Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Arlington

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Arlington

Arlington dates to 1873, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Neville-Patterson-Lamkin House. Below: maps from 1951 on and the census since 1880.

1873founded
1on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Arlington began

When was Arlington founded?

1873

Arlington dates its founding to 1873 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 337 in 18802020 census: 264153 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1871.The full story ↓

What stands out about Arlington’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Arlington are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 690 in 1940; 264 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Arlington’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Arlington’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Arlington, census by census

010020030040050060070018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 690

Peaked at 690 in 1940; 264 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Arlington’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Arlington came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Arlington.

Read it all →

Arlington was founded in 1873 as a stop along a predecessor line of the Illinois Central Railroad. The new city was initially known as "Neville" after Robert Buckner Neville, who owned the land on which it was established. Several developers wanted to rename the city "Holtsville" after local store owner Tom Holt. To prevent a dispute, the railroad settled on the name "Arlington" after Arlington Heights, Virginia, the hometown of a railroad official. The new city was incorporated in 1876.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Arlington, 1871 to 1951

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Mixville post office opens
  3. 1873
    FoundingArlington is established
  4. 1874Post officeThe Mixville post office closes
  5. 1874Post officeThe Arlington post office opens
  6. 1891Born hereStonewall Jackson is born here
  7. 1892Born hereGeorge Harper is born here
  8. 20th century
  9. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 690
  10. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Arlington, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Arlington-RR-tracks-ky2018Arlington-RR-tracks-kyArlington-City-Hall-ky2018Arlington-City-Hall-kyUS-KY - Arlington - North America - Road Trip - Arrow - The South - Rain2009US-KY - Arlington - North America - Road Trip - Arrow…
On the map

Arlington on the map, 1951 to 1982

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Arlington. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Arlington on the 1951 USGS mapArlington on the 1970 USGS mapArlington on the 1982 USGS map1951Arlington sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Arlington.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Arlington

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Neville-Patterson-Lamkin House
Neville-Patterson-Lamkin House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Victorian1
All 1 listings
Neville-Patterson-Lamkin HouseBuilding · listed 1976

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Arlington

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
George HarperAmerican baseball player · b. 1892
S
Stonewall JacksonU.S. Army general · b. 1891
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Arlington’s post office has been open since 1874. Another post office, Mixville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Mixville
1871–1874
Arlington
1874–today
18701950today
1cemetery inside Arlington
Arlington

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Arlington’s history

What year was Arlington founded?

In 1873, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Arlington’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1880 counted 337 people here.

What is on the National Register in Arlington?

One place: the Neville-Patterson-Lamkin House (listed 1976).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.