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1542 – Spanish explorers make camp in an Indian Village named Guasco at current-day Dottie Lynn Pkwy.[1]
1838 – Robert Sloan and Nathaniel T. Journey lead an expedition into present-day Euless and Arlington that was recorded as one of the first Anglo-American efforts to open the area to settlement.[2][3]
1848 – "Father of Tarrant County" Colonel Middleton Tate Johnson's Company of Texas Rangers is assigned to Kaufman Station, later known as Johnson Station.[1]
1853 – Patrick A. Watson and a group of settlers arrive and settle on land that now borders the present Watson Road.[2]
1869 – Reverend Andrew Shannon Hayter arrives and organizes the Good Hope Cumberland Presbyterian Church.[2][7]
1870 – Colonel Middleton Tate Johnson's body is exhumed from Texas State Cemetery and buried in a family cemetery on Arkansas Lane.[8]
1871 –
United States Congress approved a charter for a transcontinental railroad, including Arlington, Texas.[2]
Elder John Quarles Burnett meets with 17 fellow Baptists and organizes the first church in Johnson Station - Johnson Station Baptist Church.[9]
1873 – Settlement founded near site of present-day city.[10]
A group of Methodists meet in Schults' lumberyard at Mesquite and Front Streets and organize the first church congregation in Arlington's original township.[15]
Arlington landowner James Daniel Cooper builds a majestic colonial house on the corner of what is now Cooper St. and Abram St.[16]
1880 – U.S. Census shows a population of 275 people with eight general merchants, three drug stores, a lumber dealer, two physicians, a hotel keeper, a saloon operator and various other occupations including farming.[7][17]
1881 – M. J. Brinson becomes mayor for the first time.[18]
1883 – William Timmerman and Colonel Thomas Spruance establishes the city's first newspaper called "The World."
1884 – Arlington officially incorporates as a city.[11]
1885 –
Edward Emmett Rankin becomes mayor for just a month.[19]
1887 – Cemetery Society (later Arlington Historical Society) founded.[20]
1889 – M. J. Brinson becomes mayor for the second time.[18]
1891 – Rice Wood Collins, a successful merchant, starts public well campaign for access to water.
Postcard of the Arlington mineral well, 1914Replica of the historic mineral well in Downtown Arlington, in front of a mural.
1892 - “Christmas Eve Massacre” gunfight leaves four men and a horse dead on Main Street near the rail station.[11]
1893 -
The original mineral well is drilled by a wood-powered steam engine.[15]
McKinley-Woodward Home is built by Jesse Stanley McKinley, Arlington's first hardware merchant at 400 E. First. One of the oldest structures in the city.[15]
Arlington's first newspaper "The World" is renamed to "The Arlington Democrat."[17]
1895 – The city well becomes an official corner point for the city's four new political wards. The well was a focal point for political rallies, parades, cotton sales and the mineral water itself.[15]
1896 –
William W. McNatt, a merchant and farmer, sells a portion of his farm to sell lots for burial. Many Arlington pioneers are buried thereafter.
Hutchison-Smith Home is built on 312 N. Oak, once owned by I. L. Hutchison, Arlington merchant and pioneer.[15]
1897
Arlington Journal newspaper begins publication, changing its name from "The Arlington Democrat."[21][22]
Rufus H. Greer becomes mayor of Arlington for the second time.[32]
South Center Street Historic District is planned out by William Rose, housing the city's earliest merchants and craftsmen.[15]
Mayor William H., & Ollie Gibbins Rose Home at 501 S. Center is built as the first addition to South Center Street Historic District.[15]
1917 –
Arlington Military Academy becomes Grubbs Vocational College.[7]
Zachary Slaughter opens the city's first car dealership.[7]
Slaughter-Geer Home is built by Zack Slaughter for his father and stepmother at 505 S. Center.[15]
Wylie F. Altman opens the Altman Ladies Store in Arlington.[34]
1918 - Historic Dickerson Home at 400 N. Pecan is built by Martin Luther Dickerson, a cotton broker in Arlington and Ft. Worth.[15]
1919 –
William H. Rose becomes mayor, bringing with him progression such as city audits, ordinances, the first sidewalks, a modern water system and new businesses.[35]
Ransom Hall is built on Grubbs Vocational College campus at 602 S. West as the first administration building.[15]
1920 –
Population: 3,031.
Arlington adopts a home rule city charter.
1921 –
The highway from Dallas to Arlington is widened and carries interstate traffic through the center of the city.
Pulley Home on 201 E. North is built, exemplifying the asymmetrical bungalow architectural style.[15]
Six Arlington High girls plunge off a bridge in what is now River Legacy Park, tragically killing half and sparking an urban legend called "The Screaming Bridge."[50]
Richard Greene becomes mayor, increasing funding for police and fire departments, developed plans for a new Texas Rangers ballpark, and led road construction programs.
1988 –
River Legacy Foundation, a nonprofit 501 (c)(3), is formed as a public/private partnership with City of Arlington Parks and Recreation Department.
A section of turf located behind Center Field at the Ballpark in Arlington is named Greene's Hill for the mayor's contributions to the Texas Rangers baseball club.[77]
1998 – Cooper House is destroyed in an accidental fire on Halloween night.[16]
1999 – Elzie Odom Athletic Center opens at 1601 N.E. Green Oaks Boulevard.
Pentatonix returns to their hometown to perform a free concert at the Levitt Pavilion, breaking the attendance record with 12,000 people attending.[89]
AISD opens the Dan Dipert Career and Technical Center after it was approved in a 2014 bond.
Officials breaks ground on the new Texas Rangers stadium.[96]
Ride-sharing company Via becomes the city's only public transportation service, replacing Metro Arlington Xpress. First-year operations cost taxpayers $922,500.[97]
Texas Christkind Market combines with Enchant Christmas to create the Enchant Christmas Light Maze and Market for the next two years.[98]
2018 –
George W. Hawkes Central Library second location celebrates its grand opening.
Arlington citizens vote to implement term limits on the city council.[99]
Yosemite Sam & the Gold River Adventure at SFOT semi-permanently closes after a bad storm.[68]
2019 –
AISD opens the Arlington College and Career High School.[100]
Live! By Loews opens as a joint venture between Loews Hotels and the Texas Rangers to bring an upscale hospitality experience to the entertainment district.[101]
Arlington is chosen as the home of the National Medal of Honor Museum, set to be built in 2024.[102]
General Motors employees strike for 40 days for additional compensation and benefits.[102]
UTA receives funding to replace their School of Social Work building, the first Arlington High School building.[102]
Medical City Arlington opens their Medical City Women's Hospital.[102]
2020 –
Globe Life Field celebrates a delayed opening for AISD high school graduation, and a few months later for a crowdless MLB game.
Globe Life Field hosts the entirety of the World Series, the first time the World Series has played at a single location since 1944.[103]
2021 -
Via Rideshare service expands city-wide. The annual taxpayer expense becomes $2.2 million.[104][105]
2023-
A reimagined version of the original downtown mineral well as a fountain and clock tower is constructed and completed, dubbed the "Mineral Well Park Plaza."[106][107]
Texas Rangers win the 2023 World Series, the first world series win in the history of the franchise since arriving in Arlington in 1972.[108]
^ abMathis, Erma Holt (January 1, 2007). Higher Ground: the History of First Baptist Church, Arlington, Texas. Scripta Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-1889730165.
^"Arlington City Council Agenda", Fort Worth Star-Telegram, June 4, 1996, Electronic ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the beginning of the city's World Wide Web page