History Room Hours*
Weekdays:
Monday: 1 pm- 5 pm
Wednesday: 4 pm - 8 pm
2nd Weekend Each Month:
Saturday & Sunday:
10 am-12 pm & 2 pm -5 pm
*Also by appointment as needed!
What We Do
The mission of the Falls Church History Room is to collect, preserve, and promote materials with historical significance concerning the inhabitants, government, institutions, and environment of the City of Falls Church.
History Room Help
LIBRARY CATALOG: Many of the items in the history room collection are fully catalogued and listed in our general online catalog with the location “Virginia Collection.” View all items...
DIGITAL COLLECTION & INDEX: Our Falls Church History Room Digital Collection and Index contains thousands of photographs and death notices, as well as an index to items in our vertical files and other parts of the collection.
COLLECTION OVERVIEW: Our collection overview FAQ boxes (on this web page) provide information about different materials that can be found in the Falls Church History Room.
Use our Contact Us form to submit a question. Be sure to choose "Local History" from the dropdown menu on the form asking "What would you like help with?"
Or call the Falls Church History Room at 703-248-5410 (TTY 711).
Can’t find what you need in our history room? Try these additional resources:
- Center for Local History, Arlington Public Library
- Cherry Hill Farmhouse
- Falls Church Women's History Walk
- Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation
- Village Improvement & Preservation Society
- Virginia Room, Fairfax County Public Library
- Washingtoniania Collection, DC Public Library
Collection Overview
ARCHIVES: The FCHR contains archives covering a variety of City related individuals and organizations, including the Falls Church Historical Commission, the League of Women Voters Falls Church, and the Village Preservation and Improvement Society.
- View full Archive List
- View select record groups from our Archival Resources of the Virginias
ASSESSMENT RECORDS: Assessment records are available in the FCHR for following:
- Proposed Assessments books (1981-2003)
- City of Falls Church Land Book (2004-2011 and 2013)
- Capitation taxes (1950-1964)
- Personal property records (1949-1955)
Current – and some historic – assessment and sales records can be found online through the City’s Real Property Assessment Finder.
The FCHR – while not the City archive- does contain a number of City related documents and reports. Many may also be found online through the City’s website.
CITY COUNCIL
- Town & City Council Minutes (1875-present, no records 1885-1897)
- City Council Agendas (1997-present)
- Budgets (1949-present)
- Capital Improvement Plans (1960-present)
- Proceedings (1997-present)
- Ordinances (1950-present) & Resolutions (1969-present)
BOARDS & COMMISSIONS
- Charter Review Committee (1965-1981)
- Falls Church School Board (1934-1958)
- Broad Street Improvements, Susanne Bachtel (1963-1991)
- Historical Commission
- [Mayor] Kellogg Reports Monthly (1951-1955)
- Planning Commission Minutes (1937-1997)
- Planning Commission Proceedings (1980-present)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
- Chamber of Commerce: City Business Directory (misc 1989-2005)
- Chesapeake & Potamic: Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax County (1940)
- Chesapeake & Potamic: Falls Church & Vicinity (1947)
- Collins Fairfax County Directory (1906)
- Community Directories (roughly 1978-2010)
- Directory of Residents Who Lived in Falls Church Prior to 1940
- Haines Directory: Northern Virginia Suburban (1980- 2020)
- Hill’s City Directory (biennially 1957-1975, 1972)
- White Pages (roughly 1980-2018)
GENEALOGY:
- Family histories
- Marriage and death notices
- Cemetery records
- Voter registration books (1901-1930s)
- Voter registration rolls (1965-1970s)
MAPS:
- Approximately 500 maps (1608-present)
- Topographical, plat and Sanborn maps
- Site and street plans
The FCHR houses a number of Falls Church related newspapers and community newsletters, either in print or on microfilm/fiche.
- List of historic newspapers & community newsletters available in the collection
- Search our index of newspapers & newsletters
- Search Fairfax County Public Library’s index of historic newspapers
A number of Falls Church related newspaper can also be accessed online:
- Fairfax Standard (1946-1953)
- Standard (1953-1959)
- Fairfax County Journal-Standard (1960-1963)
- Falls Church News Press Archive (1991-2024)
- Falls Church News Press (2008-present)
Several thousand Falls Church death notices and obituaries have been clipped and scanned and can be searched online in our Digital Collection and Index.
The library also provides online access to The Washington Post (1887-present), which can be searched for local obituaries and death notices.
The collection includes more than 120 oral histories recorded by H.H. Douglas and the Falls Church Historical Commission from the late 1960s through 1981.
PHOTOGRAPHS: The historic photo collection includes over 20,000 negatives and 8,000 prints. Several thousand images have been scanned and can be searched and viewed online in our Digital Collection and Index.
