Rina Castaneda
IB Social Anthropology
Period 6
May 31, 2011

HISTORY OF ARLINGTON, VA

The history of Arlington dates back 13,500 years ago during the time Native Americans were here. The Iroquois tribe gave up their lands south of the Potomac and east of the blue ridge in 1722. The Arlington area consisted of 10,463 acres of granted land. Around this time, Gerard Alexander, built the first mansion in the county, named Abingdon. The four corners of the community were Alexandria, Falls Church, Falls Warehouse, and Awbery’s Ferry. Arlington County (then called Alexandria County) was located in the ten mile square of the District of Columbia, which was not organized until 1801. In 1846, the County voted to recede from DC and Alexandria County once again became a separate county in the Virginia.

In 1920 to avoid confusion between Alexandria County and the City of Alexandria and to honor Robert E. Lee, the name of the County was changed to Arlington. During World War I and World War II, the region was flooded with military personnel and civilian workers supporting the war effort. Arlington’s population increased to about 27,000. The county was reshaping its basic infrastructure and transportation lines. It was becoming a single, distinct community. In 1932 the old magisterial districts were abolished, and the County government was integrated through the at-large election of a new County Board and the establishment in Arlington in 1932 of the first County Manager form of government in the United States. Because of the great depression and the outbreak of World War II, the region was flooded with military personnel and civilian workers supporting the war effort. This caused a demand for housing so Arlington’s farmland was soon filled with thousands of new homes as well as large garden apartment complexes, such as Colonial Village, Buckingham, Fairlington, and Arlington Village. Then in 1943, the pentagon opened. They employed more than 36,000 military and civilian workers.

The post war period brought rapid urbanization of Arlington County. The population was increasing throughout each year, today being 207,627 residents. In 1959 the County developed two additional programs providing for fiscal and capital improvement projections. All of this led to the development in the 1960s of a master plan for the County. Around this time more industrial areas were developed like in Rosslyn and Crystal City, bars, pawnshops, automobile dealerships, construction yards, ironworks, tank farms, and brickyards were replaced with high-rise apartments, office buildings, and hotels. Then there was high-density development with the metro rail system. Much of Arlington’s urbanization has been a success story, not only the County’s physical landscape but also the composition of its population.

Sources:

• "Arlington (Va.) Historical Society | Learn More about Arlington History." Arlington (Va.)Historical Society. Web. 01 June 2011. .

• "Arlington History - HelloArlington.com." Arlington, Virginia - Arlington City Guide. Web. 01 June 2011. .

• http://www.google.com/#q=history+of+arlington+va&hl=en&prmd=ivns&tbs=tl:1&tbo=u&ei=7ZrmTZb9Js_OgAfV3IidCw&sa=X&oi=timeline_result&ct=title&resnum=11&sqi=2&ved=0CGUQ5wIwCg&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=b293108ef6c36611&biw=1259&bih=576