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C+History
History · Arlington

Arlington dates to 1878, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 44% of U.S. towns · #96 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it

Most of Arlington was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2005. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 31 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1954 on, and the census since 1890.

1878founded
2on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Arlington’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Arlington began

When was Arlington founded?

1878

Arlington dates its founding to 1878 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 343 in 18902020 census: 14,549148 years

How historic is Arlington?

C+

More historic than 44% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1829.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 44% of U.S. towns, #96 of 177 in Tennessee. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Arlington’s overall grade.
Founding era1878, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19403.1% of homes (±2.0) · typical TN town 4.9% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register2 listings, 32 historic buildings, 21.0 per 10,000 residents · typical TN town 6.1 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 44%
NewerOlder
Tennessee towns of 2,500+ (177)Ahead of 46%

Tennessee towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Tennessee town has 6.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Arlington’s 21.0 sits above most of its state (75% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 32 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share (±2.0 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1878.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Arlington.A historic districtThe Arlington Historic District takes in 31 historic buildings.
★ 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.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewLoosahatchie River: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Hallsville
1829–1831
Wythe Depot
1866–1874
Withe Depot
1874–1885
Arlington
1885–today
18201920today
Gone or out of use
Arlington Municipal Airportairport
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Arlington
Grays CreekHayesShawWells

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

On the National Register

2 listings protect 32 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
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
32
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Arlington Historic District
Arlington Historic DistrictWells School
BuildingsDistricts
All 2 listings
Arlington Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1982Wells SchoolBuilding · listed 1995

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 area now known as Arlington, Tennessee, was originally inhabited by the Chickasaw Nation. Following the Treaty of Tuscaloosa, this territory, along with other parts of West Tennessee, was ceded to the United States. On November 24, 1819, Shelby County was established, named in honor of Isaac Shelby, a commissioner involved in the treaty negotiations, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War, and the first governor of Kentucky. By the 1830s, the nascent community comprised fewer than 20 settlers.

ChaptersEarly Settlement and FoundingEstablishment of Withe Depot and Economic GrowthImpact of the Civil War and Subsequent RecoveryIncorporation and Public Health MeasuresRenaming to Arlington and Late 19th-Century ExpansionPreservation of Historical Landmarks

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Arlington, 1829 to 1999

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1829Post officeThe Hallsville post office opens
  3. 1831Post officeThe Hallsville post office closes
  4. 1866Post officeThe Wythe Depot post office opens
  5. 1874Post officeThe Wythe Depot post office closes
  6. 1874Post officeThe Withe Depot post office opens
  7. 1878
    FoundingArlington is established
  8. 1885Post officeThe Withe Depot post office closes
  9. 1892Born hereCody Fowler is born here
  10. 20th century
  11. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1996Born hereJonathan Bowlan is born here
  13. 1999Born hereHunter Goodman is born here
By decade

Arlington, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Loosahatchie RiverDate?Loosahatchie River
Today4 recent
Freds2019FredsWalker Street looking east 20142014Walker Street looking east 2014Arlington Depot Replica2014Arlington Depot Replica2010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map for20102010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map forBook
On the map

Arlington on the map, 1954 to 1973

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 1954 USGS mapArlington on the 1965 USGS mapArlington on the 1973 USGS map1954Mason 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.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Loosahatchie River
Retake this viewLoosahatchie River

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Arlington’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Arlington, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,000190019201940196019802000202014,549

Grew from 343 people in 1890 to 14,549 in 2020, more than tenfold.

13 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Arlington

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

See all →
H
Hunter GoodmanAmerican baseball player · b. 1999
C
Cody FowlerAmerican lawyer · b. 1892
Jonathan BowlanAmerican baseball player · b. 1996
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

LakelandIts storyDGallawayIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Arlington’s history

What year was Arlington founded?

In 1878, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Arlington’s post office opened in 1829, and the census of 1890 counted 343 people here.

How does Arlington rank for history?

Arlington is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #96 of 177 in Tennessee. 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?

Two places: the Arlington Historic District (listed 1982) and the Wells School (1995).

How old are the homes in Arlington?

3% of Arlington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 2005.

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), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.