History
of Arlington, VA
Arlington
County was within the very large area defined in several early British
land grants in the colonial period in the Colony of Virginia (1607-1776)
which was known as the Northern Neck of Virginia (not to be confused with
a smaller eastern portion of it still known by that name in modern times).
Land grants,
generally to prominent Englishmen, were various combinations of political
favors and efforts at development. Perhaps the best known of the grantees
was Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (Lord Fairfax), whose
name is seen in many places in what is now known as Northern Virginia,
notably Fairfax County and the independent city of Fairfax. Also notable
among the land grants was one in 1673 from King Charles II to Thomas Colepeper,
2nd Baron Colepeper (Lord Culpeper) and Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington
(Earl of Arlington) whose names eventually were applied to several community
features, and were the original source of the naming of Culpeper County
and Arlington County.
The current
Arlington County as it is now known in Virginia was the result of a renaming
in 1920. However, the name of the 17th century Earl of Arlington had been
applied much earlier to a plantation on the Potomac River which became
the Arlington National Cemetery as a result of the American Civil War.
Once part
of Fairfax County in the Colony of Virginia, the area that contains Arlington
County was ceded to the new U.S. government by the Commonwealth of Virginia.
In 1791, the U.S. Congress formally established the limits of the federal
territory that would be the nation's capital as a square of 10 miles (16
km) on a side, the maximum area permitted by Article I, Section 8, of
the United States Constitution. However, the legislation that established
these limits contained a clause that prohibited the federal government
from locating any offices within the portion of the territory that Virginia
had ceded.
During 1791
and 1792, Andrew Ellicott led a team of surveyors that determined the
boundaries of the federal territory. The team, which included George Washington
(the stones indicate his name) placed along the boundaries forty markers
that were approximately one mile from each other. Fourteen of these markers
were in Virginia.
When Congress
moved to the new District of Columbia in 1801, it enacted legislation
that divided the District into two counties:
(1) the county
of Washington, which lay on the east side of the Potomac River, and
(2) the county
of Alexandria, which lay on the west side of the River. Alexandria County
contained the present area of Arlington County, then mostly rural, and
the settled town of Alexandria (now "Old Town" Alexandria),
a port located on the Potomac River in the southeastern part of the area
of the present
Residents
of Alexandria County had expected the federal capital's location would
result in land sales and the growth of commerce. Instead the county found
itself struggling to compete with the town of Georgetown, a port located
in Washington County adjacent to the capital city (Washington City).
As the federal
government could not establish any offices in the County, and as the economically
important Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (C&O Canal) on the north side
of the Potomac River favored Georgetown, Alexandria's economy stagnated.
It didn't help that some Georgetown residents opposed federal efforts
to maintain the Alexandria Canal, which connected the C&O Canal in
Georgetown to Alexandria's port. Moreover, as residents of the District
of Columbia, Alexandria's citizens had no representation in Congress and
could not vote in federal elections.
The town
of Alexandria had been a port and market for the slave trade. With growing
talk of abolishing slavery in the nation's capital, some Alexandrians
feared the local economy would suffer if the federal government took this
step. At the same time, there arose in Virginia an active abolitionist
movement that created a division on the question of slavery in Virginia's
General Assembly (subsequently, during the Civil War, Virginia's division
on the slavery issue led to the formation of the state of West Virginia
by the most anti-slavery counties). Pro-slavery Virginians recognized
that Alexandria County could provide two new representatives who favored
slavery in the General Assembly if the County returned to the Commonwealth.
Largely as
a result of these factors, a movement grew to separate Alexandria County
from the District of Columbia. After a referendum, the county's residents
petitioned the U.S. Congress and the Virginia legislature to permit the
County to return to Virginia. The area was retroceded to Virginia on July
9, 1846.
In 1852,
the independent city of Alexandria was incorporated from a portion of
Alexandria County. This led to occasional confusion, as the adjacent county
and municipal entities continued to share the name of "Alexandria".
Alexandria County renamed itself in 1920 as Arlington County. The new
name was borrowed from Arlington National Cemetery.
