Arlington, Massachusetts

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Arlington, Massachusetts
Ice Harvesting on Spy Pond, from an 1854 Print.
Ice Harvesting on Spy Pond, from an 1854 Print.
Settled: 1635 – Incorporated: 1807
Zip Code(s): 02474, 02476 – Area Code(s): 339 / 781
Official website: http://www.arlingtonma.gov/
Location
Location of Arlington, Massachusetts
Location in Massachusetts
Government
County Middlesex County
Form of Government Representative town meeting
Town Manager Brian Sullivan
Board of Selectmen Kevin F. Greeley
Annie LaCourt
Diane Mahon
Clarissa Rowe
John W. Hurd
Geography
Area
Total 5.5 mi² / 14.3 km²
Land 5.2 mi² / 13.4 km²
Water 0.3 mi² / 0.9 km²
Coordinates 42°24′55″ N
71°09′25″ W
Elevation 46 ft / 14 m
Time zone Eastern (UTC-5)
Summer (DST) Eastern (UTC-4)
Population
Total (2000) 42,389
Density 8,179.6/mi² / 3,158.2/km²

Arlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, six miles (10 km) northwest of Boston. The population was 42,389 at the 2000 census.

Contents

[edit] Geography

Arlington is surrounded by Cambridge, Somerville, Medford, Winchester, Lexington and Belmont .


Arlington covers 3,517.5 acres (14 km²), or 5.5 square miles, of which 286.2 acres (1.2 km²) are covered by water. There are 210.52 acres (0.9 km²) of parkland.

Arlington ranges from 4 feet (1.2 m) above sea level (along Alewife Brook) to 377 feet (114.9 m) near Park Avenue and Eastern Avenue.

Arlington borders on the Mystic Lakes and Alewife Brook, and contains Spy Pond, the Arlington Reservoir, Mill Brook, and Hills Pond.

[edit] Name

The Town of Arlington was originally settled by European colonists in 1635 as a village within the boundary of Cambridge, Massachusetts under the name Menotomy, an Algonquian word, the meaning of which has been lost. Prior to changing the name to Arlington in 1867, the area, including part of what is now Belmont, was incorporated in 1807 as West Cambridge. In 1867 the name "Arlington" was chosen in honor of those buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

The Massachusett tribe, part of the Algonquian group of Native Americans, lived around the Mystic Lakes and Alewife Brook. By the time Europeans arrived, the local Indians had been devastated by disease; also, the tribal chief, Nanepashemet, had been killed by a rival tribe in about 1618. Nanepashemet's widow, known to history only as "Squaw Sachem", sold the land of her tribe to the colonists for ten pounds, with provisions that she could remain on her homestead land around the Mystic Lakes and continue hunting and farming. She also was to be given a new winter coat of wool each year for the rest of her life. She is thought to have lived until about 1650.

Through the town also flows the stream called Mill Brook, which historically figured largely into Arlington's economy. In 1637 Captain George Cooke built the first mill in this area. Subsequently, seven mills were built along the stream, including the Old Schwamb Mill, which survives to this day. The Schwamb Mill has been a working mill since 1650, making it the longest working mill in the country.

[edit] History

Old Schwamb Mill, 1873. Arlington, MA, USA
Old Schwamb Mill, 1873
The Jason Russell House.
Enlarge
The Jason Russell House.

Paul Revere's famous midnight ride to alert colonists took him through what is now known as Arlington. Later on that first day of the American Revolution, more blood was shed in Arlington than in the battles of Lexington and Concord combined. Minutemen from surrounding towns converged on Menotomy to ambush the British on their retreat from Concord and Lexington. All in all, 25 colonials were killed in Arlington (half of all Americans killed in the day's battle), as well as 40 British troops (more than half their fatalities).

The Jason Russell House is today a museum which remembers those twelve Americans, including Russell himself, who were killed in and around this pictured dwelling on April 19th, 1775. Bullet holes are visible in the interior walls to this day.

