Welcome to Arlington

Arlington Center is a neighborhood in the town of Arlington, MA, a suburb of Boston located just six miles northwest of the city. The Town of Arlington was originally settled by European colonists in 1635 as a village of Cambridge, under the name Menotomy. Massachusetts Ave runs straight through Arlington, which was founded over 350 years ago and is the site of one of some of the Revolutionary War's most intense fighting. Arlington is probably most well known, in part, by Paul Revere's famous midnight ride but also because it's the rightful birthplace of Uncle Sam. Samuel Wilson was almost nine years old when the Battle of Menotomy took place. He started a meat-packing business in Troy, N.Y., where he became known as Uncle Sam. People say that the U.S. stamped on boxes of meat for the U.S. Army during the War of 1812 stood for Uncle Sam. Arlington has preserved many of its historical and colonial buildings. Today, Arlington is well kept, family-friendly, middle-class town with a thriving small business community.