Arlington dates to 1876, and 6 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 39% of U.S. towns · #187 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Arlington was built recently: 0.5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. 6 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 91 buildings between them. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1851.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 39% of U.S. towns, #187 of 642 in Texas. 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.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Arlington ranks #271 on History.
Few Texas towns list much on the Register (a typical Texas town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Arlington’s 2.4 sits above most of its state (77% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 95 historic buildings outnumber those of 89% of U.S. towns.
Newer cities are common at Arlington’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share (±0.1 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1876.
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.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Arlington’s post office has been open since 1877. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Johnson's Station
1851–1905
Arlington
1877–today
Sublett
1892–1901
Webb
1895–1901
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Johnsons StationLindbergSouthland AcresSublettTate SpringsUniversity Park VillageWatsonvilleWebb
Gone or out of use
Action Aero AirportairportArlington Stadiumpark
14cemeteries and burying grounds inside Arlington
ArlingtonCedar Hill Memorial ParkCollowayColonel Middleton Tate Johnson PlantationGibbonsHandleyHawkinsJohnson StationMoore Memorial GardensNoahParkdaleTateTomlinWest Fork
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the National Register
6 listings protect 95 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
European settlement in the Arlington area dates back at least to the 1840s. After the May 24, 1841 battle between Texas General Edward H. Tarrant and Native Americans of the Village Creek settlement, a trading post was established at Marrow Bone Spring in present-day Arlington (historical marker at 32°42.136′N 97°6.772′W). The rich soil of the area attracted farmers, and several agriculture-related businesses were well established by the late nineteenth century.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Arlington. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1959Arlington 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.
Every building
Arlington, building by building, 1900–1917
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.
1900Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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.
Retake this viewCarlisle College, Arlington, Tex, 1907
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Arlington’s page.
In 1876, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Arlington’s post office opened in 1851, and the census of 1880 counted 163 people here.
How does Arlington rank for history?
Arlington is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns, #187 of 642 in Texas. 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?
6 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Hutcheson-Smith House (listed 1984, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Old Town Historic District and the South Center Street Historic District, with 91 contributing buildings. 95 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Arlington?
0.5% of Arlington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1986.
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 (10), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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.
1907
1907
1907
1908
1941
1942
1942
