History History

In 1856, A. L. Herd, from New England, first settled in Arlington.  He developed the townsite in section 9 (now the NW corner of county roads 9 & 12) and sold portions to three developers who were to build a sawmill and make other improvements.  Mr. Herd also visioned a brickyard for Arlington for new homes in his village.

The Territorial Census in 1857 showed several businessmen residing in Arlington along with their families.  William White was a hotel keeper.  Mathias Bertrang had a blacksmith shop; Joshua Davis was a tailor, W. B. Williams, a hotel keeper, and Edward J. Wright, a merchant.  In June 1857, James S. Perry was appointed the first Postmaster in Arlington.

The stagecoach line left Henderson mid-morning, stopped in New Rome, and arrived at Klinkert’s tavern about noon.  Travelers were fed the noon meal before the stage traveled on to New Auburn and finally to Glencoe.  The Klinkert tavern was also a small general store and hotel.  Chris Klinkert also served as Postmaster from 1869 to 1878.

In 1873, Arlington was the site of the second annual Sibley County Fair.  The fair returned to Henderson only to return to Arlington permanently in the 1880’s.  There was talk of moving the fair to other towns in the 1890’s, but in 1900, Arlington citizens organized the Arlington Park Association which provided a permanent place for the Sibley County Agricultural Association to hold the fair.

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church built a log cabin structure in 1872 on a site just east of the present cemetery.  The earliest graves are from 1872.

In the fall of 1881, the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad reached Arlington.  Christ Klinkert, who had learned of the railroad’s plan to build a line through Sibley County, platted his land, and in the summer of 1881 built the first elevator to meet the railroad expansion through Sibley County.  With the coming of the railroad, Klinkert sold lots, and many businesses sprang up on the Main Street.  What had been called “East Arlington” became the main town.

The Village of Arlington was first incorporated in June 1883 upon petition of 31 signatures.  The petition stated that the village had resident population of 175.  On January 1, 1884, Christ Klinkert was elected President of the Village Council;

In July 1884, the Arlington Enterprise was published for the first time.  The village passed Ordinance No. 15 establishing the Arlington Fire Department in July of that year.  An “Engine House” for the fire department was built in 1890, but the building soon became the city hall.

The population of Arlington had grown to 222 according to the 1885 Minnesota State Census, and the 1895 census showed 589 residents.  Arlington had several saloon keepers, grain buyers, hotel keepers, dry good merchants, masons, barbers, blacksmiths, and many other small businesses listed on the census.

In 1896 Theodore Streissguth led an effort to move the county seat from Henderson to Arlington.  He had reserved a block in the Streissguth Addition to Arlington for the courthouse.  The voters rejected moving the county seat to Arlington, and by 1914 Streissguth began selling the lots in the proposed courthouse block.

In 1905 some Arlington businessmen considered establishing a canning factory.  By March 1905 they sold $6,600.00 worth of stock in the Arlington Canning Company.  A two-story 56 x 66’ frame building, a 28 x 70’ husking shed, and a 20 x 20’ brick engine house were constructed.  The day of canning was August 24, 1905.  The first year produced 300,000 cans of corn and was considered a success.  In 1919, Big Stone Canning Company, of Big Stone, Minnesota purchased the Arlington Canning Company.  Big Stone Canning Company was sold to Dean Foods in 1989, and Dean Foods sold to the canning factory to Agrilink in 1998.  Seneca acquired the Arlington facility in 1999.  The canning factory was closed in 2013 and property later sold.

The Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad provided transportation to and from Arlington from the fall of 1881 until 1960 when the road was sold to the Chicago Northwestern Railroad (CNW).  Passenger service also ended in 1960.  By the 1980’s the CNW sought to abandon the rail line from Norwood to Redwood Falls.  Sibley County was one of several counties that fought to retain the railroad in the late 1980’s.  The Minnesota Valley Regional Rail Authority purchased the railroad in 1984, and the Minnesota Valley Lines operated the line at first.  After years of problems and failures the track was improved for higher speed operation, and in 2002 the Twin Cities & Western began operation of the line.

In 1947, Arlington residents voted to become a city, and in 1948, Arlington was incorporated as a “Home Rule Charter” city, with revisions to the charter occurring in 1982 and 2008.  The city was designated as a Minnesota Star City in 1990 and Tree City USA in 2008. 

Arlington population has grown over the years.  By 1900, the census recorded 712 people in Arlington.  In 1940, the population reached 1,122, and by 2000, the number was 2,048.  In 2026, the number of people has reached 2,353.

--contributed by Dwight Grabitske, Secretary of the Arlington Historical Society, and Arlington History Museum Curator.