestnut trees make it a favorite resort for picnic parties in summer and nut-hunters in the fall. It is altogether a charming piece of woodland without undergrowth, and needs no gravelled walks or other evidences of the hand of man to add to its present charm.

Near the park may be seen the stone which marks what was at one time the western corner of the District of Columbia. It is situated on the land of Mr. S. B. Shaw and is only a few yards from his residence. On the west corner is chiseled "Virginia 1791," while on the opposite corner the words "Jurisdiction of the United States" are still quite legible.

FALLS CHURCH TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH CO. The Falls Church Telephone and Telegraph Company, of which Mr. M. E. Church is President and General Manager, is connected with the lines of the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of Washington and with the lines of the Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company.

The stations on this line include Alexandria, Arlington, Ash Grove, Bailey's Cross Roads, Ballston, Barcroft, Belaire, Bluemont, Chesterbrook, Clarendon, Chain Bridge, Colvin Run, Dunn Loring, Dranesville, East Falls Church, Fairfax, Fort Myer Heights, Glencarlyn, Hall's Hill, Herndon, Hamilton, Kenmore, Lewinsville, Langley, Leesburg, Merrifield, Oakton, Paeonian Springs, Purcellville, Round Hill, Rosslyn, Vienna, Wiehle, and West Falls Church. All stations are equipped with Long-Distance Metallic Circuit Telephones.

In addition to the telephone line Falls Church has two Western Union Telegraph offices besides two express offices.

CAMP ALGER. Falls Church has gained a national reputation within recent years by reason of the establishment near the village of the camp for volunteer soldiers at the outbreak of the Spanish-American War. This camp was one of several of the kind established in the Southern States for the purpose of organizing an army for the invasion of Spanish territory.

The farm of Mr. C. L. Campbell, about one and a half miles southwest of the village was selected by the War Department for the army corps to be assembled nearest Washington, and as soon as the contract was signed for the lease of the property, troops from fourteen States were hurried here as fast as recruited.

The first troops on the ground were the District of Columbia Volunteers. They were followed by those from Pennsylvania, and later came troops from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Kansas, Tennessee and Virginia, all forming the Second Army Corps of the Spanish-American War.

The Second Army Corps was made up of the troops assembled at Falls Church, to which Major General William M. Graham, U. S. V., was assigned by orders of May 16, 1898. General Graham assumed command May 23, 1898, announcing the official designation of the camp as "Camp Russell A. Alger."

The strength of this army corps before the last of May consisted of 922 officers and 17,467 men. In June the number in camp was 1,103 officers and 26,002 men; in July the strength of the corps was 1,183 officers and 29,747 men. In August the corps consisted of 1,347 officers and 33,755 men, the highest number in this corps before disbandment at the end of the war.

By orders of May 24, the troops then on duty at this point were organized into a First Division composed of three brigades of three regiments each, and by orders of June 9, 1898, the Ninth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry and 33rd and 34th Michigan Volunteer Infantry were constituted a separate brigade.

On June 9th the separate brigade mentioned was assigned as the First Brigade, 3rd Division. On August 2, 1898, a second brigade was organized composed of the First Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, and the Third Virginia Volunteer Infantry.

The First Brigade, consisting of the Massachusetts and Michigan troops, left Camp Alger for Santiago de Cuba on June 22 and 24, 1898. Troops of the Second Brigade were returned to their States for muster out on September 7 and 8, 1898.

The tents of the provost guard pitched at the electric railway terminus at East End with pickets posted at various street corners made Falls Church appear like a town under martial law. Under all the circumstances the conduct of the troops was admirable. The homes of the citizens were thrown open to the soldiers doing picket duty in the village, and the ladies of the place vied with each other in contributing to the comfort of sick soldiers at the camp.

The summer of 1898 was a most eventful one in Falls Church. No such stirring scenes had been witnessed here since the days of the civil war. Troop trains arriving or departing, drills at camp and practice marches through the town, martial music from many bands, reveille and taps, all contributed to impress the town folk with the fact that the country was at war.