SCRAPBOOKS: The collection includes several community scrapbooks, including:
- City of Falls Church (1973-1976)
- Falls Church Garden Club (1946-1969)
- Falls Church Lions Club (roughly 1968-2001)
- Mary Riley Styles Public Library (1940-2007)
- Old Dominion Chrysanthemum Society (1970-1990)
- Press Clippings (1945-1953)
- Women's Club of Falls Church (1947-2000)
VERTICAL FILES: The FCHR maintains a “vertical file” of over 50 drawers of clippings and miscellaneous documents organized into 3 categories:
- Subject
- Street address
- People/Families
YEARBOOKS: The library has print copies of the following yearbooks:
- George Mason High School (1952, 1954-2021)
- George Mason Middle School (1984-1995, 2001)
- Meridian High School (2022-present)
- Jefferson High School (1935, 1937, 1939, 1945)
- Misc City reports & studies
- Falls Church Historical Commission Historical Heritage Symposia (1994-1998) and misc. documents (1960-2001)
- Pictorial Family Bible 1872-1885
General Histories
Gernand, Bradley E. and Netherton, Nan. A Virginia Village Revisited. Virginia Beach, VA: The Donning Company/Publishers, 2000.
Steadman, Melvin Lee. Falls Church, By Fence and Fireside. Falls Church, VA: Falls Church Public Library, 1964.
Taylor, Cathy. Historic Falls Church. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Pub, 2012.
Victorian Society of Falls Church. Victorian Falls Church. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Pub, 2007.
Wrenn, Tony P. Falls Church: History of a Virginia Village. Falls Church, VA; Historical Commission of the City of Falls Church, 1972.
For a Deeper Dive...
Alves, Joseph Hodges and Spelman, Harold. Near the Falls: Two Hundred Years of The Falls Church. Falls Church, VA: The Falls Church, 1969.
Beltz, Ella C. Falls Church Presbyterian Church, 1873-1973. Falls Church, VA: Beltz, 1976.
Block, Eugene B. Above the Civil War: Thaddeus Lowe, Balloonist, Inventor, Railroad Builder. Berkeley, Calif, Howell-North Books, 1966.
Camp, Shirley. Past Times Around Falls Church. Baltimore: Gateway Press, 1997.
Clark, Charlie. The Life and Times of the Falls Church News-Press. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2023.
Douglas, H.H. Falls Church, Places and People. Falls Church: Falls Church Historical Commission, 1981.
Falls Church City Public Schools Celebrating 50 Years: A History. Falls Church, VA: City of Falls Church, 1999.
Falls Church Historical News and Notes. Falls Church, VA: Village Preservation and Improvement Society, 1970.
Footprints in Faith: Columbia Baptist Church History. Falls Church, VA: Columbia Baptist Church, 2007.
Gernand, Bradley E. A Virginia Village Goes to War. Virginia Beach, VA: The Donning Company/Publishers, 2002.
Harrison, Noel Garraux. City of Canvas: Camp Russell A. Alger and the Spanish American War. Falls Church, VA: Falls Church Historical Commission, 1988.
Henderson, Edwin Bancroft II. The Grandfather of Black Basketball: The Life and Times of Dr. E. B. Henderson. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2024.
Henderson, James H. M. and Henderson, Betty F. Molder of Men: Portrait of a “Grand Old Man,” Edwin Bancroft Henderson. New York: Vantage Press, 1985.
Jewell, Marianne H. Dulin from Saddlebags to Satellites: A Story of Faith and Service. Falls Church, Va., Dulin United Methodist Church, 1969
Jones, Carrol Anne. Doers of the World: 125 Years of History: Saint James Catholic Church, Falls Church, VA. Vienna, VA. Coronae Rosarum Publications, 2017.
Stewart, Charles Alexander. A Virginia Village: Historical Sketch of Falls Church and the Old Colonial Church. Falls Church, VA: J.H. Newell, 1904.
Wrenn, Tony P and Douglas, Henry H. Cherry Hill Farm: Falls Church, VA. Falls Church, VA: Falls Church Historical Commission, 1977.
Recommended Reads
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Life and Times of the Falls Church News-Press
Since 1991, the Falls Church News-Press has delivered a must-read chronicle of doings in the leafy, sophisticated, practical-minded Northern Virginia community nicknamed "The Little City." Nodding to the rich history of the three-hundred-year-old village named for a church where George Washington and George Mason were vestrymen, the weekly paper captures clashes over development, fights over school quality, political races, holiday celebrations and even scandals. Author Charlie Clark spins the unlikely tale of a unique editor, Nicholas Benton, who founded the free newspaper and kept it going at a time when local news is imperiled.
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The Grandfather of Black Basketball
The first contemporary biography of the man credited with introducing basketball to African Americans on a wide-scale, organized basis.
