The county is also a world-class business location in the country's most influential region and the power capital of the globe. Principal businesses in Arlington are government and tourism services. Largest private employers are Bell Atlantic Management Services, the Gannett Company (publishers of USA Today), MCI Telecommunications Corporation, and USAir. With its superb transportation, communications infrastructure, work force and business climate, Arlington is a powerful address for organizations seeking direct access to Washington, D.C., and the global marketplace.

Arlington has been on the cutting edge of technology since the dawn of the digital revolution. The Internet was born here, at the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency and the National Science Foundation. Today, Arlington is at the center of the region known as the "Netplex," as Fortune magazine has dubbed the nation's fastest growing communications hub.

Arlington was originally part of the 10-mile square surveyed in 1791 for the District of Columbia. In response to requests from residents, the Congress returned the portion of the District on the west bank of the Potomac River to the Commonwealth of Virginia. Established March 13, 1847 as Alexandria County, the name was changed to Arlington on March 16, 1920. The county is named for the estate where George Washington Parke Custis lived before he built the house currently known as Arlington House in Arlington National Cemetery. The estate had been named to honor the Earl of Arlington.

Arlington County has an interesting and unique history. Home to American Indian communities for more than 10,000 years, it was also explored by English settlers in the early 1600s. The area was first visited by Englishmen not long after the founding of Jamestown. In 1608, John Smith made his famous voyage of exploration up the Potomac and - quite literally - placed Arlington on the map. Not that it was known as Arlington in those days. Indeed, that name was not to come until much later. But Smith's map, first published in 1612, clearly shows the area we know today as Arlington, and gives the name of an Indian village at a spot that must have been quite close to where the 14th Street Bridge crosses the Potomac today.

After John Smith, other Europeans came up the Potomac "as high as a boat could go" - that is, to the Little Falls. They came to trade for corn, meat, and furs. The traders were followed by the land speculators. In order to encourage colonization, land was granted to those who paid their own or others' way to this country from England. These grants, called "Headrights" were for 50 acres a person.

The growth of Arlington County during the 20th century has been dramatic, especially during World War II and the post-war period. The development of county-wide sewer and water systems meant that dwellings could be built more closely together, first creating separate subdivisions, and then turning Arlington into an urban community at the core of the Washington metropolitan area.

Arlington's central location in the Washington metropolitan area, its ease of access by both automobile and public transportation, and its high quality labor force, have attracted an increasingly varied employment and residential mix. Intensive development especially in the Metrorail corridors, including high-rise apartments, office buildings, and commercial areas, has transformed the landscape and the rhythm of life in Arlington. As the 20th century draws to a close, Arlington is no longer a "bedroom community" for the District of Columbia: more people now work in, than live in, the County.

While the early period of exploration, settlement, and gradual taming of the wilderness stretched over decades, even centuries, the transformation from an easy-going rural community to a bustling urban center took little more than a score of years, and has continued to accelerate rapidly. As Arlington celebrates its bicentennial as a separate jurisdiction, its unique and fascinating history has provided a strong foundation to face the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.