[edit] Demographics

Arlington currently has approximately 42,000 residents. Based on the U.S. censuses, Arlington's population has been declining by an average of 7% per decade since 1970. (1970: 52,720; 2000: 42,389).

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 42,389 people, 19,011 households, and 10,779 families residing in the town. The population density was 3,159.6/km² (8,179.6/mi²). There were 19,411 housing units at an average density of 1,446.8/km² (3,745.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 90.97% White, 1.70% African American, 0.13% Native American, 4.97% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.66% from other races, and 1.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.86% of the population.

There were 19,011 households out of which 23.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.4% were married couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.2% were unmarried partners, and 43.3% were non-families. 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the town the population was spread out with 18.4% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 36.0% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 86.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $64,344, and the median income for a family was $78,741. Males had a median income of $52,352 versus $40,445 for females. The per capita income for the town was $34,399. About 2.4% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.0% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Government

An 1875 map of Arlington
Enlarge
An 1875 map of Arlington
Patriots' Grave in the Old Burying Ground, Arlington, Massachusetts.
Enlarge
Patriots' Grave in the Old Burying Ground, Arlington, Massachusetts.
Menotomy Rocks Park in Arlington.
Enlarge
Menotomy Rocks Park in Arlington.
Menotomy Indian Hunter in Arlington center by resident Cyrus E. Dallin (1911).
Enlarge
Menotomy Indian Hunter in Arlington center by resident Cyrus E. Dallin (1911).

Arlington's executive branch is comprised of an elected five-member Board of Selectmen. The day-to-day operations are handled by a Town Manager hired by the Board of Selectmen. The legislative branch is made up of 252 Town Meeting Members, elected from the 21 precincts. The Town of Arlington technically has enough citizens to become the City of Arlington, but has not done so, in part because they would lose their ability to hold Town Meetings. These meetings can often last for at least a month, being held two nights a week until the issues are settled.

Arlington is part of the 7th Massachusetts Congressional District, the 4th Middlesex State Senatorial District, and the 23rd and 26th Middlesex State Representative Districts.

[edit] Yes For Arlington

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Discussion of this nomination can be found on the talk page.

"Yes For Arlington" was a 2005 tax override campaign in which Arlington voters approved the assessment of six million additional dollars in property taxes to allow the continuation of critical town and school services. Local businessman David Walkinshaw led Yes For Arlington's efforts, and many officers of the campaign were respected local community leaders. Voters approved the referendum on June 11, 2005, slightly more than 2 years after a defeated override imperiled the town's schools and public services, and forced staff members to be laid off.

[edit] Trivia

  • Arlington's Robbins Library contains the oldest continuously operated free children's library in the country.
  • "Uncle Sam" is based on, and named after, Samuel Wilson, born in Arlington on September 13, 1766.
  • Arlington was once a thriving farming community and had its own lettuce that was quite popular.
  • Arlington had a large ice industry on Spy Pond from the mid-1800s until the last ice house burned down in 1930; much of its ice was sent to the Caribbean and India by "Ice King" Frederic Tudor.
  • The first spreadsheet, VisiCalc, was written in Arlington.
  • The museum in the Jason Russell House contains a mastodon tusk, found in Spy Pond in the late 1950s by a fisherman who originally thought he had brought up a tree branch.
  • Two feature films released in theatres nationwide have been shot partially in Arlington: The Out-of-Towners, starring Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn, and Once Around, starring Richard Dreyfuss and Holly Hunter.
  • Two widely recognized television shows have been filmed in Arlington. This Old House and Trading Spaces. Also a History Channel special "Bible Battles" has been filmed in Arlington.
  • The only black Freemason Cemetery in the country, the Prince Hall Mystic Cemetery, is located in Arlington.
  • Arlington is referenced in the movie The Verdict starring Paul Newman. South Boston's K Street takes the place of Arlington in the movie.
  • Shishu Bharati is centered here.

[edit] Sister cities

[edit] Arlington residents of note

[edit] External links

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Organizations

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