Did you know James Ditto Sr. was one of the first merchants to locate in the commercial area marked by the intersection of Main Street and Center Street? His store served as Arlington's first post office.

The 1880 U.S. Census showed Arlington to have eight general merchants, three drug stores, a lumber dealer, two physicians, a hotel keeper, a saloon operator and various other occupations, including farmers.

The total population of Arlington in 1880 was only 275 people, including four African-American families.

In an effort to keep the public informed, William Timmerman and Colonel Thomas Spruance established the city's first newspaper in 1883. It was called, “The World.”

The name evolved into the “Arlington Democrat” in 1893 and then the Arlington Journal four years later. The newspaper later became the Citizen-Journal and ultimately the Arlington Star-Telegram.