Falls Church is an

independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

in the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is included in the

Washington metropolitan area The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgin ...

. Taking its name from

The Falls Church The Falls Church is an historic Episcopal church, from which the city of Falls Church, Virginia, near Washington, D. C., takes its name. The parish was established in 1732 and the brick church still in use today dates to 1769. History Colonia ...

, an 18th-century

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

(later Episcopal Church) parish, Falls Church gained township status within

Fairfax County Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...

in 1875. In 1948, it was incorporated as the City of Falls Church, an independent city with county-level governance status although it is not a county. The city's corporate boundaries do not include all of the area historically known as Falls Church; these areas include portions of Seven Corners and other portions of the current Falls Church postal districts of Fairfax County, as well as the area of

Arlington County Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...

known as East Falls Church, which was part of the town of Falls Church from 1875 to 1936. For statistical purposes, the

U.S. Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth ...

Bureau of Economic Analysis The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the United States Department of Commerce is a U.S. government agency that provides official economy of the United States, macroeconomic and industry statistics, most notably reports about the gross domestic ...

combines the City of Falls Church with

Fairfax City The City of Fairfax ( ), colloquially known as Fairfax City, Downtown Fairfax, Old Town Fairfax, Fairfax Courthouse, FFX, or simply Fairfax, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. At the 2010 census the p ...

and Fairfax County. At 2.11 square miles, Falls Church is the smallest incorporated municipality in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the smallest county-equivalent municipality in the United States.

Etymology

The independent city of Falls Church is named for the 1734

(later Episcopal Church) house of worship named

founded at the intersection of important Native American trails that were later paved and named Broad Street, Lee Highway and Little Falls Street.

History

The first known government in the area was the

Iroquois Confederacy The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

. After exploration by

Captain John Smith John Smith (baptized 6 January 1580 – 21 June 1631) was an English soldier, explorer, colonial governor, Admiral of New England, and author. He played an important role in the establishment of the colony at Jamestown, Virginia, the first pe ...

, 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 American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

the area is most known for The Falls Church vestrymen

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

and

George Mason George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, one of the three delegates present who refused to sign the Constitution. His writings, including s ...

. A copy of the

United States Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ...

was read to citizens from the steps of The Falls Church during the summer of 1776. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

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 Uptons was a department store based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The chain operated primarily in the Southeastern United States, with locations in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. The cha ...

hills to the East, probably due to their views of

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

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.

Historic sites

Cherry Hill Farmhouse The Cherry Hill Farmhouse is a house museum in Falls Church, Virginia, United States. Built in 1845 in a Greek Revival architecture style, it belonged to wealthy farmer families until 1945, and in 1956 it became property of the City of Falls Chu ...

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 The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

. Two of the District of Columbia's original 1791 boundary stones (see: Boundary Markers of the Original District of Columbia) are located in public parks on the boundary between Falls Church and Arlington County. The West cornerstone stands in Andrew Ellicott Park at 2824 Meridian Street, Falls Church and N. Arizona Street, Arlington, just south of West Street. Stone number SW9 stands in

Benjamin Banneker Benjamin Banneker (November 9, 1731October 19, 1806) was an African-American naturalist, mathematician, astronomer and almanac author. He was a landowner who also worked as a surveyor and farmer. Born in Baltimore County, Maryland, to a fr ...

Park on Van Buren Street, south of 18th Street, near the East Falls Church Metro station. Most of Banneker Park is in Arlington County, across Van Buren Street from Isaac Crossman Park at Four Mile Run.

Sites on the National Register of Historic Places

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of , all of it land and none of it water. 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 Virginia State Route 7 (VA 7) is a major primary state highway and busy commuter route in northern Virginia, United States. It travels southeast from downtown Winchester to SR 400 (Washington Street) in downtown Alexandria. Its ...

(Broad St./Leesburg Pike) and

U.S. Route 29 U.S. Route 29 (US 29) is a north–south United States highway that runs for from Pensacola, Florida to the western suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland in the Southern United States, connecting the Florida Panhandle to the Baltimore-Washington me ...

