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River
Legacy Parks in Arlington
Photo courtesy River Legacy Foundation, 2006 |
History
in a Pecan Shell
Named after Robert E. Lee's hometown in Virginia, the town was originally settled
in the 1840s. Gen. Edward H. Tarrant, (the county's namesake) attacked and defeated
local Indians here in 1841. A trading post was set up two years later at a place
called Marrow Bone Spring. A small community nearby called Johnson Station had
a post office granted in 1851, but when the Texas and Pacific Railroad arrived
in 1876, the tracks were laid just north of the settlement.
The Reverend
Andrew S. Hayter, a Presbyterian minister is credited with platting the new community
and the town was first named Hayter, Texas in 1875. It was renamed Arlington
in 1877.
One of Arlington's first enterprises was the selling of mineral
water and crystals from the town's public well. A sanitarium was soon built and
by 1884 there was a respectable population of 800. Utilities appeared and telephone
service was in operation by 1910. The population grew to over 3,000 by the mid-1920s.
From 1933 through 1937, Arlington Downs was the city's biggest draw.
The city has somehow managed to maintain its separate identity, even while being
sandwiched between rivals Dallas and
Fort Worth.
Book
Your Hotel Here & Save
Arlington
Hotels |
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River
Legacy Science Center
Photo courtesy River Legacy Foundation, 2006 |
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Photo courtesy William Holmes, June 2005 | |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history and vintage/historic
photos of their town, please contact
us. | |
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