Historic preservation recognizes and enhances the history of a community while at the same time it promotes economic development, improves property values, and encourages tourism. In Arlington, twenty-five years ago only a few citizens were seriously concerned with preserving the historic resources of the County. Today, the effort is widespread, involving the County’s Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board, the Arlington Historical Society, the Arlington Heritage Alliance, and the Neighborhood Conservation Program. As of 2001, twenty eight local historic districts have been designated by the County Board.
Sources on Arlington History
- Arlington Genealogy Club. Graveyards of Arlington County, Virginia (1985).
- Arlington Historical Society. The Arlington Historical Magazine. Published since 1957, it contains articles, maps and pictures of all aspects of the history of Arlington County.
- Arlington Historical Society. Images of America: Arlington (2000).
- Cooling, B. F. III and Walton H. Owen II. Mr. Lincoln’s Forts: A Guide to the Civil War Defenses of Washington (1988).
- Goldberg, Alfred. The Pentagon: The First Fifty Years (1992).
- Harwood, Herbert H. Jr. Rails to the Blue Ridge: The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad, 1847-1968 (2000).
- Lee, Dorothy Ellis. A History of Arlington County, Virginia (1946).
- Netherton, Nan and Ross. Arlington County in Virginia: A Pictorial History (1987).
- Nelligan, Murray H. Old Arlington: The Story of Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee Memorial (2001).
- Pratt, Sherman. Arlington County, Virginia A Modern History (1997).
- Rose, C. B. Jr. Arlington County, Virginia: A History (1976).
- Templeman, Eleanor Lee. Arlington Heritage: Vignettes of a Virginia County (1959).
More information, including primary sources on Arlington County history, can be found in the Virginia Room of the Arlington Central Library and in the Arlington Historical Society archives.