Cherry Hill Farmhouse facts for kids
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Cherry Hill Farmhouse
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Cherry Hill Farmhouse
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 Location in Northern Virginia
Location in Virginia
Location in the United States
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| Location | 312 Park Avenue, Falls Church, Virginia |
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| Area | 7 acres |
| Built | 1845 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 73002210 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | July 26, 1973 |
The Cherry Hill Farmhouse is a special house in Falls Church, Virginia, United States. It was built way back in 1845. This house has a cool Greek Revival architecture style, which was popular at the time.
For many years, rich farming families lived here. Then, in 1956, the City of Falls Church bought it. They turned it into a museum because it's a very important historical building. Today, the Cherry Hill Farmhouse is one of six buildings in Falls Church City that are part of the National Register of Historic Places. It helps us understand what homes were like in the 1800s.
Contents
History of Cherry Hill Farmhouse
How the Farmhouse Began
The Cherry Hill Farmhouse was built around 1845. It started as a farmstead with a house and a wooden barn. In 1856, a man named William A. Blaisdell bought the house. He owned a large 73-acre farm around it. Mr. Blaisdell sold goods at a market in nearby District of Columbia.
The house has been called Cherry Hill for a very long time. This is because there were many fruit orchards, especially cherry trees, all around the house.
The Riley Family Years
From 1870 to 1945, the Riley family owned the house. They were a very important family in the village of Falls Church. Joseph Riley, who lived in the house, led the effort in 1875 to ask the state to make Falls Church an official town. At that time, the town included parts of Fairfax and Alexandria Counties.
A famous poet named James Whitcomb Riley was a relative of the Riley family. He visited the farmhouse often. He even wrote about the house and some of the people who lived there in his poems!
Becoming a Museum
In 1945, the farmhouse, barn, and other small buildings were given to the University of Virginia. The university owned them until 1956. That's when the City of Falls Church bought the property. This included the land between Park Avenue, Little Falls Street, and Great Falls Street.
In the 1960s, some people who loved local history formed a group called the "Friends of Cherry Hill." Their goal was to fix up the house. They wanted it to look like it did when it was first built. They also wanted to make it a museum. The museum shows what life was like for wealthy families in the area before the Civil War and during the Victorian period. Guides at the museum share stories about the house, the local area, and how it connected to bigger events in the country. Today, the house is part of a 7-acre park.
What You Can See at the Museum
The museum has real furniture from the 1700s and 1800s that belonged to the family. The "Friends of Cherry Hill" group owns and takes care of these historical items. The old barn also has a collection of tools from the 1800s.
The Cherry Hill Farmhouse and Barn are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is one of only six houses from the Victorian era in Falls Church that are on this important list. No commercial buildings from that time have survived.
