Arlington, NE

Arlington sits between the Elkhorn River and Bell Creek in Washington County, with farm country stretching around the village. The 2020 census counted 1,300 residents, making Arlington the most populous village in Nebraska. It began as Bell Creek when the Sioux City and Pacific Railroad reached the site in 1869, then took the name Arlington in 1882. Rail, river, and grain trade gave the village its first shape. The river remains part of the village boundary.

The most distinctive chapter came through Marshall Nurseries, an Arlington business credited with creating the Marshall seedless green ash, a tree planted widely across the country. That horticultural history still sits alongside ordinary village institutions: the library, auditorium, swimming pool, parks, volunteer fire department, and schools. The village website groups those facilities around a compact civic center, while the Elkhorn and Bell Creek keep the edges green and low. Arlington works as a small regional service place with a particular legacy in the trees lining American streets.