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History · Arlington

Arlington dates to 1880, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

4 places in town are on the National Register.

1880founded
4on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Arlington began

When was Arlington founded?

1880

Arlington dates its founding to 1880 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1880.

2020 census: 915146 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1880.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.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Arlington.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ 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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Arlington’s post office has been open since 1885. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Nordland
1880–1884
Denver
1884–1885
Arlington
1885–today
18801950today

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

On the National Register

4 historic places in Arlington

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
2001
Adam and Minnie Royhl House
Adam and Minnie Royhl House, built 1902Stark and Blanch Garage, built 1921Arlington Masonic Temple, built 1908Central Dakota Flouring Mill Grain Elevator
BuildingsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian1
Queen Anne1
Grain Elevator1
Adam and Minnie Royhl HouseLate Victorian · Built 1902
Stark and Blanch GarageBuilt 1921
Arlington Masonic TempleBuilt 1908
All 4 listings
Central Dakota Flouring Mill Grain ElevatorStructure · listed 2002

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

The story

How Arlington came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Arlington.

Read it all →

The city was platted by the Western Town Lot Company in 1880, and originally named Nordland, with the platted streets given Norwegian names. The city was renamed a few years later, and in 1885 given the name of Arlington, after the colonial center in Virginia. (It was briefly named Denver in the interlude, but postal authorities did not approve of the name.) The streets were not renamed until several decades passed, with Olaf Street eventually changed to Main Street, Kanut Street to Third Street, etc.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Arlington, 1880 to 1921

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880
    FoundingArlington is established
  3. 1880Post officeThe Nordland post office opens
  4. 1884Post officeThe Nordland post office closes
  5. 1884Post officeThe Denver post office opens
  6. 1885Post officeThe Denver post office closes
  7. 1885Post officeThe Arlington post office opens
  8. 20th century
  9. 1902BuiltAdam and Minnie Royhl House is built
  10. 1902Born hereTheodore Schultz is born here
  11. 1908BuiltArlington Masonic Temple is built
  12. 1921BuiltStark and Blanch Garage is built
By decade

Arlington, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Stark And Blanch Garage NRHP 07001212 Kingsbury County, SD2020Stark And Blanch Garage NRHP 07001212 Kingsbury Count…Royhl House NRHP 01000638 Kingsbury County, SD2020Royhl House NRHP 01000638 Kingsbury County, SDSDMap-doton-Arlington2004SDMap-doton-Arlington
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Denver Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBangor TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Arlington’s history

What year was Arlington founded?

In 1880, according to Wikidata. Arlington’s post office opened in 1880.

What is on the National Register in Arlington?

4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Adam and Minnie Royhl House (listed 2001, the first), and 1 structure.

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), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.