FINANCES OF THE TOWN. The expenses of the town government for the year ending August 31, 1904, was $2,188.47. The assessed valuation of the town is $420,125, which is about 50 per cent of the real value. The tax levy for all purposes is six mills. The levy is divided as follows: For corporation purposes three mills; for school purposes three mills. The total receipts for fiscal year 1904 were $2,289.20.

There is no bonded indebtedness. A number of times propositions to bond the town for school or street purposes have been voted upon but each time the citizens have decided against incurring any bonded debt.

The following are the officers of the town government:

OFFICERS OF THE TOWN. George N. Lester, Mayor; Henry Crocker, Clerk; John N. Gibson, Sergeant; R. C. L. Moncure, Corporation Attorney. Members of Council: 1st ward, Elmer I. Crump, S. E. Thompson, G. A. Brunner; 2nd ward, E. A. Kimball, Geo. N. Lester, Geo. W. Hawxhurst; 3rd ward, Thomas Hillier; Wm. M. Ellison, H. C. Birge. Committees, Street Lamp Lighting: E. A. Kimball, Thos. Hillier, S. E. Thompson. Finance: Wm. M. Ellison, Chairman, H. C. Birge, Geo. W. Hawxhurst. Board of School Trustees: J. W. Brown, Chairman, R. J. Yates, Clerk, J. S. Riley.

HEALTH. In the matter of health Falls Church leads. Statistics obtained by the U. S. Census Bureau relating to the mortality rate show that out of 341 towns and cities from which returns were received the lowest death rate for the year ending May 31, 1900, was in St. Joseph, Mo., with 9.1 for each 1,000 inhabitants, followed by Portland, Oregon, 9.5, St. Paul, Minn., 9.7, and Minneapolis, Minn., 10.08. For the same period there were only 5 deaths in Falls Church, its population then being 1,007. The average annual death rate in Falls Church is about 9.5 per 1,000, only 57 deaths having occurred here between August 17, 1898 and September 2, 1904, a period of a little over six years.

The death rate in the United States for 1900, according to census returns was 17.8 per 1,000, the rate in cities where such statistics were gathered being 18.6, and in rural districts 15.4.

For the purpose of comparison the death rate per 1,000 in the following cities as reported by the U. S. Census Bureau for 1900 will be of interest. Baltimore, Md., 21.0; New York, N. Y., 21.3; Washington, D. C., 22.8; Alexandria, Va., 24.2; Norfolk, Va., 25.2; Lynchburg, Va., 27.7; Richmond, Va., 29.7; Petersburg, Va., 31.1.

IDEAL COUNTRY HOMES. To the generosity of a nearby nurseryman the town is indebted for its wealth of trees. When the first streets were laid out Mr. D. O. Munson donated liberally from his nursery stock and to him is chiefly due the credit for the present attractive appearance of the tree-lined streets.

The conventional arrangement of the average suburban town has not been followed in laying out the streets of this village, and even the sinuous main avenue, lined on either side by a row of full grown maples, adds to its charm. Beyond the town to the westward the view of rolling plain and delightful wooded expanse greets the eye, and in the distance the smoky Sugar Loaf looms up to beckon one to mountain scenes. In an afternoon drive from the village to the south or west the lover of nature may find pleasure at every turn.

The healthfulness of Falls Church is proverbial, while its charming situation, accessibility to the city of Washington and the homelike tone pervading every part of its area have surprised and attracted all whose privilege it has been to visit here for the first time. The place to the tired city man can afford all the enjoyment of retirement and tranquillity. With an abundance of green lawns, well shaded walks and drives, pure water, churches, good schools and the necessary stores; what more could the seeker desire to complete his ideal of a country home.

Possessing advantages imperfectly pictured herein, Falls Church welcomes the jaded fathers and mothers from the city to the place where children may enjoy life with nature, where the climate, conducive to refreshing sleep, soothes tired nerves and makes life to such again buoyant with youthful hopes and joys.

