- Cherry Hill Farmhouse
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Cherry Hill Farmhouse
Cherry Hill Farmhouse
Location: 312 Park Avenue, Falls Church, Virginia Coordinates: 38°53′12″N 77°10′22″W / 38.88667°N 77.17278°WCoordinates: 38°53′12″N 77°10′22″W / 38.88667°N 77.17278°W Area: 7 acres Built: 1845 Architectural style: Greek Revival NRHP Reference#: 73002210 [1] Added to NRHP: July 26, 1973 The Cherry Hill Farmhouse is a 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 Church, which transformed it into a museum, as a historical building. Today, the Cherry Hill Farmhouse, along with other five such constructions in Falls Church City, is part of the National Register of Historic Places, as an important testimony of 19th century Victorian buildings in the area.
History
The house hosting the museum was built in ca 1845 as a farmstead in a Greek Revival architecture, and inclusive of a frame barn. Mr. William A. Blaisdell, who managed a stall in the nearby District of Columbia, purchased the house in 1856 as part of a 73 acre farm.
From 1870 to 1945 the house belonged to to the Riley family. Poet James Whitcomb Riley included in his poems the Farmhouse and some of his residents.[2] The farmhouse, barn, and outbuildings belonged to the University of Virginia from 1945 until 1956 when the city of Falls Church purchased them along with the rest of the property bounded by Park Avenue, Little Falls Street, and Great Falls Street.[3] The city restored the house, and made a museum to exhibit the lifestyle of the prosperous families of the area. Nowadays the house is included within a 7 acre park.[2]
The museum includes the household's authentic 18th and 19th century furniture, which along other historical pieces, are owned and maintained by a foundation called Friends of Cherry Hill,[4] whereas the barn houses a 19th century collection of tools.[2]
The Cherry Hill Farmhouse & Barn is part of the National Register of Historic Places.[1] and is only one of overall six Falls Church buildings of the Victorian era to be in that list (no commercial buildings from that period have survived).[5]
References
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-13. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html.
- ^ a b c Calder Loth; Virginia. Dept. of Historic Resources (1 January 2000). The Virginia landmarks register. University of Virginia Press. p. 162. ISBN 9780813918624. http://books.google.com/books?id=NJa_64aH1iMC&pg=PA162. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
- ^ Ross De Witt Netherton; Nan Netherton (March 2002). The preservation of history in Fairfax County, Virginia: a report prepared for the Fairfax County History Commission, Fairfax County, Virginia, 2001. University Press of America. p. 221. ISBN 9780761821755. http://books.google.com/books?id=Pup4AAAAMAAJ.
- ^ "Official website". City of Falls Church. http://www.fallschurchva.gov/Content/Government/Departments/CommunityServices/RecsParks/CHFarmBarn.aspx?cnlid=957.
- ^ Victorian Society at Falls Church (16 July 2007). Victorian Falls Church. Arcadia Publishing. p. 8. ISBN 9780738552507. http://books.google.com/books?id=1P0vl2ashLsC&pg=PA8. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
Categories:- Museums established in 1956
- Museums in Fairfax County, Virginia
- National Register of Historic Places in Virginia
- Houses completed in 1845
- Greek Revival architecture in Virginia
- Historic house museums in Virginia
- Houses in Fairfax County, Virginia
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