The
lost town of Potomac
The incorporated
town of Potomac (1908-1930) was located in Arlington County. However,
it was annexed by the adjacent City of Alexandria in 1930, and thus, joined
the lost towns of Virginia. Although "lost" as a political subdivision,
the former town of Potomac is now a historic district of the City of Alexandria,
and includes 1,840 acres and 690 buildings. The Town of Potomac was added
to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
It is worthy
to note that areas in the present City of Alexandria in addition to the
former Town of Potomac were added by annexations from both Arlington and
Fairfax counties over the years. However, all of the present Arlington
County was once part of the District of Columbia, thus providing the county's
claim, not only to being the state's smallest county in land area, but
also the only one in Virginia to have both left and rejoined the Commonwealth.
Arlington
now has no incorporated towns within its borders. A Virginia law adopted
after the formation of the Town of Potomac prevents the creation of any
new municipality within a county that has a population density greater
than 1,000 persons per square mile.
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Demographics
of Arlington, VA
The Arlington
County Planning Research and Analysis Team (PRAT) estimates the January
1, 2008 population at 206,800
As of the
2000 census, there were:
- 189,453
people
- 86,352
households,
- and 39,290
families residing in Arlington.
The population
density was 7,323 people per square mile (2,828/km²), the highest
of any county in Virginia. There were 90,426 housing units at an average
density of 3,495/sq mi (1,350/km²).
The racial
makeup of the county was 68.94% White, 9.35% Black or African American,
0.35% Native American, 8.62% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 8.33% from
other races, and 4.34% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any
race were 18.62% of the population. 28%
of Arlington residents were foreign-born.
In 2005 Arlington's
population was 64.7% non-Hispanic whites. 8.8% of the population was African-American.
Native Americans constituted 0.4% of the population. Asians now outnumbered
African-Americans, constituting 8.9% of the population. Latinos were 16.1%
of the population.
There were
86,352 households out of which 19.30% had children under the age of 18
living with them, 35.30% were married couples living together, 7.00% had
a female householder with no husband present, and 54.50% were non-families.
40.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.30% had someone
living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size
was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the county,
the population was spread out with 16.50% under the age of 18, 10.40%
from 18 to 24, 42.40% from 25 to 44, 21.30% from 45 to 64, and 9.40% who
were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every
100 females there were 101.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and
over, there were 100.70 males.
According
to a 2006 estimate, the median income for a household in the county was
$87,350, and the median income for a family was $116,114. Males had a
median income of $51,011 versus $41,552 for females. The per capita income
for the county was $37,706. About 5.00% of families and 7.80% of the population
were below the poverty line, including 9.10% of those under age 18 and
7.00% of those age 65 or over. In 2004 the average single-family home
sales price passed $600,000, approximately triple the price less than
a decade before, and the median topped $550,000.
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Neighborhoods
in Arlington, VA
There are
numerous unincorporated neighborhoods within Arlington County that are
commonly referred to by name as if they were distinct towns. The county
characterizes some of these neighborhoods - particularly those located
at Metrorail stations and other major transportation corridors - as "urban
villages." These are usually centers with commercial activity. These
include:
- Ballston
- Clarendon
- Courthouse
- Crystal
City
- Lyon
Village
- Pentagon
City
- Rosslyn
- Shirlington
- Virginia
Square
- Westover
- Williamsburg
Circle
- Palisades
There are
also numerous neighborhoods which are largely residential including:
- Alcova
Heights
- Arlington
Forest
- Arlington
Heights
- Arlington
Ridge
- Arlington
View
- Ashton
Heights
- Aurora
Hills
- Ballston
Crossing
- Barcroft
- Bellevue
Forest
- Bluemont
- Boulevard
Manor
- Buckingham
- Cherrydale
- Claremont
- Columbia
Forest
- Columbia
Heights
- Country
Club Hills
- Crescent
Hills
- Dominion
Hills
- Donaldson
Run
- Douglas
Park
- East
Falls Church
- Fairlington
- Forest
Hills
- Glencarlyn
- Halls
Hill
- High
View Park/Halls Hill
- Lacey
Forest
- Lee Heights
- Lyon
Park
- Lyon
Village
- Madison
Manor
- Maywood
- New Dover
- Nauck
(Green Valley A.K.A The Valley)
- Penrose
- Rivercrest
- Waycroft-Woodlawn
- Waverly
Hills
- Williamsburg
- Yorktown
Arlington
County includes a large selection of Sears Catalog Homes, which were offered
between 1908 and 1940, Considered to be of exceptional quality, in modern
times, these houses are sought after by many home buyers. As well, Arlington
features some of the first and among the best examples of post-World War
II garden style apartment complexes in the U.S., some of which were designed
by architect Mihran Mesrobian. Arlington Boulevard (Route 50) is the dividing
line in the county.
