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A+History
History · Arlington

Arlington dates to 1630, and 47% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 98% of U.S. towns · #38 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it

57 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 213 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1850.

1630founded
57on the National Register
47%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
51famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Arlington began

When was Arlington founded?

1630

Arlington dates its founding to 1630 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 2,202 in 18502020 census: 46,308396 years

How historic is Arlington?

A+

More historic than 98% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1805.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Arlington’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Arlington is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #38 of 283 in Massachusetts. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Arlington’s overall grade.
Founding era1630, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194047.1% of homes (±2.4) · typical MA town 21.1% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register57 listings, 288 historic buildings, 62.1 per 10,000 residents · typical MA town 46.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 98%
NewerOlder
Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 87%

Massachusetts towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Massachusetts town has 46.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Arlington’s 62.1 sits near the middle of its state (54% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 288 historic buildings outnumber those of 95% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1630.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Arlington’s past

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

Landmarks on the Register57 places on the National Register.A historic districtThe Arlington Center Historic District takes in 184 historic buildings.Older than the countryEstablished in 1630, 146 years before the Declaration of Independence.On the map since 18936 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1985. Watch Arlington change.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

57 listings protect 288 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
57
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
288
each building in a district counts
first listed
1971
Old Schwamb Mill
Old Schwamb Mill, built 1864Arlington Center Historic DistrictRussell, Jason House, built 1740Fowle-Reed-Wyman House, built 1706Ephraim Cutter House, built 1804Butterfield-Whittemore House, built 1695Capt. Benjamin Locke House, built 1720Calvary Methodist Church, built 1923Greek Orthodox Church, built 1841Pleasant Street Congregational Church, built 1844Alfred E. Robindreau House, built 1920Arlington Coal & Lumber, built 1875Arlington Gaslight Company, built 1914Arlington Pumping Station, built 1907Baptist Society Meeting House, built 1790Call-Bartlett House, built 1855Capitol Theater Building, built 1925Chapel of St. Anne, built 1915Cushman House, built 1890Cutter, Second, A. P., House, built 1855Damon House, built 1850Edward Hall House, built 1890Edward Hornblower House and Barn, built 1830Ella Mahalla Cutter Sterling House, built 1845First Parish Church Parsonage, built 1855Highland Hose House, built 1928House at 5 Willow Court, built 1874House at 5-7 Winter Street, built 1895Kimball Farmer House, built 1826Lt. Benjamin Locke Store, built 1816Prentiss-Payson House, built 1856Robinson House, built 1850Robinson-Lewis-G. F. Fessenden House, built 1850Russell Common, built 1898Stephen Symmes Jr. House, built 1841Thomas Swadkins House, built 1882W.W. Kimball House, built 1850Warren Rawson House, built 1885Whittemore House, built 1850William Proctor House, built 1870Winn Farm, built 1820Addison Hill House, built 1840Allyn House, built 1898Henry Swan House, built 1888Locke School, built 1899Maria Bassett House, built 1860Milestone, built 1790Orvis Road Historic DistrictPierce Farm Historic DistrictRalph W. Shattuck House, built 1875Taylor-Dallin House, built 1898Warren Rawson Building, built 1895Wayside Inn, built 1750William Prentiss House, built 1855US Post Office-Arlington Main, built 1935Jefferson Cutter House, built 1830Gershom Cutter House, built 1835
BuildingsDistrictsObjects

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival18
Italianate10
Federal8
Queen Anne4
Colonial Revival4
Shingle Style4
Old Schwamb MillBuilt 1864
Arlington Center Historic DistrictRomanesque Revival
Russell, Jason HouseBuilt 1740
Fowle-Reed-Wyman HouseBuilt 1706
Ephraim Cutter HouseFederal · Built 1804
Butterfield-Whittemore HouseBuilt 1695
Capt. Benjamin Locke HouseBuilt 1720
Calvary Methodist ChurchColonial Revival · Built 1923
All 57 listings
Greek Orthodox ChurchBuilding · listed 1983Pleasant Street Congregational ChurchBuilding · listed 1983Alfred E. Robindreau HouseBuilding · listed 1985Arlington Coal & LumberBuilding · listed 1985Arlington Gaslight CompanyBuilding · listed 1985Arlington Pumping StationBuilding · listed 1985Baptist Society Meeting HouseBuilding · listed 1985Call-Bartlett HouseBuilding · listed 1985Capitol Theater BuildingBuilding · listed 1985Chapel of St. AnneBuilding · listed 1985Cushman HouseBuilding · listed 1985Cutter, Second, A. P., HouseBuilding · listed 1985Damon HouseBuilding · listed 1985Edward Hall HouseBuilding · listed 1985Edward Hornblower House and BarnBuilding · listed 1985Ella Mahalla Cutter Sterling HouseBuilding · listed 1985First Parish Church ParsonageBuilding · listed 1985Highland Hose HouseBuilding · listed 1985House at 5 Willow CourtBuilding · listed 1985House at 5-7 Winter StreetBuilding · listed 1985Kimball Farmer HouseBuilding · listed 1985Lt. Benjamin Locke StoreBuilding · listed 1985Prentiss-Payson HouseBuilding · listed 1985Robinson HouseBuilding · listed 1985Robinson-Lewis-G. F. Fessenden HouseBuilding · listed 1985Russell CommonBuilding · listed 1985Stephen Symmes Jr. HouseBuilding · listed 1985Thomas Swadkins HouseBuilding · listed 1985W.W. Kimball HouseBuilding · listed 1985Warren Rawson HouseBuilding · listed 1985Whittemore HouseBuilding · listed 1985William Proctor HouseBuilding · listed 1985Winn FarmBuilding · listed 1985Addison Hill HouseBuilding · listed 1985Allyn HouseBuilding · listed 1985Henry Swan HouseBuilding · listed 1985Locke SchoolBuilding · listed 1985Maria Bassett HouseBuilding · listed 1985MilestoneObject · listed 1985Orvis Road Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1985Pierce Farm Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1985Ralph W. Shattuck HouseBuilding · listed 1985Taylor-Dallin HouseBuilding · listed 1985Warren Rawson BuildingBuilding · listed 1985Wayside InnBuilding · listed 1985William Prentiss HouseBuilding · listed 1985US Post Office-Arlington MainBuilding · listed 1986Jefferson Cutter HouseBuilding · listed 1992Gershom Cutter HouseBuilding · listed 1999

