Arlington is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in western Phelps County,

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, United States. The community is located just northeast of the confluence of

Little Piney Creek Little Piney Creek is a stream in the Phelps, Texas and Dent counties of the Ozarks of southern Missouri. It is a tributary of the Gasconade River. Coordinates of the stream source are: and of the confluence with the Gasconade are: . The strea ...

and the

Gasconade River The Gasconade River is about longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 31, 2011 and is located in central and south-central Missouri. The Gasconade River begins in the Oz ...

I-44 Interstate 44 (I-44) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. Although it is nominally an east–west road as it is even-numbered, it follows a more southwest–northeast alignment. Its western terminus is in Wichita Fa ...

passes just to the east and the

Burlington Northern Railroad The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States-based railroad company formed from a Mergers and acquisitions, merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1996. Its historical lineage begins in the e ...

passes the south edge of the community. The community of

Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, th ...

lies approximately three-quarters of a mile to the northwest across the Gasconade.

History

Arlington was originally called Little Piney. At times troops from the 5th Missouri State Militia Cavalry garrisoned there. Originally settled by Thomas Harrison and James Harrison and later established as a township by General Fremont ''circa'' 1867, the town was renamed for the former Robert E. Lee plantation (later a

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

) at

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...

, Folk etymology maintains the name honors Arlie, the wife of a local merchant. Arlington was once a popular resort served by the

Pacific Railroad The Pacific Railroad (not to be confused with Union Pacific Railroad) was a railroad based in Missouri. It was a predecessor of both the Missouri Pacific Railroad and St. Louis-San Francisco Railway. The Pacific was chartered by Missouri in 184 ...

. Located on the last section of U.S. Route 66 in Missouri to be paved, in 1931, the tiny community served

fishermen A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recreat ...

on the Gasconade and Little Piney Rivers. Stony Dell Resort capitalised on Route 66 and the nearby

Fort Leonard Wood Fort Leonard Wood is a U.S. Army training installation located in the Missouri Ozarks. The main gate is located on the southern boundary of The City of St. Robert. The post was created in December 1940 and named in honor of General Leonard Woo ...

military base to grow in the 1930s and early 1940s from a small group of tourist cabins to a popular oasis which included a stream-fed swimming pool, a restaurant, service station and bus stop, offering tennis, dancing, boating and fishing. By 1946, the town was in decline due to re-routing of a widened US 66; the town site was purchased that year by R. E. Carney. The original 1923 US 66 road bridge, bypassed when the road was widened to four lanes in 1952, was demolished when

Interstate 44 Interstate 44 (I-44) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. Although it is nominally an east–west road as it is even-numbered, it follows a more southwest–northeast alignment. Its western terminus is in Wichita Fal ...

bypassed the town in 1966-1967, leaving the original two-lane US 66 a dead end. Most of the Stony Dell Resort was lost to demolition during freeway construction; the restaurant, archway, the fish pond, the gas, food, and gift store, some of the classic stone work, and a handful of cabins remain, now abandoned. Even the 1952 four lane bridge was demolished and replaced as part of a 2005 alignment of I-44. There are no remaining businesses, the

caravan park Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals *Convoy, a group of veh ...

(Arlington River Resort, 13003 Arlington Road) closed permanently in 2008. The only road access to the townsite is I-44 to Newburg then back on what remains of the original two-lane US 66 roadway (Arlington Outer Road, a dead-end). No longer easily accessed by rail and road, Arlington is now merely a small group of private residences. Arlington is currently composed of more than 20 people; albeit, it is no longer its own township and is now a part of Newburg.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Phelps County, Missouri Populated places established in 1867 Unincorporated communities in Missouri