(Washington St./Lee Highway). Tripps Run, a tributary of the

Cameron Run Watershed The Cameron Run Watershed (CRW) is a highly urbanized, 44 square-mile watershed located in Northern Virginia. "The region is completely urbanized with nearly 95 percent of the watershed developed with mixed residential and commercial use". Seventy- ...

, drains two-thirds of Falls Church, while the

Four Mile Run Four Mile Run is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 15, 2011 stream in Northern Virginia that starts near Interstate 66, at Gordon Avenue in Fairfax County and pro ...

watershed drains the other third of the city. Four Mile Run flows at the base of

Minor's Hill Minor's Hill is a geographic eminence located in the western tip of Arlington County, Virginia. Its summit rises to 459 feet (139 meters) above sea level which makes it the highest point in the county. The hill is named after a man named George M ...

, which overlooks Falls Church on its north, and

Upton's Hill Upton's Hill is a geographic eminence located in western Arlington County, Virginia. Its summit rises to above sea level. Location Upton's Hill straddles the border of Arlington County and Fairfax County, Virginia at . The hill is generally ...

, which bounds the area to its east.

Demographics

2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2010, Falls Church City had a population of 12,332. The population density was 6,169.1 people per square mile. There were 5,496 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 80.6% White, 5.3% Black or African American, 0.5% Native American, 9.3% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 4.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.5% of the population. In the city, the population was spread out, with 7.3% under the age of five, 26.6% under the age of 18, and 11.6% over the age of 65. The percentage of the population that were female was 51%. 74.4% of the population had a bachelor's degree or higher (age 25+). The median income for a household in the city was $120,000, with 4% of the population below the poverty line, the lowest level of poverty of any independent city or county in the United States.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 10,377 people, 4,471 households, and 2,620 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 5,225.8 people per square mile (2,013.4/km²). There were 4,725 housing units at an average density of 2,379.5/sq mi (916.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.97%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 3.28% Black or African American, 0.24% Native American, 6.50%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.07%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 2.52% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 2.43% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 8.44% of the population. There were 4,471 households, out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them; 47.1% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.4% were non-families. 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 3.01. In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.4% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 31.1% from 25 to 44, 28.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $74,924, and the median income for a family was $97,225. Males had a median income of $65,227 versus $46,014 for females. The per capita income for the city was $41,051. About 2.8% of families and 4.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 4.3% of those under age 18 and 4.1% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

In 2011, Falls Church was named the richest county (or county-equivalent) in the United States, with a median annual household income of $113,313. While

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...

companies

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Uni ...

and

Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military techn ...

have headquarters with mailing addresses in Falls Church, they are physically in

Top employers

According to the city's 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the City are: The city has broken ground on several redevelopment projects to be completed in the next few years, including th
West Falls Church Economic Development Project
an
Founders Row
along Route 7/Broad street.

Arts and culture

Annual events

The city holds an annual Memorial Day Parade with bands, military units, civic associations, and fire/rescue stations, in recent years the event has featured a street festival with food, crafts, and non-profit organization booths, and a 3K fun run (the 2009 race drew some 3,000 runners). the Falls Church

Farmer's Market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or o ...

is held Saturdays year-round, Jan 3 – April 25 (9 am – Noon), May 2 – Dec 26 (8 am – Noon), at the City Hall Parking Lot, 300 Park Ave. In addition to regional attention, in 2010 the market was ranked first in the medium category of the American Farmland Trust's contest to identify America's Favorite Farmers' Markets.

Cultural institutions

The Falls Church Village Preservation and Improvement Society was founded in 1885 by Arthur Douglas and re-established in 1965 to promote the history, culture, and beautification of the city. The Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation was founded in 1997 by Edwin B. Henderson II to preserve the Civil Rights and African American history and culture. Falls Church is where the first rural branch of the NAACP was established stemming from events that took place in 1915, when the town passed a segregation ordinance by creating segregated districts in the town. The ordinance was not enforced after the U. S. Supreme Court ruling in ''

Buchanan v. Warley ''Buchanan v. Warley'', 245 U.S. 60 (1917), is a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States addressed civil government-instituted racial segregation in residential areas. The Court held unanimously that a Louisville, Kentucky city ordin ...

