Arlington County was within the very large area defined in several early British land grants in the colonial period in the Colony of Virginia (1607–1776) which was known as the Northern Neck of Virginia (not to be confused with a smaller eastern portion of Virginia still known by that name in modern times).

A number of the county’s residential neighborhoods and larger garden-style apartment complexes are listed in the National Register of Historic Places and/or designated under the County government’s zoning ordinance as local Historic Preservation Districts.