Falls Church

History

The first known government in the area was the Iroquois Confederacy. After exploration by Captain John Smith, England began sending colonists to what they called Virginia. While no records have yet been found showing the earliest colony settlement in the area, a cottage demolished between 1908 and 1914, two blocks from the city center, bore a stone engraved with the date "1699" set into one of its two large chimneys. During the American Revolution, the area is most known for the Falls Church vestrymen George Washington and George Mason. A copy of the United States Declaration of Independence was read to citizens from the steps of the Falls Church during the summer of 1776. During the American Civil War, Falls Church voted 44–26 in favor of secession. The Confederate army occupied the then village of Falls Church as well as Munson's and Upton's hills to the East, probably due to their views of Washington. On September 28, 1861, Confederate troops withdrew from Falls Church and nearby hills, retreating to the heights at Centreville. Union troops took Munson's and Upton's hills, yet the village was never entirely brought under Union rule. Mosby's Raiders made several armed incursions into the heart of Falls Church to kidnap and murder suspected Northern sympathizers in 1864 and 1865. Cherry Hill Farmhouse and Barn, an 1845 Greek-Revival farmhouse and 1856 barn, owned and managed by the city of Falls Church, are open to the public on select Saturdays in summer. Tinner Hill Arch and Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation represent a locus of early African American history in the area, including the site of the first rural chapter of the NAACP. Two of the District of Columbia's original 1791 boundary stones are located in public parks on the boundary between Falls Church and…

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. Falls Church is the smallest independent city by area in Virginia. Since independent cities in Virginia are considered county-equivalents, it is also the smallest county-equivalent in the United States by area. The center of the city is the crossroads of Virginia State Route 7 (Broad St./Leesburg Pike) and U.S. Route 29 (Washington St./Lee Highway). Tripps Run, a tributary of the Cameron Run Watershed, drains two-thirds of Falls Church, while the Four Mile Run watershed drains the other third of the city. Four Mile Run flows at the base of Minor's Hill, which overlooks Falls Church on its north, and Upton's Hill, which borders the area to its east. * Arlington County - east * Fairfax County - north, west, south

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  189,954
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  156,406
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  148,703
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  135,463
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  131,714
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  131,293
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  119,732
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  119,262

Largest nearby schools

• MERIDIAN HIGH
  High · Falls Church · 865 students · 13.5:1 ratio
• MARY ELLEN HENDERSON MIDDLE
  Middle · Falls Church · 581 students · 9.8:1 ratio
• Oak Street Elementary
  Elementary · Falls Church · 526 students · 13.5:1 ratio
• Jessie Thackrey Preschool
  Other · Falls Church · 63 students · 7.9:1 ratio