Modern-day Arlington County is a center for government institutions and a critical part of the Washington, D.C. community. But the identity of the area goes far beyond the influence of the nation’s capital. During the War of 1812, the original copy of the Declaration of Independence was hidden from the British in a local area gristmill. Arlington was the only county in Virginia to vote against secession, despite being home to Robert E. Lee. In the...

Arlington began three centuries ago as the farm section of Alexandria County and emerged in the 1900s as a vibrant suburb of the nation's capital. Global notice came after the creation and expansion of Arlington National Cemetery, the Pentagon and Fort Myer, site of history's first airplane casualty--September 17, 1908. Add in some modern marquee employers--PBS, WETA, Nestlé, the Foreign Service Institute and Amazon--and it's a recipe for accelerating...

"Arlington is the smallest, most densely populated county in the United States. Its destiny has been driven by its geographic proximity to Washington, D.C., and very important by the fact that most Potomac River crossings begin in the county. Initially part of a large land grant to Lord Fairfax before the Revolutionary War, what is now Arlington was ceded to help form the new federal government seat by the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1790. It remained...

"In the late 1970s, Don Zientara -- a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War -- founded Inner Ear Studio in the basement of his home in Arlington, VA, using the electronics training he received from the army. Inner Ear remained in Don's basement until its 1990 relocation to a larger space on South Oakland Street. Along the way, Inner Ear became best known for recording iconic DC punk musicians including Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Bikini Kill, Rites...