'' in 1917. The Mary Riley Styles Public Library is Falls Church's public library; established in 1899, its current building was constructed for the purpose in 1958 and expanded in 1993 and 2021. In addition to its circulating collections, it houses a local history collection, including newspaper files, local government documents, and photographs. The State Theatre stages a wide variety of live performances. Built as a movie house in 1936, it was reputed to be the first air-conditioned theater on the east coast. It closed in 1983; after extensive renovations in the 1990s, including a stage, bar, and restaurant, it re-opened as a music venue.

Government

Falls Church is governed by a seven-member city council, each elected at large for four-year, staggered terms. Council members are typically career professionals holding down full-time jobs. In addition to attending a minimum of 22 council meetings and 22 work sessions each year, they also attend meetings of local boards and commissions and regional organizations (several Council Members serve on committees of regional organizations as well). Members also participate in the Virginia Municipal League and some serve on statewide committees. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

is elected by members of the council. The city operates in a typical council–manager form of municipal government, with a

city manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief execu ...

hired by the council to serve as the city's chief administrative officer. The city's elected Sheriff is Metin "Matt" Cay. Candidates for city elections typically do not run under a nationally affiliated party nomination. City services and functions include education, parks and recreation, library, police, land use, zoning, building inspections, street maintenance, and storm water and sanitary sewer service. Often named a

Tree City USA The Arbor Day Foundation is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees. The Arbor Day Foundation has more than one million members and has planted more than 350 million trees in neighborhoods, communities ...

, the city has one full-time arborist. Some public services are provided by agreement with the city's county neighbors of Arlington and Fairfax, including certain health and human services (Fairfax); and court services, transport, and fire/rescue services (Arlington). The city provided water utility service to a large portion of eastern Fairfax County, including the dense commercial areas of

Tysons Corner Tysons, also known as Tysons Corner, is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, developed from the corner of Chain Bridge Road ( SR 123) and the Leesburg Pike ( SR 7). Located in Northern Virginia between the c ...

and Merrifield, until January 2014, when the water utility was sold to the

Fairfax County Water Authority Fairfax County Water Authority (FCWA or more recently Fairfax Water for short) is the main water company in the Northern Virginia region of the United States, and one of the four major water providers in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area (the ...

Education

The city is served by Falls Church City Public Schools: * Jessie Thackrey Preschool * Mount Daniel Elementary School, which includes kindergarten through second grade. * Oak Street Elementary, which includes grades 3–5. *

Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School Falls Church City Public Schools (FCCPS) is a public school district that serves the City of Falls Church, Virginia. It is a PreK-12 IB World School division, meaning all schools in the district are IB-certified. The school division's five scho ...

, which includes grades 6–8. * Meridian High School, which includes grades 9–12. Of these four Falls Church City Public Schools, one, Mount Daniel Elementary School, is located outside city limits in neighboring Fairfax County.

Falls Church High School Falls Church High School (FCHS) is a high school located in West Falls Church, Virginia, in unincorporated Fairfax County.Fairfax County Public School system The Fairfax County Public Schools system (FCPS) is a school division in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. It is a branch of the Fairfax County government which administers public schools in Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax. FCPS's head ...

; it does not serve the city of Falls Church. Falls Church City is eligible to send up to three students per year to the Fairfax County magnet school,

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (also known as TJHSST, TJ, or Jefferson) is a Virginia state-chartered magnet high school in Fairfax County, Virginia operated by Fairfax County Public Schools. The school occupies the buil ...

. The city is home to Saint James Catholic School, a parochial school serving grades K–8, and Grace Christian Academy, a Pre-K to 8th grade Christian parochial school of the

Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), also referred to simply as the Wisconsin Synod, is an American Confessional Lutheran denomination of Christianity. Characterized as theologically conservative, it was founded in 1850 in Milwaukee ...

Media

The ''

Falls Church News-Press The ''Falls Church News-Press'' is a weekly newspaper in Falls Church, Virginia. The periodical was founded in 1991 by Owner/Editor-in-Chief Nicholas F. Benton. The ''News-Press'' claims a free circulation of 10,000. It is delivered in Bailey's ...

'' is a free weekly newspaper founded in 1991 that focuses on local news and commentary and includes nationally syndicated columns. The area is also served by national and regional newspapers, including ''

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...

