A Virginia Village

The Falls Church Village Preservation and Improvement Society (VPIS) is pleased to be able to reprint A Virginia Village by Charles A. Stewart as part of its Centennial observance in 1985. We are especially grateful to the Mary Riley Styles Public Library of Falls Church for permission to use their copy of A Virginia Village for the reproduction.

A Virginia Village provides a snapshot of Falls Church at the turn of the century, at a time when the predecessor of VPIS, the Village Improvement Society (VIS) (pp. 16-18), was in full swing. Thus it is a fitting backdrop to our year of special activities.

As you will note, many of the buildings and settings in the 1904 edition have been lost or altered in the past 80 years. To make the book more useful and enjoyable to current readers, we have added a Foreword, Comments on the Structures Pictured, a Name and Street Index, and a biographical sketch and photograph of the author. The new information is not all inclusive and we invite you to cross-reference your reading with the other sources listed in the Foreword.

The Society is indebted to several of its members who worked long and hard to made this edition possible. In particular, we would like to thank the chairman of the project, Colonel Merl M. Moore (a former VPIS President); Mr. Edmund F. Becker, who wrote the Foreword; Mr. Henry H. Douglas, who as usual is an indispensable resource on the history of Falls Church; and Mr. Richard T. Allan, whose editing skills were invaluable.

We hope this 1985 edition will become a cherished reminder of The Society's 100th anniversary and a valuable edition to your personal library. Sincerely,

President

Rowland Bowers Vice President

Harold Silverstein Chairman, Centennial Committee

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ABOUT THE FALLS CHURCH VILLAGE PRESERVATION AND IMPROVEMENT SOCIETY

In 1985, its Centennial Year, the Falls Church Village Preservation and Improvement Society comprises over 750 citizens and businesses dedicated to improving the quality of life in Falls Church.

The Society recognizes that it is the inheritor of the civic purposes and activities of the Village Improvement Society (VIS) of Falls Church established in 1885 and which group was modeled after the famous Laurel Hill Association of Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and that VPIS' purposes, objectives and activities represent a continuum of the earlier organized and volunteer civic organization and effort to improve and preserve the historic tradition, residential character, quality of life and appearance of Falls Church, Virginia.

The values articulated by the founders in 1885 have not changed to the present:

to preserve the historic and predominantly single family detached residential and village character of Falls Church;

to preserve its historic structures and landmarks;

to promote architectural harmony and aesthetic values;

to beautify the community by planting trees, flowers, and shrubs; and

to work with governmental bodies and community groups to promote and fulfill these goals.

Archives of the Society may be found in the Virginia Room of the Mary Riley Styles Library, Falls Church, Virginia.

FOREWORD

Charles A. Stewart's A Virginia Village is a charming depiction of the early days of Falls Church. It is the earliest attempt to put on paper the story of the Falls Church area. In addition to interesting stories about people and organizations and life generally in the small town of 80 years ago, the book contains photographs of 107 Falls Church houses, stores, and churches then standing. Reading it is a trip into nostalgia for old-timers--but the book is more than nostalgia. It pictures many elements which we associate with the community's lovely historic character and interest, and which intrigues newcomers and older residents alike.