The Falls Church

Falls Church, VA

4.27.17

For Tim's DC tour, we stayed in the town of Falls Church.

This is the Falls Church.

As the sign below says,

 George Washington was a vestryman at the church that was originally at this site.

The current church was built in 1768,

used as a recruiting station during the Revolutionary War,

and as a Union hospital and then stable during the Civil War.

 See the lighter colored bricks under the windows in the photo above?

That is the government's "inexpert repair" intended to restore the building 

after they had used it for a stable.

The bricks had been removed to get the horses in.

It is said that the Declaration of Independence was read from these very steps.

(Yes, the kids are presently more interested in the long line of ants by their feet

than in their father's reenactment of that great event.)  😏

 Brie loved taking photos here!

There were gravestones dating back to the 1700's.

We also stopped at Cherry Hill Farmhouse, which was built in 1845.

It's been interesting to learn a bit about the history of Virginia during the Civil War.

Being right on the line between the North and the South, 

there were some hard fought battles of the heart before the war began...

William Blaisdell, the owner of Cherry Hill, was one of 26 men who voted against secession in Falls Church. 44 others voted in favor of secession. After the first battle at Bull Run the Confederate Army occupied Falls Church for two months. During this period most northerners fled town. Southern claims from nearby neighbors tell of feather mattresses, silver and likenesses all being packed into wagons in great haste as people in town fled north. However, Mrs. Blaisdell had given birth to a child two weeks prior to the battle and it is unlikely the family could have fled. Tax assessments for personal property indicate a decline of $200.00 for the year 1861. The Blaisdells lost 7 hogs, 3 cows, and a carriage. In addition, household furnishings assessed at $103.00 were only valued at $33.00 by the end of 1861.

(From the Falls Church, VA website)

We later visited Robert E. Lee's home and learned a little about his struggle to "choose sides."

More on that later....