Neighborhood
Historic Preservation Districts
A
number of the county's residential neighborhoods and larger garden-style
apartment complexes are listed in the National Register of Historic Places
and/or designated under the County government's zoning ordinance as local
Historic Preservation Districts. These include Arlington Village, Arlington
Forest, Ashton Heights, Buckingham, Cherrydale, Claremont, Colonial Village,
Fairlington, Lyon Park, Lyon Village, Maywood, Penrose, Waverly Hills
and Westover.
Neighborhood
Conservation Plans
Many
of Arlington County's neighborhoods participate in the Arlington County
government's Neighborhood Conservation Program (NCP). Each of these neighborhoods
has a Neighborhood Conservation Plan that describes the neighborhood's
characteristics, history and recommendations for capital improvement projects
that the County government funds through the NCP.
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Education
in Arlington, VA
Primary
and secondary schools
Arlington
County is served by the Arlington Public Schools system. The public high
schools in Arlington County are Yorktown High School, Washington-Lee High
School, Wakefield High School, and the H-B Woodlawn program. Arlington
County is also home to Bishop O'Connell, a Roman Catholic high school.
Arlington
County spends about half of its revenue on education, making it one of
the top ten per-pupil spenders in the nation (as of 2004, over $13,000,
the second highest amount spent on education in the United States, behind
New York City).
Through an
agreement with Fairfax County Public Schools approved by the school board
in 1999, up to 26 students residing in Arlington per grade level may be
enrolled at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
in Fairfax at a cost to Arlington of approximately $8000 per student.
For the first time in 2006, more students (36) were offered admission
in the selective high school than allowed by the previously established
enrollment cap.
Colleges
and universities
Marymount
University is the only university with its main campus located in Arlington.
Founded in 1950 by the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary as Marymount
College of Virginia located on North Glebe Road. The school has expanded
into offering complete 4 year undergraduate degrees, graduate degrees
and recently doctorial degrees in Fall 2004. The school expanded in the
early 1990s and opened an additional campus in Ballston. They also have
a Reston Center located in Reston, Virginia.
George Mason
University operates an Arlington campus in the Virginia Square area between
Clarendon and Ballston. The campus houses the School of Law, School of
Public Policy and other programs. The University is commencing construction
on a new building in October 2007, which is expected to open in 2010.
This new building will provide additional space for the School of Law
and other graduate programs.
DeVry University
operates a campus for undergraduate classes along with the Keller School
of Management for its graduate classes, in Crystal City. The University
established the campus in 2001.
Institute
for the Psychological Sciences is a regionally accredited institution
offering postgraduate programs in Psychology with a Roman Catholic perspective.
Its campus is in the Crystal City neighborhood.
University
of Management and Technology is a distance learning university that is
headquartered in Rosslyn.
The Art Institute
of Washington, a local branch of The Art Institutes is located in the
Ames Center across from the Rosslyn Metro Station.
Strayer University
has a campus in Arlington as well as its corporate headquarters.
In addition,
Argosy University, Banner College, Everest College, George Washington
University, Georgetown University, Northern Virginia Community College,
Troy University, the University of New Haven, the University of Oklahoma,
and Westwood College all have campuses in Arlington.
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