History of Arlington, MA. Veteran-owned, Master Plumber, Mass Save registered, same-day service. Call (781) 242-2386 to book an appointment.
Menotomy and the Revolutionary War
On April 19, 1775, after the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord, retreating British Regulars marched back through Menotomy. The bloodiest fighting of the day actually happened here, not in Lexington or Concord — about half of all American and British casualties from April 19, 1775 occurred in Menotomy. The Jason Russell House on Massachusetts Avenue, where 11 colonial militiamen and 2 British soldiers were killed in the doorway, still stands and is open as a museum.
Industrial Era Along the Mill Brook
The Mill Brook valley running through what’s now East Arlington supported a series of mills from the late 1600s through the late 1800s. The Old Schwamb Mill on Lowell Street, established in 1864, is the oldest continuously operating mill site in America and still produces oval and circular picture frames using its original water-powered machinery.
Renamed for the Civil War
By 1867 the town’s residents wanted a more dignified name than ‘West Cambridge.’ They chose ‘Arlington’ to honor the Arlington National Cemetery — itself only formally established in 1864 on the grounds of Robert E. Lee’s seized estate. The new name signaled the town’s identification with the Union cause; Arlington had sent a high proportion of its population to fight in the Civil War.
The Streetcar Suburb
The Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad reached the town in 1846, but it was the streetcar lines extending up Massachusetts Avenue from Cambridge in the 1880s that turned Arlington into a true suburb of Boston. The trolley enabled the development of dense two-family and triple-decker housing along East Arlington’s grid streets — much of which still stands.
Modern Arlington
The Minuteman Bikeway, opened in 1992 on the abandoned Lexington Branch railbed, runs the length of the town and connects to Cambridge and Bedford. Arlington’s downtown along Massachusetts Avenue retains a mix of independent shops, immigrant-owned restaurants, and the kind of civic infrastructure (library, theater, town hall) that anchors a real community.
Plumbing & Heating in Arlington
Arlington’s older homes — especially the East Arlington two-families and the Heights area’s 1920s singles — still have the cast-iron drains, galvanized supply lines, and Victorian-era branched plumbing layouts that we work on every week.
Need a plumber in Arlington? Sedona Plumbing and Heating is licensed, insured, and dispatches same-day from our Winchester shop. See our Arlington services hub, our Arlington plumber page, or our Arlington HVAC services. Call (781) 242-2386.
Local Resources & Things to Do in Arlington
For ideas on what to see and do locally, see our Things to Do in Arlington guide.