'' and ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

''. The City is also served by numerous citizen- and corporate-sponsored Internet blogs.

WAMU WAMU (88.5 FM) is a public news/talk station that services the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. It is owned by American University, and its studios are located near the campus in northwest Washington. WAMU has been the primary National ...

Radio 88.5 produces news and opinion programs with a local focus.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Although two stations on the

Washington Metro The Washington Metro (or simply Metro), formally the Metrorail,Google Books search/preview

's Orange Line have "Falls Church" in their names, neither lies within the City of Falls Church:

East Falls Church station East Falls Church is an island-platformed Washington Metro station in Arlington, Virginia on the Orange and Silver Lines. East Falls Church station is the last aboveground, at grade, or open cut station for eastbound trains. East of this stati ...

is in Arlington County and

West Falls Church station West Falls Church is a Washington Metro metro station, station in Idylwood, Virginia, Idylwood, Virginia on the Orange Line (Washington Metro), Orange Line, the first station inside the beltway on the Orange Line going east. It is one of only tw ...

is in

. * Metro's Silver Line, completed July 2014, serves the East Falls Church station. It runs between Largo Town Center in the east, following the Blue Line route to Stadium-Armory, the Orange and Blue Lines to Rosslyn, and finally the Orange route alone until it reaches East Falls Church, where it branches off towards the northwest, terminating in Ashburn, servicing

Dulles International Airport Washington Dulles International Airport , typically referred to as Dulles International Airport, Dulles Airport, Washington Dulles, or simply Dulles ( ), is an international airport in the Eastern United States, located in Loudoun County and Fai ...

. East Falls Church is the westernmost designated transfer station. * The

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA ), commonly referred to as Metro, is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington metropolitan area. WMATA was created by the United States Con ...

provides bus service throughout the Washington metropolitan area, including Falls Church. * A small portion of the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Trail (W&OD Trail) runs through the City (see:

Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park is a linear regional park in Northern Virginia. The park's primary feature is the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad Trail (abbreviated as W&OD Trail), an asphalt-surfaced paved rail trail ...

). The trail enters the City from the west between mile markers 7 and 7.5 (near Broad Street). The trail enters the city from the east between mile markers 5.5 and 6. The W&OD Trail travels on the rail bed of the

Washington and Old Dominion Railroad The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad (colloquially referred to as the W&OD) was an intrastate short-line railroad located in Northern Virginia, United States. The railroad was a successor to the bankrupt Washington and Old Dominion Railway a ...

and various predecessor lines, which provided passenger service from 1860 to May 31, 1951, with exception of a few years during the

U.S. Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states t ...

. Freight service was abandoned when the railroad closed in August 1968. The Four Mile Run Trail, which ends at an intersection with the

Mount Vernon Trail The Mount Vernon Trail (MVT) is a long shared use path that travels along the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Northern Virginia between Rosslyn and George Washington's home at Mount Vernon. The trail connects the easternmost portions of ...

near

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport , sometimes referred to colloquially as National Airport, Washington National, Reagan National Airport, DCA, Reagan, or simply National, is an international airport in Arlington County, Virginia, across ...

, begins in the city at Van Buren Street. These trails comprise a major

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...

commuting route to Washington, D.C.

Major highways

The primary roads serving Falls Church directly are

and

. The portion of US 29 through Falls Church is also coincident with

Virginia State Route 237 State Route 237 (SR 237) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs from Virginia State Route 236, SR 236 in Fairfax, Virginia, Fairfax east to U.S. Route 50 in Virginia, U.S. Route 50 (US 50) in Arlington, V ...

. Most of

Virginia State Route 338 State Route 338 (SR 338) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. Known as Hillwood Avenue, the state highway runs from U.S. Route 29 (US 29) and SR 237 in Falls Church east to US 50, SR 7, and SR 613 at Seven Corners. Route ...

is also within Falls Church.

Interstate 66 Interstate 66 (I-66) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. It runs from an interchange with I-81 near Middletown, Virginia, on its western end to an interchange with U.S. Route 29 (US 29) in Washingt ...

passes just north of the city, while Interstate 495 passes a few miles to the west.

