Arlington County Records Available (not online):

Arlington County land records: from 1801

Arlington County naturalization records: none

Arlington County vital records: births from 1853; deaths from 1853; marriages from 1801

Arlington County probate records: from 1800

Arlington County census records: from 1850

Everton Pub. (2002). Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America (10th ed.). Draper, UT: Everton Pub, p. 710

Bentley, E. P. (1995). County Courthouse Book (2nd ed.). Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publication Co., Inc., p. 365

Arlington County Contact information

Arlington County History

Arlington County was created in 1801 as Alexandria County with land from part of the District of Columbia that had been given by Virginia to the Federal Government (it had been part of Fairfax County) and in 1846 the land was given back to Virginia and the area was renamed Arlington County in 1920.

Bentley, E. P. (1995). County Courthouse Book (2nd ed.). Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publication Co., Inc., p. 365

“History

• March 13, 1847: Established as Alexandria County.

• March 16, 1920: The name was changed to Arlington County.

• In 1791, Arlington was originally part of a 10-mile square surveyed for the nation’s capital.

• In 1846, the U.S. Congress returned the portion of the District of Columbia on the west bank of the Potomac River to the Commonwealth of Virginia, in response to requests from local residents.

• In 1922, a decision by the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals declared Arlington a “continuous, contiguous and homogeneous community.” As a result, there are no incorporated towns or cities within Arlington’s boundaries.

• The County was named for the estate where George Washington Parke Custis lived before he built the house currently known as Arlington House in Arlington National Cemetery. The estate had been named to honor the Earl of Arlington.”

  from Arlington Fast Facts