The original church at the Falls is said to have been built in 1709. This is only tradition, as no satisfactory evidence has been obtained relating to its exact location or the date when first erected.

Court records establish the fact that there was a church on the present site of the Falls Church in 1746. On March 20th of that year John Trammell, in consideration of the sum of fifty shillings sterling, transferred, by deed of bargain and sale, to the Vestry of Truro Parish in Fairfax County a certain parcel of land containing two acres "where the Upper Church now is." John Trammell owned at that time the greater part of the land upon which the town of Falls Church is now situated. In June, 1745, he leased to Walter English his plantation of 244 acres "near the head of the north of Holmes' Run extending to Four Mile Run, excepting two acres for the use of the church."

The vestry book of Truro Parish commences about 1732. This book is in the possession of Mr. H. H. Dodge, of Mt. Vernon, a vestryman of old Pohick Church. Through the courtesy of Mr. Dodge, the Editor was permitted to make a careful examination of its pages, and to copy from the minutes of the vestry meetings therein such entries as appeared to throw any light upon the early history of the Falls Church.

Some apparently trivial entries have been copied, such as the payment of a sexton's salary for a number of successive years, but the name of the sexton in such cases has an important bearing upon the subject, when it is not improbable that the churches indicated as the "Upper Church," the "New Church," etc., may be the church later designated as "The Falls Church."

In addition to religious matters, the duties of the church vestry in these early times embraced many secular affairs. Under the direction of the Parish Vestry tithes were collected from the land owners, and "processioners" were appointed by them to survey and establish all land boundaries within the parish. Such matters as related to the relief of the poor, the medical care of the sick, charges for burial of the dead, the maintenance of the blind, the lame, and the maimed, also of foundlings and vagrants, now looked after by the county government, were then a part of the duty of the vestry of each parish.

By a general law passed in the Colony in 1667, Act IV, 19th Charles II, the right was vested in the county courts, when expedient, to set aside and appropriate not more than two acres of land for church and burial purposes; ministers' salaries had been fixed the year before at 16,000 pounds of tobacco, or about $650.

As early as October, 1734, John Trammell was paid by the Vestry of Truro Parish 320 pounds of tobacco for grubbing a place for a new church, for which Robert Blackburn had drawn plans.

In November of the following year, Thomas or James Bennitt was paid 150 pounds of tobacco as sexton of the New Church. Record of the payment of 400 pounds of tobacco to James Bennitt, Sexton of the New Church, appears under date of October 6, 1740, and again May 21, 1745. On the latter date the Vestry decided to build a church "at or near the spring nigh Mr. Hutchinson's on the mountain road ... with doors, windows & seats after the manner of the Upper Church." The deed from Andrew Hutchinson to the Vestry of Truro Parish for two acres of land upon which this new church was to be erected, recorded in Liber A. No. 1, page 464, Fairfax County Land Records, does not show this land to have been in the vicinity of Falls Church.

On October 12, 1747, the vestry records indicate that Mary Bennitt was sexton of the Upper Church, supposed to be the same which was called the New Church before this date, and that Wm. Grove was sexton of the more recently built church on the mountain road near Mr. Hutchinson's. Mary Bennitt's salary as sexton of the Upper Church was 400 pounds of tobacco until 1749, when it was increased to 460 pounds. Her salary was again raised to 560 pounds in 1752, and so continued until 1755, when James Palmer became sexton at "Falls Church," so designated in the records. James Palmer appears to have been succeeded by Gerard Trammell, the Vestry at a meeting held November 12, 1759, having allowed the latter 560 pounds of tobacco as sexton of Falls Church.

In February, 1749, the Vestry decided to build an addition to the "Upper Church," and the contract for the improvement was given to Charles Broadwater, Gent., who undertakes to complete the work by the laying of the next parish levy for the sum of 12,000 pounds of tobacco. Mr. Charles Broadwater was at that time one of the vestrymen, and among those present at the meeting were George Mason and the Rev. Charles Green. The vestry meeting held October 25, 1762, elected George Washington a Vestryman in place of Wm. Peake, Gent., deceased, and at the same meeting it was ordered that the sexton at Falls Church be allowed 560 pounds of tobacco for his services.

