The Historical Commission of Falls Church Records, 1955-2012

Access and use

Location of collection:
Mary Riley Styles Public Library
Mary Riley Styles Public Library
120 North Virginia Avenue
Falls Church, VA 22046
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Peter Sullivan
Phone: (703) 248-5030

Summary

Extent:
14 boxes
Language:
Materials in this collection are in English .

Background

Scope and content:

The Historical Commission, upon a Resolution of the City Council, established the Mary Riley Styles Public Library, specifically its Falls Church History Room (or Virginia Room as it was called then) to hold, process, and make accessible the materials of the Commission. The series was organized as follows:

  • Series 1: Incorporation/Organization
  • Series 2: Annual Reports
  • Series 3: Membership
  • Series 4: Meetings (Note: includes meeting announcements, agendas and minutes)
  • Series 5: Budget and Finance
  • Series 6: Correspondence
  • Series 7: Projects
  • Series 8: Archaeological Assessment
  • Series 9: Individual Reports on Houses in the Archaeological Assessment
  • Series 10: Symposiums
  • Series 11: Subject files
  • Series 12: Land Records
  • Series 13: Falls Church Public Library/Mary Riley Styles Public Library

Biographical / historical:

The Historical Commission of Falls Church "provides information and advice on historical matters for the city government, develops criteria for the identification of historic buildings and sites, and makes recommendations on recognizing and preserving such structures and sites. The Commission identifies, collects, preserves, and displays the evidence and records of the city's history, and recommends measures for preserving city publications, displays and other materials of historic interest. It also proposes programs and projects involving city history. The Historical Commission advises the City Council, the City Manager, the Planning Commission, the Architectural Advisory Board, and other officials and bodies." Website: http://www.fallschurchva.gov/266/Historical-Commission

The Falls Church Historical Development Commission, formed in 1955, was the forerunner of the Historical Commission. The Historical Commission was designated an official commission of the City of Falls Church in 1965. The Falls Church Public Library, later the Mary Riley Styles Public Library, was designated the official repository of the Historical Commission papers.

Of special interest are the projects listed in Series 7 and the Archaeological Assessment in Series 9. There is a separate Record Group (1-9) containing records of the Historical Commission Historical Heritage Symposia, although some of those records are within these files in Series 10.

Acquisition information:
The Historical Commission, upon a Resolution of the City Council, established the Mary Riley Styles Public Library, specifically its Falls Church History Room (or Virginia Room as it was called then) to hold, process, and make accessible the materials of the Commission.
Arrangement:

Many files were housed in the Falls Church History Room of the Mary Riley Styles Public Library. Other files were donated by Maurice Ternan. These were organized by the archivist using the headings used by the Historical Commission and incorporated into the existing files as shown in the Scope and Content.