Arlington

Arlington is located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts and is six miles nortwest of Boston with a population of 43,000.  Arlington covers an area of 5.5 square miles and is bordered by Somerville, Medford, Cambridge, Winchester, and Belmont.

The Town of Arlington was originally settled by European  colonists in 1635 as a village. Arlington was originally settled under the name Menotomy, an Algonquin word meaning “swift running water”.  In 1867, the name “Arlington” was chosen in honor of those buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

The Massachusett tribe, part of the Algonquian group of Native Americans, lived around the Mystic Lakes, the Mystic River and Alewife Brook. By the time Europeans arrived, the local Indians had been devastated by disease; also, the tribal chief, Nanepashemet, had been killed by a rival tribe in about 1619. Nanepashemet’s widow, known to history only as “Squaw Sachem”, sold the land of her tribe to the colonists for ten pounds, with provisions that she and her tribe could remain on her homestead land around the Mystic Lakes and continue hunting and farming. She also was to be given a new winter coat of wool each year for the rest of her life. She is thought to have lived until about 1650

Through the town also flows the stream called Mill Brook, which historically figured largely into Arlington’s economy. In 1637 Captain George Cooke built the first mill in this area. Subsequently, seven mills were built along the stream, including the Old Schwamb Mill, which survives to this day. The Schwamb Mill has been a working mill since 1650, making it the longest working mill in the country.

Paul Revere’s famous midnight ride to alert colonists took him through Menotomy (now known as Arlington). On that first day of the American Revolution, more blood was shed in Menotomy than in the battles of Lexington and Concord combined. Minutemen from surrounding towns converged on Menotomy to ambush the British on their retreat from Concord and Lexington. All in all, 25 colonials were killed in Menotomy (half of all Americans killed in the day’s battles), as well as 40 British troops (more than half their fatalities).1852 Map of Boston area showing Arlington, then called West Cambridge.

Arlington public schools consistantly rank among the top schools in Massachusetts. The Arlington public schools system has a total of nine schools. The seven elementary schools are Brackett, Bishop, Thompson, Hardy, Peirce, Stratton, and Dallin. There is also a single middle school Ottoson.  Arlington has one high school, Arlington High School. There are two Parochial schools, Arlington Catholic High School, and an elementary/middle school, St. Agnes School, both affiliated with St. Agnes Parish. In addition, there are two secular elementary schools, Lesley Ellis and the Alivia Elementary School, and Ecole Bilingue, another elementary/middle school.