The Vestry of Truro Parish met on March 28, 1763, at the Falls Church. Those present were: Henry Gunnell, Wm. Payne, Jr., Church Wardens; John West, Wm. Payne, Charles Broadwater, Thomas Wren, Abraham Barnes, Daniel McCarty, Robert Boggers and George Washington.

It appears that this meeting was called for the purpose of deciding whether to repair the old church, then greatly in decay, or to erect a new building. It would seem that the matter of abandonment of the site of the old church was also to be acted upon, and the erection of a new one in a more convenient place.

The Vestry decided that the old church was too dilapidated to repair, and resolved that a new church be built at the same place. It was ordered that the Clerk of the Vestry advertise in the Virginia and Maryland Gazettes for workmen to meet at the church on the 29th of August next following, to undertake the building of a brick church, to contain 1,600 feet on the floor, with a suitable gallery. The record of the vestry meeting of October 3, 1763, shows that 30,000 pounds of tobacco had been levied toward building Falls Church, and was to be sold by the Church Wardens for the best cash price obtainable. George Washington was not present at this meeting; but as an evidence of his interest in the contemplated improvements he copied in his diary under date of 1764 the advertisement published in the Maryland Gazette for "undertakers to build Falls Church."

The accounts of the Clerk of the Vestry at this date show Truro Parish credited with 1,807 tithables at 37 pounds of tobacco each, or a total of 66,859 pounds. The expenditures debited against this amount include 17,280 pounds of tobacco for salary of minister, 560 pounds each to the sexton at Pohick Church and Falls Church, 500 pounds to the sexton at Alexandria, 3,000 pounds to Clerk of Vestry, besides sundry payments toward the support of the indigent of the parish.

The record of the vestry meeting for Truro Parish April 26, 1765, states that Truro Parish has been divided from Colonel Washington's mill to John Monroe's and thence to Difficult Run, the upper parish being called Fairfax. The Parish of Fairfax in which was situated Falls Church or the "Upper Church" and Alexandria or the "Lower Church" was created February 1, 1765, by virtue of an Act passed the previous year, being the 4th George III. Falls Church was evidently the Parish Church, and Alexandria "The Chapel of Ease" as indicated by the comparative emoluments of the office of sexton.

Earnest efforts have been made to locate the Vestry Book of Fairfax Parish containing information relating to Falls Church after the division of Truro Parish in 1765. This book was in charge of the rector of Christ Church, Alexandria, at the outbreak of the civil war and is supposed to have been lost or destroyed.

A few facts relating to Falls Church have been gathered from an address delivered by the rector of Christ Church in 1873 upon the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the consecration of the latter church.

The Vestry elected for Fairfax Parish March 28, 1765, consisted of the following: John West, Charles Alexander, William Payne, John Dalton, George Washington, Charles Broadwater, George Johnston, Townsend Dade, Richard Sanford, William Adams, John Posey, Daniel French.

Rev. Townsend Dade, ordained by the Bishop of London in 1765, was the first minister of Christ Church, and it is presumed that as minister of the Parish he also officiated at the Falls Church. His salary was 17,280 pounds of tobacco, and 2,500 pounds were added to this for the deficiency of a glebe. He served as minister until 1778.

In November, 1766, the Vestry ordered a levy to be made upon the inhabitants of the parish of 31,185 pounds of tobacco, for the purpose of building two new churches of brick; one at the Falls, the other at Alexandria.

The new brick church which the Vestry decided to erect in place of the old wooden structure was built, according to reliable information, by Mr. James Wren, for about 600 pounds sterling. Bishop Meade states in his book on old churches of Virginia, that a most particular contract was made for him as also for James Parsons, the contractor for the Alexandria church.

