One of Northern Virginia’s most historic places of worship has submitted plans to Fairfax County officials for the construction of housing on part of its grounds.
The proposal by Pohick Episcopal Church and Christopher Land LLC seeks to rezone about 17.5 acres on western portions of the 43-acre church parcel at 9301 Richmond Highway in Lorton to construct a new subdivision called Cunningham Woods Reserve.
As submitted to the county’s planning department on July 16, the enclave would include 49 single-family detached homes located across from the existing Summit Oaks community.
The proposal also requests approval for improvements to the existing church property, located immediately south of Richmond Highway (Route 1) near its intersections with Pohick Road and Telegraph Road.
The church’s cemetery would be left undisturbed as part of the proposal.
In June 2025, the congregation approved the sale of land west of the church and rectory, with the funds being used to “establish an endowment for the continued financial and physical health of the church property,” church officials said in a filing with county officials.
“For many years, Christian congregations have been experiencing a decline in attendance and receiving of new members,” church officials added in their application for a conceptual design plan and final development plan. “Pohick Church is no exception and believes that it must do its part to preserve its great history for future generations.”
Some of the funding will be used to install a sewer system to relieve overburdened septic tanks. There also will be improvements to classrooms and maintenance facilities, replacing the roof on the church building and construction of a second rectory building for the church’s assistant rector.
“Most of these ideas have been long contemplated, but the lack of funds has prevented construction,” church officials said in their county filing.
Pohick Episcopal Church sometimes is referred to as the “Mother Church of Northern Virginia” due to its status as the initial Church of England outpost established north of the Occoquan River in the early 1700s.
In 1732, the colonial government established Truro Parish for Church of England parishioners, setting its boundaries between the Potomac and Occoquan rivers and extending west to frontier lands. Pohick became the parish church of the new district; one of its early vestrymen was Augustine Washington, father of George Washington.
The current church building was constructed in 1774 after a wooden church down Old Colchester Road burned. According to church officials, the current location was surveyed by George Washington.
The church existed for more than two centuries before current county zoning regulations were established. The county zoned the land for residential development (R-1), but the church has continued operating under a special-use permit.
The rezoning request seeks a new classification of PDH-3 for the housing portion of the site, which would allow for more intense development than the one dwelling unit per acre permitted under R-1 zoning.
However, the proposed neighborhood would be “far below” the density recommended in the county’s comprehensive plan of four to five
dwelling units per acre, according to a separate statement for the application from Christopher Companies President E. John Regan Jr.
“The Applicant’s proposal may be characterized as infill development that is compatible in use, type, and intensity with the surrounding area,” Regan wrote. “The Applicant’s proposal will allow for further completion of an existing and established residential development pattern.”
Because fewer than 50 homes are being proposed, the development won’t be required to include any affordable or workforce units, the application says. The houses would have a maximum height of 39.5 feet, below the height of the existing Pohick Church.
The church cemetery was established in 1886 and expanded in 1920, although burials are known to have taken place near the churchyard in the 1700s and 1800s.
Burials continue today, but only a “very limited number” of plots remain available to the general public, according to church officials.
