Truro
Episcopal Church
Fairfax, Virginia
#NC-08310-WP - Notecards
Truro
Church takes its name from Truro Parish, created by the General
Assembly of Virginia in 1732. The parish included the present
Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William counties, and
the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, and Falls Church. Consecrated
as Zion Church in 1845 on the present site of Truro Chapel, the
original white frame structure was the first Episcopal Church
in the City of Fairfax.
The
congregation of Zion Church was forced to abandon the structure
to Union troops during the Civil War. During the war, the church
was used as a munitions storehouse and then destroyed. At the
end of the Civil War, the congregation of Zion Church re-formed
and the church was rebuilt and consecrated in 1878.
Zion
Church remained in active use from 1875 through 1933, when a new
church -- currently known as Truro Chapel -- was built to serve
the growing congregation of 100 parishioners. The new church was
consecrated on May 1, 1934 as Truro Episcopal Church. In 1959,
a new and larger church with a seating capacity of 500 was completed
to accommodate the suburban growth of Northern Virginia. Major
expansion of the Church in 1984 advanced it to the way it looks
today and increased the seating capacity to 750.
Text
© 1994 Dianne Harrah, Drawing © 1994 Bill Harrah