How we began

St. George’s was begun in 1908 by first generation immigrants from Great Britain—maids and butlers, mostly—who lived in the Ballston and Clarendon areas of Arlington. They petitioned the Rev. William E. Callendar, the Rector of The Falls Church, for clergy leadership. He began a new mission on June 21, 1910, in the Ballston area of Arlington which became St. George’s. The first building (now a chapel housing Iglesia San José, an Episcopal mission), was erected in 1911 for the sum of $2,784, and the first service was held on Christmas Eve 1911.

The congregation built a parish hall in 1916 and a rectory in 1925 (the rectory was located on what is now the lawn area on the Nelson Street side of our facility). In 1930, Old Pohick Church donated furnishings and windows that graced the church and parish hall. The present parish hall—technically King Hall—was built in 1933, a depression year, with labor donated by local stonemasons. St. George’s was involved in missionary outreach during this period by pilgrimages to historic churches and Blue Ridge Mountain mission schools and stations. Stones from these places of pilgrimage were used in constructing the parish hall entrance (now our bell tower).

The post World War II population expansion of Arlington County resulted in the construction of a new church building (seen looking east on Fairfax Drive), and the present worship space was completed in time for services on Christmas Eve 1952. This picture shows St. George’ in May 1953, shortly after it was completed, but before the 1954 addition of the present organ chamber and office/Sunday School wing. The windows in the church, executed by Henry Willett and Sons, are among the finest in the metropolitan area.

Classrooms, office facilities, and a kitchen were added in 1958.

As the character of Arlington has changed, so has the ministry of St. George’s. Sacramental worship, the Bible, and the Book of Common Prayer mark our tradition, yet the expression is contemporary.

St. George’s church was consecrated on September 9, 1973, by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Robert Fisher Gibson, Jr., then Bishop of Virginia.

This is St. George’s Church in our community today (the now relatively small building in the near center of the picture) looking west on Fairfax Drive. 

A closer look at St. George’s looking west on Fairfax Drive (June 2007)

Page last updated on: 08/18/08