The mortar was to be two-thirds lime and one-third sand; the shingles were to be of the best cypress or juniper and three-quarters of an inch thick. The contract for building Falls Church called for a gallery, but this was never put in.

The Alexandria church was begun in 1767 by James Parsons, 600 pounds sterling being the contract price. Parsons failed to complete his contract and the building was finished for an additional sum of 220 pounds sterling by Col. John Carlyle, and formally delivered February 27, 1773.

In 1770 a tract of about 500 acres was purchased from Daniel Jennings at 15 shillings per acre, and upon this in 1773 the Fairfax Vestry caused to be erected a glebe house, or rectory, with a dairy, meat house, barn, stable and corn house for 653 pounds sterling.

During the Revolutionary War, Falls Church is said to have been the recruiting headquarters of Col. Charles Broadwater, one of Fairfax's first patriots.

In 1775 there were in Virginia 95 parishes, 164 churches and chapels, and 91 clergymen. At the conclusion of the war for Independence only 72 parishes remained, and 34 of these had been deprived of ministerial help. Churches and chapels had gone to ruin; soldiers having turned them into barracks or stables.

In 1778 the Rev. Mr. Dade was succeeded as Parish minister by the Rev. Mr. West, who served for a few months, and he in turn was succeeded by Rev. David Griffith who it is recorded exercised his ministry with fidelity in his Parish, preaching both at Alexandria and at Falls Church from 1780 to 1789. He had been chaplain in the 3rd Virginia Regiment during the revolution and was to the time of his death, in 1789, a close personal friend of Washington.

From 1790 to 1792 Rev. Bryan Fairfax directed the affairs of Fairfax Parish, selecting for his assistant Rev. Bernard Page. Before the revolution, being an ardent royalist, he endeavored to dissuade from the war with the mother country his friend George Washington whose confidence and esteem he continued to enjoy to the last. Bryan Fairfax was the son of William Fairfax of Belvoir. He was ordained to the ministry in 1786 by Bishop Seabury. His title as Eighth Lord Fairfax was confirmed to him by the English House of Lords in 1800.

The civil functions of the Vestry ceased in 1784. Thereafter, in the struggle following the disestablishment, having to depend upon voluntary contributions, many churches succumbed.

It was about this period, or not long after the death of Dr. Griffith in 1789, that Falls Church was abandoned as a place of worship, fell into a state of dilapidation, and was not used for many years. Chiefly at the expense of Henry Fairfax, grandson of Rev. Bryan Fairfax, formerly its rector, the building was repaired and young Mr. Minor, as a lay reader, organized a congregation of worshippers.

In 1827 Bishop Meade visited this church and the description of it in his book "Old Families and Churches of Virginia" will be of interest.

"The exercises of the Seminary being over, I next directed my steps to the Falls Church, so called from its vicinity to one of the falls on the Potomac River. It is about eight miles from Alexandria, and the same from Georgetown. It is a large oblong building, and like that near Mount Vernon, has two rows of windows, being doubtless designed for galleries all around, though none were ever put there. It was deserted as a house of worship by Episcopalians about forty years ago. About that period, for the first, and it is believed for the last time, it was visited by Bishop Madison. Since then it has been used by any who were disposed to occupy it as a place of worship, and the doors and windows being open, itself standing on the common highway, it has been entered at pleasure by travellers on the road and animals of every kind. Some years since, the attention of the professors of our Seminary, and of some of the students was drawn towards it, and occasional services performed there. This led to its partial repair."

Bishop Meade in this account of his visit to the old church states that he visited the same day an interesting school for young ladies at Capt. Henry Fairfax's where he delivered an address to the students. This school was located near Fairfax Court House. Mrs. Chichester, widow of the late Major John H. Chichester and a communicant at the present time of Falls Church, was a pupil of this seminary before the death of Capt. Fairfax, and recalls the incidents connected with his death in the Mexican War and his burial near the old church door 57 years ago.

From the time Bishop Meade preached in the old church in 1827 to the beginning of the war of 1861 much that might be of interest is lost with the records of the Parish.