Notable people

Golnar Adili Golnar Adili ( fa, گلنار عدیلی; born 1976 in Virginia) is an Iranian-born American multidisciplinary artist based in Brooklyn, New York. Much of her work is influenced by growing up in post-Iranian Revolution in Tehran and issues of disp ...

(1976), multidisciplinary artist *

Brian Alvey Brian Alvey (born March 6, 1970 in Falls Church, Virginia) is an American serial entrepreneur, programmer, designer and blogger. He grew up in Brooklyn and now lives in San Francisco where he is the CEO of Clipisode. He is best known for co-found ...

, serial entrepreneur *

Tommy Amaker Harold Tommy Amaker Jr. (; born June 6, 1965) is an American college basketball coach and the head coach of the Harvard University men's basketball team. He has also coached for the University of Michigan and Seton Hall University. He played po ...

(1965), current men's basketball head coach at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

reprinted at *

Allan Bridge Allan Bridge (February 14, 1945 – August 5, 1995) was an American conceptual artist best known for his creation in 1980 of the confessional phone system known as the Apology Line. He went by the pseudonym Mr. Apology (a label which has since ...

, conceptual artist * Jane Brucker, actress and screenwriter *

Caroline Calloway Caroline Gotschall Calloway (born December 5, 1991) is an American internet celebrity known for posting Instagram photos with long captions. She gained popularity while a student at the University of Cambridge. Early life Caroline Calloway ...

, Instagram personality *

Hal Corley Hal Corley is an American television writer and playwright. He was Associate Head Writer for ''All My Children'' and ''As The World Turns'', for which he won five Daytime Emmy Awards and two Writers Guild of America Awards. His plays have been d ...

, Emmy-winning TV writer, published playwright *

Jayme Cramer Jayme Oliver Cramer (born January 20, 1983) is an American competition swimmer who specializes in backstroke and butterfly events. He has represented the United States as a member of the national swim team in the FINA world championships and th ...

, backstroke and butterfly swimmer * Carmen Fernandez, social worker and entrepreneur *

Nick Galifianakis Nick Galifianakis may refer to: *Nick Galifianakis (politician) (1928–2023), American congressman *Nick Galifianakis (cartoonist) Nick Galifianakis () is an American cartoonist and artist. Since 1997, he has drawn the cartoons for the national ...

, cartoonist * Ryan Hall, professional mixed martial artist who won the 22nd season of

The Ultimate Fighter ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...

, now currently competing in the featherweight division of the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. * John Hartman, musician and founding member of The Doobie Brothers * Molly Henneberg, news reporter, grew up in Falls Church * Mike Hindert, bass guitarist * John Kirby (attorney), John Kirby, attorney, credited as namesake for Nintendo's character "Kirby (character), Kirby" * Louisa Krause, actress * Nancy Kyes, film and television actress * Taryn Manning, actress * Matthew F. McHugh, former US congressman * Kyle E. McSlarrow, former Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of Energy * Alixa Naff, historian * Joseph Harvey Riley, ornithologist * Eric Schmidt (1955), Executive Chairman & former CEO of Google, former CEO of Novell, 96th-richest person in the world as of April 2021 * Mohamed Soltan, political activist * Fred Talbot (baseball), Fred Talbot (1941–2013), professional baseball player *Tatianna, drag performer and competitor on RuPaul's Drag Race *James Thurber (1902) author and humorist, namesake of James Thurber Ct in Falls Church

In popular culture

The principal characters in the television series ''The Americans'', Philip and Elizabeth Jennings, and their children Paige and Henry, as well as FBI agent Stan Beeman, live in Falls Church. In the TV Series JAG (TV series), JAG, their headquarters are in Falls Church, Virginia.

Sister city

In 2006, Falls Church entered into a sister city relationship with Kokolopori, Democratic Republic of the Congo."Kokolopori-Falls Church Sister City Partnership," Falls Church City official site (archived page; accessed 8 May 2012)
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References

External links

* {{authority control Falls Church, Virginia, Cities in Virginia Washington metropolitan area Little Saigons Virginia in the American Civil War Populated places established in 1733 1733 establishments in Virginia 1948 establishments in Virginia