Church of the Good Shepherd (Site)

These coordinates mark the exact spot where the church once stood until it was moved to make way for a new commercial strip mall development.


<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>
<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>

Here follows an excerpt from the 1970 Fairfax County Master Inventory of Historic Sites which contained entries from the Historic American Buildings Survey Inventory:

According to church records, the land on which the Church of the Good Shepherd stands was donated by John A. and Mary Jane Marshall in 1880 for the purpose of erecting a Protestant Episcopal Church. The deed was recorded in the Fairfax Courthouse in 1882. Church records place the date of construction in 1885, with the first recorded activity in 1889. The Alexandria Gazette of October 5, 1892, reported completion of the building.

The church is a one-story structure with a steeple rising from an enclosed entry way. The windows are pointed in gothic arches and the windows in the entry way are filled with stained glass. The style is what architectural historian Marcus Whiffen describes, referring to many small churches of the period, as a stick-style interpretation of the Gothic Revival.

According to the rector, Reverend Jack Eby, there have been no alterations to the building other than the installation of heating and lighting facilities. In 1954 a cinderblock parish hall was constructed to the rear of the church.

Although the church has never been known by any other name, it was not officially named until 1954, according to courthouse records. The church was originally a mission under Truro Church, and in 1954 it became a mission under the bishop. It received its first full-time clergy in 1955 and in 1965 it was admitted to Council of the Diocese of Virginia as a separate congregation.

A new church building of contemporary design has recently been constructed across Braddock Road. The first services were held in January of 1970. According to Reverend Eby, negotiations are currently underway to sell the old church building to the Calvary Christian Church for the use of its congregation.


<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>
<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>

Here follows an excerpt from local author and historian Mary B. Lipsey's "This Old House: Annandale, Springfield, Burke & Beyond" presentation:

The Church of the Good Shepherd was an Episcopal Church built in 1880. John and Mary Marshall, who owned the general store in Burke, donated land for the church. The grandson of Robert E. Lee was a member of the church and sometimes led services there. They decided they wanted to build a bigger church and so the church was moved and turned into a private residence that still stands at Ollie Lane behind the Twinbrook Shopping Center. It still has the steeple and the stained glass windows. Very distinctive in the middle of a cookie-cutter suburban neighborhood.