(left) Frying Pan Meeting House

Built in 1791, this was the only Baptist Church existing in Fairfax County in the 1840's, according to historians.   It was called Frying Pan Meeting House because of a colonial period law in Virginia that only permitted Episcopal houses of worship to be called "Churches".   During the Civil War the church was used as a Federal troop outpost.

The community "Frying Pan", then a remote part of Prince William County, was first settled in the 1720's with the encouragement of Robert "King" Carter, who wanted workers for a copper mine he planned to establish on a stream in the area.   By the time the church was built, the mining scheme had failed, and all that remained of the venture was the name "Coppermine" given to a nearby road.   When Fairfax county was formed in 1742, it included this area.

Legend has it that the name "Frying Pan" came about when a later settler found a frying pan on the bank of the stream, an item apparently left by a miner many years before.   The more modern name of "Floris" for the area was chosen when a post office was opened at the turn of the century in the general store, now Bowman's.   Supposedly the name was suggested by a summer boarder from "the city" who thought the community should have a more "genteel" name than Frying Pan.

Some additional information about the church's cemetery can be found at http://interment.net/data/us/va/fairfax/frying_pan.htm.

Frying Pan Meeting House is designated a Virginia Landmark and National Register of Historic Places site.   In 1964. the last surviving trustee of the Meeting House deeded the property to the Fairfax County Park Authority "...to preserve the building and grounds for posterity."

Source: 97.