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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.) 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) by Thaddeus Lowe and his hot-air balloon. Falls Church later became the world's first target of an aerially-directed bombardment, courtesy of Lowe and his balloon. Following Reconstruction, Falls Church was a sleepy rural community. It gained township status in 1875. A 1915 law passed by Commonwealth allowing segregation led to the establishment of the NAACP's first rural chapter, which successfully prevented the measure from being enforced in the area. In 1948, Falls Church became an independent city in order to control its own school system. Sites on the National Register of Historic Places
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