General Arlington History

Arlington County was originally part of Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. In 1791 President George Washington determined that the survey to establish the boundaries of the ten-mile-square Federal District should begin at Jones Point, south of Alexandria, and should proceed northwestward so as to exclude the Falls Church. The District of Columbia was not organized until 1801, however. All of the present Arlington County was located in the original Ten Mile Square of the District of Columbia.

The population of the new county in 1800 was not quite 6,000, of whom some 5,000 lived in the town of Alexandria and only 978 in the rural area. There were 297 slaves in the country part and 875 in the town of Alexandria.

Arlington’s population growth increased steadily, from 1940 to 1970. It went from 57,040 in 1940; 135,449 in 1950; 163,401 in 1960 to 174,299 in 1970. From 1970 to 1990 the population declined, with 152,599 in 1980; 170,936 in 1990; but it rose again by the century’s end, to 189,453 in 2000.

Since the 1970s, Arlington has become an ethnically diverse urban center. Its schools remain some of the most diverse in the country and provide an excellent learning experience for students that become exposed to different cultures from around the world.

http://www.arlingtonhistoricalsociety.org/learn/snapshots/urban_arlington_county.html
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