This stretch of riverside has hosted many diverse communities over time. Nameroughquena tribal homes, the large estates of the Lees and other prominent families, raucous Jackson City, and historic African-American neighborhoods have all existed in this area. Today it provides a gathering place for visitors and residents alike in the heart of this cosmopolitan region.

Arlington House is a majestic estate overlooking the Potomac River. The mansion's property originally stretched for 1,100 acres and was the home of General Robert E. Lee. During the Civil War, the grounds were selected as the site of Arlington National Cemetery.

Infamous for its racetrack, saloons, brothels and gambling houses, Jackson City developed at the foot of the Long Bridge in the mid-nineteenth century. In 1904, a mob of disapproving local citizens destroyed most of the establishments in the area.

Many of the first African Americans in the Arlington community were forced to work on plantations as slaves. After the outbreak of the Civil War, Union officials set up Freedmen's Village on the former Lee estate to shelter ex-slaves. When the community was dispersed in the late 1800s, many families settled in Arlington nearby.

Arlington Population:
1800: 5,949
1850: 10,008
1900: 6,430
1950:



135,449
2010: 207,627

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From Brownfield to Playing Fields
Fort Runyon
A Historic Junction
The Defenses of Washington
The March Across the Long Bridge
Fort Runyon: Defending the Capital
Known Units Garrisoned at Fort Runyon
The Union Soldier
Arlington Transformed by War
Fort Runyon after the Civil War

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