The damage to the church by soldiers during the civil war was later repaired at the expense of the United States Government at a cost of about $1,300. None of its ancient furniture has been preserved, the gray stone urn-shaped baptismal font alone remaining.

The rectors of Falls Church since the civil war have been Bishop Horatio Southgate, Rev. John McGill, Rev. Frank Page, Rev. J. Cleveland Hall, Rev. R. A. Castleman, Rev. Dr. John McGill again, and the present rector Rev. George S. Somerville.

The present vestry book begins November 27, 1873. The vestrymen for the year 1904 are S. D. Tripp, S. W.; J. T. Unverzagt, J. W.; C. A. Marshall, Wm. E. Parker, A. H. Barbor, E. A. Ballard.

In connection with the name, it may be of interest to state that, previous to the Revolution, there being no bishop in Virginia, church buildings were not consecrated, generally being called after the parish in which situated, or from some other geographical name; hence the New Church, the Upper Church, the Falls Church. The simple name suggesting only its location as first bestowed upon the church near the Falls has now, after the lapse of years, become irrevocably fixed. Around it cluster so many memories of the early days that the name "Falls Church" must continue unchanged to the last.

Extracts from Records of Vestry Meetings.

June 10, 1733:

Capt. Francis Aubrey, towards building the chapel above Goose
Creek, 2,500 pounds of tobacco.

October 13, 1734:

To Mr. Robt. Blackburn, for his plans for building church, 16,750
pounds of tobacco.

To John Trammell, for grubbing a place for the church, 320 pounds
of tobacco.

To Jos. Johnson, to read at the chapels, 1,300 pounds of tobacco.

November 18, 1735:

Jos. Johnson, Clk. of the New Church, 1,000 pounds of tobacco.

Thos. (?) Bennitt, sexton at the New Church, 150 pounds of tobacco.

Oliver Roe, sexton Pohick Church, 300 pounds of tobacco.

August 19, 1736:

At a Vestry held for Truro Parish this 19th day of August, 1736;
present Jeremiah Bronaugh, Ch. Warden; Denis McCarty, Augustine
Washington, Robt. Osborn, John Thurman, Wm. Godfrey, Jas. Baxter,
and Thos. Lewis, Vestrymen.

Mr. Cha. Green being recommended to this vestry by Capt. Augustine
Washington as a person qualified to officiate as a minister in this
parish, as soon as he shall receive orders from His Grace, the
Bishop of London, to qualify himself for the same, it is,
therefore,

Ordered by this Vestry that as soon as the said Green has qualified
himself as aforesaid he be received and entertained as Minister of
the said parish, and the said Vestry do humbly recommend said Cha.
Green to the Right Honorable Thos. Lord Fairfax, for his letters of
recommendation and presentation to his Grace, the said Lord Bishop
of London, to qualify himself as aforesaid.

August 8,----:

At a vestry held for Truro Parish the 8th of August, for appointing
processioners.

Ordered, That John Trammell and John Harle procession all the
patented lands between Difficult Run and Broad Run, and that they
perform the same sometime in the month of October or November,
next, and report their proceedings according to law.

Ordered, That Anthony Hampton and Wm. Moore procession all the
patented lands between Broad Run and the South Side of Goose Creek,
as far as the fork of Little River, and that they perform the same
sometime in the month of October or November, next, and report
their proceedings according to law.

October 6, 1740:

Nicholas Carroll, sexton Pohick Church, 400 pounds of tobacco.

Jas. Bennitt, sexton at the New Church, 400 pounds of tobacco.

John Aubrey, sexton at Goose Creek, 400 pounds of tobacco.

May 21, 1745:

At a vestry held for Truro Parish, May 21, 1745, present Rev. Mr.
Cha. Green, minister, and church wardens and vestrymen.

