Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

None

Use Restrictions

Consult repository for information.

Preferred Citation

Great Falls Historical Society, Virginia Collection, MSS 05-75, Virginia Room, Fairfax County Public Library

Acquisition Information

Artwork in this collection was donated by the Great Falls Historical Society in September 2019. Douglas Cobb, Vice-President and Treasurer, donated the Society’s records in February 2021.

Processing Information

Chris Barbuschak, 2021-2022
EAD generated by Ross Landis, 2024

Historical and Biographical Information

In February 1977, five residents of Great Falls, Virginia got together and held the first meeting of the Great Falls Historical Society (GFHS). Two of those residents, Milburn Sanders and Anthony Holland, had previously discussed organizing a historical society to record and preserve the history of the Great Falls area. At their meeting on April 26, 1977, the group adopted by-laws and officially assumed the name “The Great Falls Historical Society, Virginia”. The original officers were: Milburn Sanders, president; Ray McClure, vice president; Jeannette Bryant, secretary; Richard Kerr, treasurer; William Jackson, board member; Marion Reid, board member; and Karen Creuziger, board member.

For over 40 years, the Society held monthly programs on local history, advocated for the preservation and protection of historic structures in Great Falls, conducted oral histories with long-time residents, offered tours of historic sites, published books and a newsletter, and collected and preserved historical artifacts and photographs of the area. The Society, a non-profit 501(c)3, also hosted events such as an annual Great Falls Day, and Grange and Old School Days. Membership was open to everyone and most meetings occurred either in the Great Falls Grange Hall or Great Falls Library Meeting Room.

In 2021, after more than 40 years of promoting and documenting Great Falls’ history, the Society reached the difficult decision to dissolve. In its last years, the Society struggled with declining membership, program attendance, and a lack of interest from volunteers to take on leadership roles. They transferred their collection of photographs and organizational records to Fairfax County Public Library’s Virginia Room in February 2021.

Scope and Content

The Great Falls Historical Society, Virginia Collection spans the years c.1960s-2022 and consists of photographs, negatives, slides, general subject files, newsletters, publications, financial records, original research, oral histories, and other materials maintained by the Society during its existence from 1977-2021. Subjects covered are the activities of the Society and history of Great Falls, Virginia.

Series 1: General Subject Files, 1977-2021, Boxes 1-3

This series contains general subject files and documents maintained by the GFHS. Included are the Society’s by-laws and constitution, rosters, meeting minutes, lists, newspaper articles, resolutions, website printouts, reports, stationary, a plaque, and a ticket from the defunct Great Falls Park Carousel.

Series 2: Events, 1977-2019, Box 3

This series contains documents relating to events hosted by the GFHS. Events included are Grange and Old School Days, Great Falls Day, and the GFHS 40th Anniversary Gala Celebration. Also included are a list of programs that the Society hosted from 1977-2019.

Series 3: Newsletters, 1980-2018, Boxes 4-5

This series contains the GFHS-produced newsletters. The Society initially put out an untitled monthly newsletter that featured meeting announcements from 1980-1981. The newsletter went through subsequent name changes beginning with “Great Falls Courier” in March 1982, “The Courier” in May 1982, “Postilion” in September 1982, and finally “Chronicler” in September 1982. “Chronicler” remained the Society’s newsletter name until it dissolved in 2021. The last issue appears to have been published in September 2018. The newsletter reported on the Society’s activities, upcoming programs, and other news relating to Great Falls history.

Series 4: Publications, 1982-2007, Boxes 6 and 31

This series contains a selection of publications produced by the GFHS. Included are annual reports, brochures, calendars, and an artboard for their 1987 cookbook "How To Cure A Thousand Pounds Of Ham And Other Receipts".

Series 5: Financial Records, 1981-2022, Box 7

This series contains financial records maintained by the GFHS. Included are budgets, checks and check carbons, financial statements, membership lists, tax documents, treasurer’s reports, and other financial paperwork for GFHS-sponsored events.

Series 6: Colvin Run Historic District Proposal, 1997-2018, Boxes 8-13

This series contains materials from the GFHS' efforts to get the Colvin Run Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Tanya Beauchamp initially submitted an application to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (VDHR) to do so in 2005. Beginning in 2012, the Society began researching and assembling a final nomination, but VDHR ultimately rejected it in 2018. Included here is the final nomination, drafts, correspondence, reports, and research documentation.

Series 7: Oral Histories, 1978-2012, Boxes 14-18

On January 22, 1980, the GFHS voted to buy a recorder to record oral histories and programs of the Society’s meetings. This series contains oral histories with longtime Great Falls residents that the GFHS conducted and collected. They are featured on cassette tapes, CD-ROMs, DVDs, floppy disks, and as written transcripts. This series is arranged alphabetically by surname. Additional transcriptions of oral histories conducted by the GFHS not featured in this collection can be found on the reference shelves in the Virginia Room’s catalog.

Series 8: Photographic Materials, c. 1960s-2001, Boxes 19-30

Sub-series 8-1: Slides, 1978-1997, Box 19
This series contains photographic slides, both color and black & white, that feature Great Falls houses, barns, businesses, schools, farms, and residents. Many of these slides exist as photographs in Sub-series 8-3 and 8-4.

Sub-series 8-2: Negatives, c.1960s-2001, Boxes 19-20
This series contains negatives including 4x5 sheet film; 35mm negative film; and 120 negative film. Images feature Great Falls people, houses, businesses, historic sites, and GFHS events. Box 20 contains negatives that were not labeled by the GFHS and remain unidentified.

Sub-series 8-3: Photo Albums, 1979-2001, Boxes 21-23 and 30
This series contains photo albums assembled by the GFHS. Photographs depict Great Falls people, historic sites, and GFHS events. Almost every photo was labeled on the back with a unique accession number, however a corresponding index was not included with this collection. Most of the photographs have been identified. The albums have been retained in their original order.

Sub-series 8-4: Photographs, 1979-1993, Boxes 24-27
This series contains loose photographs that were not included in the photo albums but are labeled with the same unique accession numbering system. These photos were mounted onto colored cardstock. Subjects include Great Falls people, places, and historic sites. The photographs are arranged alphabetically by their accession number.

Sub-series 8-5: Oversize Photographs, 1977-1980, Boxes 28-30
This series contains oversize photographs that were too large to contain in Sub-series 8-4. Each photo was labeled by the GFHS with a unique accession number. Subjects include Great Falls people, places, and historic sites. The oversize photographs are arranged alphabetically by their accession number.

Sub-series 8-6: Digital Photos, 2005-2015, Box 27
This series contains digital photos featured on CD-ROMs and DVDs. Included are images of historic Great Falls houses, structures, the dedication of the Great Falls fire station, and scans of some of the photographs found within this collection.

Series 9: Artwork, 2010, undated, Oversize Drawer

This series contains artwork collected by the GFHS. Included are watercolor prints by Susanne Riva, a framed charcoal sketch of a red barn in Great Falls, and two signs: one homemade sign for the Old Georgetown Pike Toll Gate and another that came from Thelma’s Country Store formerly located on Colvin Run Road.

Related Material

None

Separated Material

Insignificant financial records including invoices, receipts, tax forms, and bank statements were destroyed.

Index Terms

• Great Falls (Va.) - History
• Great Falls Historical Society, Virginia

Adjunct Descriptive Data