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Arlington County
Total Area 26 Square miles
Normal Daily Mean Temp 66 F
Median Income $63,000
Population (2004) 186,117
Median Age 34
Median Housing Cost $262,400
Arlington is an urban county of about 26 square miles located directly across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. Although no incorporated towns or cities lie within Arlington's boundaries, it still boasts a thriving economy with many residential neighborhoods and business opportunities.
History of Arlington County, Virginia
Arlington County was originally part of the ten-mile square parcel of land surveyed in 1791 to be the Nation's Capital. Then known as "Alexandria County of the District of Columbia," it included what is now Arlington County plus part of the neighboring city of Alexandria. The U.S. Congress returned that portion of the land to the Commonwealth of Virginia following a referendum among its citizens. In 1870, the City of Alexandria and Arlington officially separated their jurisdictions, and in 1920, the name Arlington County was adopted to end confusion with the City of Alexandria. 
The name "Arlington" refers to the home of the Civil War General Robert E. Lee, located on the grounds of the Arlington National Cemetery. Arlington House is the building shown in the Arlington County Seal.
Arlington County remained largely undeveloped until recent times, although, beginning about the mid-nineteenth century, some residents of Washington, D.C. built summer homes here. It was not until after 1920 when the County's population was only 16,000, that more intensive development began. Today almost all of the land in Arlington has been developed, and consists of extensive single-family residential areas and areas where commercial, office and multi-family dewellings predominate.
Civil War
In 1865, the area now known as Arlington County (then called "Alexandria County") lay devastated. During the years 1861-1865, the entire county was occupied by Union troops in defense of the nation's capital. Crops were trampled and destroyed. Fence rails were used for fire wood. Livestock was confiscated by the military or sold for a fraction of its value and driven away on hoof to feed the troops. Most of the standing timber was cut to supply building materials or facilitate the firing of artillery. Rifle trencehs and ammunition bunkers were dug along the ridges and high ground. Barns, outbuildings and private homes were occupied, damaged or destroyed to accommodate more that 100,000 Union troops who were either stationed at the 22 forts and other encampments in Arlington, or who swarmed through the "gateway" to and from the South during the four years of war. Only a few Arlington residents living in Arlington County in 1860 were still there in 1865. At the end of the war, the entire County was completely devoted to the defense of the nation's capital.
Union troops stationed in Alexandria County before 1864 were said to have a "soft assignment" because of the lack of action. No battle was ever fought there, only a small skirmish or two. An enlisted man wrote home "...with exception of drilling, guard mounting and inspection of knapsacks, we had but little to do, the time passed pleasantly enough, each day shortening our time of service..."
However, in 1864, Alexandria County's forts were stripped of able-bodied and disciplined infantry to provide replacements for General Grant's army as it pushed south toward Richmond - the battles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor and Petersburg, where the going was tough and losses were great.
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington is an American military cemetery established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's home, Arlington House (also know as the Custis-Lee Mansion). It is situated directly across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., next to the present-day location of The Pentagon. With more than 260,000 people buried there, Arlington National Cemetery has the second-largest number of people buried of any national cemetery in the United States.
Pentagon
The Pentagon in Arlington is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense. It was dedicated on January 15, 1943 and it is the world's largest office building. Although physically located in Arlington, the Pentagon uses a Washington, D.C. address.
The building is pentagon-shaped in plan and houses approximately 23,000 military and civilian employees and about 3,000 non-defense support personnel. It has five floors and each floor has five ring corridors.
Built during the early years of World War II, it is still thought of as one of the most efficient office buildings in the world. Despite 17.5 miles of corridors it takes a maximum of seven minutes to walk between any two points in the building.
It was built from 680,000 tons of sand and gravel dredged from the nearby Potomac River that were processed into 435,000 cubic yards of concrete and molded into the pentagon shape. Very little steel was used in its design due to the needs of the war effort.
Arlington County Today
Although perhaps best known to visitors as the home of the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington has maintained high-quality residential neighborhoods while supporting well-managed growth. The County's central location in the Washington metropolitan area, its ease of access by car and Metrorail, and its high quality labor force, have attracted an increasingly varied employment and residential mix. The county has focused high-density commercial and residentail development around Metrorail stations in the Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor and in the Jefferson Davis Corridor, which includes Pentagon City and Crystal City, while maintaining lower-density development in the remainder. Arlington's population, among the most highly educated in the nation, is increasingly diverse; one in five residents is foreign-born, and one in four speak a language other than English at home.
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