Official Arlington town web site
Form of Government: Selectman, Town Manager, Representative Town Meeting
2010 Population: 42,884
Recent News
April 17, 2012: Rep. Markey Welcomes Visitors from the 7th District of Mass. to Captiol Hill
Feb 23, 2011: Kerry, Brown, Markey, Tierney, Olver: MA Fire Departments To Receive $1.9 Mil
Fun Facts:
The town of Arlington has had three names. Originally settled in 1635, was originally named “Menotomy.” In 1807, it became “West Cambridge.” In 1867, it took the name “Arlington” in honor of the heroes buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington Virginia.
Uncle Sam was born in Arlington. Samuel Wilson started a meat-packing plant in Troy, New York. His picture was stamped on the boxes of meat that were sent to soldiers in the War of 1812. Uncle Sam eventually became the picture for the famous recruiting posters for the Armed Forces.
The first free public library in Massachusetts is in Arlington and is now the oldest continuously running public library in the United States.
The Jason Russell House in Arlington was the site of the bloodiest fight of April 19, 1775. Twelve colonists were killed in a skirmish during the British retreat from Concord.
An Arlington dentist, Dr. George F. Grant, was both the first black graduate of Harvard College and the inventor of the golf tee. He patented the tee in 1899 to replace kneeling down to build up a little mound of sand.