Dr. Edwin Bancroft Henderson was the son of working-class parents born in slavery. A driven, intelligent, and charismatic young man, Henderson attended Harvard University's Dudley Sargent School of Physical Training. There he met the leaders in the new field of physical education and recognized athletics--and basketball, especially--as a public health initiative and a way that young Blacks could gain college scholarships and debunk the idea of racial inferiority.
In The Grandfather of Black Basketball: The Life and Times of Dr. E. B. Henderson, Edwin Bancroft Henderson II--Dr. Henderson's grandson--provides unprecedented detail and fascinating insight into this influential figure in Black history. Henderson organized the first athletic league for Blacks, introduced basketball to Black people on a wide-scale, organized basis, and founded associations to train and organize Black officials and referees. He also wrote and co-edited the first Spalding publication that highlighted the exploits of African American participation in sports and authored The Negro in Sports. Outside of athletics, Henderson was instrumental in founding the first rural branch of the NAACP, advocated for school desegregation, and held executive board positions with multiple NAACP branches.
Overlooked for decades, Henderson was finally enshrined in the National Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013 as a contributor. The Grandfather of Black Basketball gives long-overdue recognition to a sports pioneer, civil rights activist, author, educator, and pragmatic humanitarian who fought his entire life to improve opportunities for youth through athletics.
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Falls Church: Places and People
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Molder of Men: Portrait of a "Grand Old Man," Edwin Bancroft Henderson
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Victorian Falls Church
Falls Church, Virginia, was settled in 1699 and named for its first church. Located near Washington, D.C., this rural farming community grew into an important crossroads during the 19th century. Prior to World War II, its most significant growth occurred during the Victorian era. The area and lifestyle of its residents were significantly impacted by the Northern migration into the South for better farmland; the Civil War; the expansion of railway service; the developing role as a suburb of
Washington; and military buildup during the Spanish-American War. This collection of vintage images portrays the people, places, and events that are central to the Victorian heritage of Falls Church. -
Historic Falls Church
Once the largest farm population center in what was then Fairfax County, Falls Church has slowly evolved over the past three centuries into the unique town it is today.
Fertile soil and abundant streams at former Native American cross trails provided ideal farmland to early settlers, and though the first known home was built in 1699, it wasn't until 1875 that Falls Church was incorporated into a town, taking its name from the prominent 18th century Anglican church built at these old cross trails. The town has seen the coming of Revolutionary independence and a mere seven miles from downtown Washington, DC, Falls Church sat close enough to witness the nation's capital burn during the War of 1812, and was transformed by the effects of the Civil War. Since 1900, residents have experienced the growth of the post-World War II suburban ideal and felt the impact of the civil rights movement, ultimately developing Falls Church into a small town with established religious, educational, and civic institutions amidst urban sprawl.
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A Virginia Village Goes to War
As told by the villagers themselves, this book details the history of Falls Church, Va., during the Civil War and how it fell victim to a duo of military "firsts". The first aerially-directed bombardment of a human settlement and the first use of aerial reconnaissance in the war by hot-air balloon.
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Falls Church: A Virginia Village Revisited
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Falls Church by Fence and Fireside
First published in 1964 as a special project of the Falls Church Public Library, this book is a comprehensive survey of the history of Falls Church, Virginia, from its colonial roots up through the 1960s. The main text relates, in detail, the history of t
Oral Histories & FC History Videos
Oral History: Lawrence Pence
Interview of Col. Lawrence Pence. Recorded June 6, 2023 at the FCCTV studios at Merdian High School.
Author Talk: Ed Henderson
Author talk with Edwin B. Henderson II on the publication of his book, The Grandfather of Black Basketball: The Life and Times of Dr. E B Henderson. Recorded on March 9, 2024 at MRSPL.
Desegregation of FC Libraries
Panel discussion on the desegregation of Falls Church public libraries. Recorded on June 4, 2023 at MRSPL .
Oral History: Kay Britto
Interview of Kay Britto about growing up in Falls Church in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s by MRSPL Librarian Pete Sulivan. Recorded on October 19, 2022, at the FCCTV studio at Meridian High School.
Oral History: Chet DeLong
Interview of Chet DeLong, longtime Falls Church resident, Mary Riley Styles Public Library board member and volunteer. Recorded on July 7, 2022 at the FCCTV studio at Meridian High School.
Resources
Ancestry for Virginia
City Council Agendas, Minutes, & Videos
Falls Church Assessment Property Finder
Falls Church History Room Digital Archive
Falls Church News Press - ARCHIVE
Search and view all issues of the Falls Church News Press from March 1991 (when the paper started) through April 2024 using the Library of Virginia's online newspaper archive.
Falls Church News Press - CURRENT
GMHS Yearbooks
HeritageQuest
Municode - Falls Church Code
Virginia Chroncle
Virginia Chronicle is a historical archive of Virginia newspapers, providing free access to full text searching and digitized images of over 3 million newspaper pages.
Washington Post