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

Timeline

Arlington, 1630 to 1940

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

  1. 17th century
  2. 1630
    FoundingArlington is established
  3. 1639In the archiveIndian Deed to Northwest Arlington Jan 13 1639
  4. 18th century
  5. 1706BuiltFowle-Reed-Wyman House is built
  6. 1740BuiltRussell, Jason House is built
  7. 1775In the archiveHospital in Menotomy ordered by the Committee of Safety, June 19, 1775, from the New York…
  8. 1793In the archiveSamuel Wittemore obituary 1793
  9. 19th century
  10. 1800In the archiveCrescent Hill Avenue under construction (looking northwest), Arlington, Massachusetts, la…
  11. 1804BuiltEphraim Cutter House is built
  12. 1805Post officeThe West Cambridge post office opens
  13. 1864BuiltOld Schwamb Mill is built
  14. 1867Post officeThe West Cambridge post office closes
  15. 1867Post officeThe Arlington post office opens
  16. 1874Post officeThe Arlington Heights post office opens
  17. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  18. 1897Post officeThe Arlington post office closes
  19. 1897Post officeThe Arlington Heights post office closes
  20. 20th century
  21. 1926Born hereRobert Creeley is born here
  22. 1940Born hereWhitney Smith is born here
The story

How Arlington came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Arlington.

Read it all →

European colonists settled the Town of Arlington in 1635 as a village within the boundaries of Cambridge, Massachusetts, under the name Menotomy, an Algonquian word considered by some to mean "swift running water", though linguistic anthropologists dispute that translation. A larger area was incorporated on February 27, 1807, as West Cambridge, replacing Menotomy. This includes the town of Belmont, and outwards to the shore of the Mystic River, which had previously been part of Charlestown. The town was renamed Arlington on April 30, 1867, in honor of those buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Arlington, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1630s to the 1800s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1630s1 item
Indian Deed to Northwest Arlington Jan 13 16391639Indian Deed to Northwest Arlington Jan 13 1639Book
1770s–1800s4 items
Hospital in Menotomy ordered by the Committee of Safety, June 19, 1775, from the New York Public Library - be97b4b1-6a2…1775Hospital in Menotomy ordered by the Committee of Safe…DocumentSamuel Wittemore obituary 17931793Samuel Wittemore obituary 1793DocumentA charge, delivered to the African Lodge, June 24, 1797, at Menotomy, by Prince Hall, from LOC - service-rbc-rbc0001-20…1797A charge, delivered to the African Lodge, June 24, 17…BookCrescent Hill Avenue under construction (looking northwest), Arlington, Massachusetts, late 1800s, from the Digital Com…1800sCrescent Hill Avenue under construction (looking nort…Document
On the map

Arlington on the map, 1893 to 1985

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 1893 USGS mapArlington on the 1903 USGS mapArlington on the 1944 USGS mapArlington on the 1956 USGS mapArlington on the 1971 USGS mapArlington on the 1985 USGS map1893Boston sheet · 1:62,500

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

Every building

Arlington, building by building, 1885–1923

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Arlington fire insurance map, 1885, sheet 31885Sheet 3 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

People over time

Arlington, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00050,00055,0001850190019502000Peak: 53,524

Between 2,202 and 53,524 people in every census since 1850.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

Famous people

51 famous people were born in Arlington

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

See all →
M
Miles RobinsonAmerican soccer player · b. 1997
Whitney SmithFounder of vexillology · b. 1940
Robert CreeleyAmerican poet · b. 1926
Pat ConnaughtonAmerican baseball and basketball player · b. 1993
June CapriceAmerican actress · b. 1895
Edith WidderAmerican oceanographer · b. 1951
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Arlington had its own post office from 1867 to 1897. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

West Cambridge
1805–1867
Arlington
1867–1897
Arlington Heights
1874–1897
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Arlington HeightsBrattleEast Arlington
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Arlington
Mount PleasantOldPrince Hall MysticSaint Pauls

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

Help out

Finish Arlington’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

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
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Belmont6 historic placesAMedford31 historic placesA+Cambridge204 historic placesA+Somerville88 historic placesALexington18 historic placesAWinchester67 historic placesA+

Questions about Arlington’s history

What year was Arlington founded?

In 1630, according to Wikidata. Arlington’s post office opened in 1805, and the census of 1850 counted 2,202 people here.

How does Arlington rank for history?

Arlington is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #38 of 283 in Massachusetts. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Arlington?

57 listings: 53 buildings, among them the Old Schwamb Mill (listed 1971, the first), 3 historic districts, the Arlington Center Historic District, the Orvis Road Historic District and the Pierce Farm Historic District, with 213 contributing buildings, and 1 object. 288 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Arlington?

47% of Arlington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1945.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikidata (7), the National Register of Historic Places (57), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.