The Glebe House, built in 1854–1857, is a historic house with an octagon-shaped wing in

Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County is a County (United States), county in the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the Washington, D.C., District of Co ...

. The Northern Virginia Conservation Trust holds a conservation easement to help protect and preserve it. The name of the house comes from the property's history as a

glebe Glebe (; also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s))McGurk 1970, p. 17 is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved ...

, an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. In this case, the glebe was established by the

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 ...

before the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. A historical marker that the Arlington County government erected near the house in 1969 states that the glebe was a farm that was:

... provided for the
rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
of Fairfax Parish, which included both
Christ Church, Alexandria Christ Church is an Episcopal church located at 118 North Washington Street, with an entrance at 141 North Columbus Street, in Alexandria, Virginia. Constructed as the main church in the Church of England's Fairfax Parish, the building was desi ...
, and
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 ...
. The Glebe House, built in 1775, stood here. It burned in 1808 and was rebuilt in 1820, as a hunting lodge; the octagon wing was added about 1850. Distinguished persons who have occupied the house include the Rev. Bryan Fairfax (8th Lord Fairfax),
John Peter Van Ness Johannes Petrus "John Peter" Van Ness (November 4, 1769 – March 7, 1846) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from New York from 1801 to 1803 and Mayor of Washington, D.C. from 1830 to 1834. Early life Van Ne ...
( Mayor of Washington), Clark Mills (sculptor),
Caleb Cushing Caleb Cushing (January 17, 1800 – January 2, 1879) was an American Democratic politician and diplomat who served as a Congressman from Massachusetts and Attorney General under President Franklin Pierce. He was an eager proponent of territoria ...
(first U.S. Minister to China), and Frank Ball (
state senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...
).

The house is listed on the

Virginia Landmarks Register The Virginia Landmarks Register (VLR) is a list of historic properties in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The state's official list of important historic sites, it was created in 1966. The Register serves the same purpose as the National Registe ...

by the

Virginia Department of Historic Resources The Virginia Department of Historic Resources is the State Historic Preservation Office for the Commonwealth of Virginia. The agency maintains the Virginia Landmarks Register (the first step for properties and districts in Virginia seeking listin ...

, with number 000-0003. The

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

listed the house on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on February 23, 1972. an
accompanying photo
/ref> The

Arlington County Board 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 ...

designated the building to be a local historic district on January 7, 1984. The house is located near Glebe Road (

Virginia State Route 120 State Route 120 (SR 120) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. Known as Glebe Road, the state highway runs from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Crystal City north to SR 123 at the Chain Bridge. SR 120 is a partial circumfe ...

), a major road through Arlington County, which also takes its name from the historic glebe lands of Fairfax Parish.

References

External links

Northern Virginia Conservation Trust
Houses in Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County Historic Districts Octagon houses in Virginia Houses completed in 1815 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Arlington County, Virginia {{ArlingtonCountyVA-NRHP-stub

See also

References

External links