VA-T43 Frying Pan Meeting House

Marker text: FRYING PAN MEETING HOUSE

The Frying Pan Meeting House, constructed in 1791 on land donated by the Carter family in 1783, was used for Baptist services until 1968. Named for nearby Frying Pan Branch, the church is a rare example of 18th-century architecture in Western Fairfax County. By 1840 the congregation consisted of 33 whites and 29 blacks: both black and white members are buried in the church cemetery. During the Civil War, Union and Confederate forces each use the meetinghouse several times as a picket post. The last surviving church trustee conveyed the property to Fairfax County Park Authority in 1984.