Ordered, that a church be built at or near the spring nigh Mr.
Hutchinson's on the mountain road, of the following dimensions: 40
feet long, 32 feet wide and 13 feet pitch. To be weather boarded
with 3/4-inch feather-edge plank, quartered and beaded; shingled
with 18-inch pine shingles; sawed frame, and frame work ceiled with
quartered plank, beaded, and floored with 1-1/4-inch plank, with
proper cornice under the eaves, with pulpit, desk, communion table,
etc. With doors, windows & seats, after the manner of the Upper
Church, and all the proper facings and mouldings; and window
shutters, to be shingled with single tiers, weather boarded with
eights, and filled with tens or brads; locks and hinges that are
necessary for the same.

Ordered, That the Clerk of the Vestry prepare deeds for Mr. Andrew
Hutchinson conveying two acres of land to this Parish for house of
the Church to be built thereon, and church yard.

Hugh Thomas undertakes to complete the aforesaid church and to
enclose it by the last day of October, next, and to finish and
complete it by the last day of October, then next following, for
24,500 pounds of tobacco, to be paid him at two payments, and the
clerk of the vestry is ordered to prepare articles of agreement and
bond for the performance of the same.

CHA. GREEN, }
JOHN WEST, } Ch. Wardens.

Teste: { Wm. Henry Terrett,
{ Clk. Vestry.

October 12, 1747:
Philip Howell, sexton, Pohick, 400 pounds of tobacco.
Mary Bennitt, sexton, Upper Church, 400 pounds of tobacco.
Mary McDowell, sexton, Goose Creek, 400 pounds of tobacco.
Wm. Grove, sexton, New Church, 172 pounds of tobacco.

October 10, 1748:
Bennitt, clk., 1,200 pounds of tobacco.
Wm. Chautneys, clk. at the New Church, 1,200 pounds of tobacco.
Mary Bennitt, sexton at Upper Church, 400 pounds of tobacco.
Alexander, sexton at Goose Creek, 400 pounds of tobacco.
Wm. Grove, sexton at New Church, 400 pounds of tobacco.

October 10, 1749:
Truro Parish divided.--Upper Parish called Cameron.
John Wiber Danty, clk. Upper Church, 1,000 pounds of tobacco.
Mary Bennitt, sexton, Upper Church, 460 pounds of tobacco.

February 19, 1749-50:

Present: Rev. Mr. Cha. Green, Minister, Mr. Hugh West, Mr. Geo.
Mason, Mr. Jas. Hamilton, Mr. Cha. Broadwater, Mr. Danl. McCarty,
Wm. Payne, Abra. Barnes, Thos. Wren, Robt. Boggers, and John
Turley;

Ordered: That an addition be built to the Upper Church according to
the plan produced to the Vestry; and Cha. Broadwater, gent.,
undertakes to do the same and finish and complete it by the laying
of the next parish levy, for the sum of 12,000 pounds of tobacco,
which is then to be levied for him.

October 9, 1749:

John Wiber Danty, clk. at Upper Church, 1,000 pounds of tobacco.

Mary Bennitt, sexton, ditto, 460 pounds of tobacco.

Jacob Remy, for paling in the New Church, making horse blocks and
tarring church, etc., our proportionable part, 1,950 pounds of
tobacco.

Ordered: That the Vestry do meet the third Monday in February next,
at the Glebe house, in order to see what repairs are wanted to it
and the New Church, and the Church Wardens are ordered to give
notice to workmen to appear there to undertake the work and also to
repair the Pohick Church and the Vestry House.

October 8, 1750:

John Wiber Danty, clk. Upper Church, 1,000 pounds of tobacco.

Mary Bennitt, sexton Upper Church, 460 pounds of tobacco.

October 14, 1751:

John Wiber Danty, clk. Upper Church for 7 months attendance, 581
pounds of tobacco.

Mary Bennitt, sexton, Upper Church, 560 pounds of tobacco.

October 2, 1752:

John Wiber Danty, clk. Upper Church, 1,000 pounds of tobacco.

Mary Bennitt, sexton, Upper Church, 560 pounds of tobacco.