Arlington’s post office opened in 1890, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 41% of U.S. towns · #87 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Most of Arlington was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 5 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1905 on, and the census since 1910.
The Arlington post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1903. Three smaller post offices, Haller City (1890), Haller (1895) and Edgecomb (1899), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,476 in 19102020 census: 19,868136 years
How historic is Arlington?
C+
More historic than 41% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Arlington post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1903.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 41% of U.S. towns, #87 of 285 in Washington. 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.
Few Washington towns list much on the Register (a typical Washington town has 0.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Arlington’s 2.4 sits above most of its state (66% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% 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 (±1.8 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1903.
Founding year: the first post office (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 1890. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Arlington
1890–today
Haller City
1890–1894
Haller
1895–1896
Edgecomb
1899–1953
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Airway Mobile Home ParkEdgecombHidden Glen Mobile Home ParkMobile EstatesPortage Green Mobile Home CourtRiverside Mobile Home ParkSmokey PointSmokey Point Mobile Home ParkTotem Park
Gone or out of use
Naval Auxiliary Air Station Arlingtonmilitary
1cemetery inside Arlington
Arlington
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The indigenous Coast Salish peoples have inhabited the Puget Sound region since the retreat of the Vashon Glacier approximately 12,000 years ago. Several archeological sites along the Stillaguamish River contain artifacts that are dated to the Olcott Phase, approximately 9,000 years before present. The traditional territory of the Stillaguamish people includes modern-day Arlington and much of the Stillaguamish River basin; they had at least ten known villages along the river and its tributaries, including two in the Arlington area. Among them was sq̓ʷuʔalqʷuʔ (meaning "confluence"; variously anglicized as Skabalko or Skabalco), a settlement with winter longhouses and 200–300 people at the confluence of the two forks of the Stillaguamish River. Other Coast Salish peoples who were intermarried with the Stillaguamish would travel to this village in the summer to follow fish runs. The neigh…
Passages that mention Arlington, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The story of Arlington. A history and description of the estate and National Cemetery, containing a complete list of officers of the Army and Navy interred there, with biographical sketches of heroes of the Civil and Spanish Wars, and notable memorial add1899 · page 16Read the page →
Read the text
16 The Story of Arlington case in the National Museum — folded up in earnest.* Mr. Custis began his career at Arlington by inaugurating a laudable movement for the promotion of agriculture and domestic manufactures. He purchased a flock of imported Merino sheep, and in 1803 instituted an annual convention at Arlington of all tliose interested in sheep-husbandry and kindred subjects.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of the Arlington Confederate monument, by Hilary A. Herbert1914 · page 8Read the page →
Read the text
A noble rivalry sprang up among Southerners and Southern organizations in the District of Columbia as to who should be first in the good work of erecting a monument to the Confederate dead at Arlington. Every State and large city in the South already had its memorials to the Confederate Soldier ; it was the duty of Southerners in Washington City to look after their dead, now gathered into that Confederate Section at Arlington.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The story of Arlington. A history and description of the estate and National Cemetery, containing a complete list of officers of the Army and Navy interred there, with biographical sketches of heroes of the Civil and Spanish Wars, and notable memorial add1899Read the page →
Read the text
In a pamphlet entitled Historic Arlington, by Karl Decker and Angus McSween (Washington, 1892', there appears an interesting account of the circumstances attending the interments of May 13, 1864. It seems that on the afternoon of that day General Meigs accompanied President Lincoln in a drive to Arlington. After inspecting the camp they were about to depart when Meigs observed a squad of soldiers carrying upon stretchers several dead comrades to the lower part of the grounds, tliere to await conveyance to the already overcrowded Soldiers' Home Cemetery.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Arlington, 1890 to 1965
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
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, 1905–1909
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.
The Arlington post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1903.
How does Arlington rank for history?
Arlington is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #87 of 285 in Washington. 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?
1 listings: 2 historic districts, the Naval Auxiliary Air Station-Arlington and the Naval Auxiliary Air Station, Arlington, with 5 contributing buildings. 5 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Arlington?
4% of Arlington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.8 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1996.
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 (6), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1904
c. 1907
2005
