Around the Town Tuesday

Welcome to our first Around the Town Tuesday blog hop day!  YAY!  To grab your blog hop button, click on the graphic on the left sidebar.  Don't forget to link up!  If you find any snags, issues, etc. please email me ASAP so we can get it worked out immediately.  This is our first blog hop so don't be too surprised if there are some.  I won't be.  ;)

I really enjoyed getting out and taking some pictures of my little town and learning a bit more about it's history.  I currently live in Arlington, TN.  Arlington is a tiny town just northeast of Memphis, TN.  It has been called Shelby County's best kept secret for a while now because despite growth all around it, Arlington has remained a very small, very quiet little town.  According to the 2009 Census, Arlington was home to approximately 9,700 people.

Arlington was originally named Hayesville after Sameul Jackson Hayes, the original landowner and nephew to President Andrew Jackson.  Settlers began arriving in Hayesville in the 1830s.  Hayesville was renamed Arlington in 1883.  The charter was received from the State of Tennessee in December of 1900.  The name change was suggested by Captain Henry Pitman who had visited the national cemetery in Arlington, VA and thought it was the most beautiful place on earth.  So yes, my little town was named after Arlington cemetery.  I'm a huge history buff and could on and on but I promise to try to keep it brief.  To read more about Arlington's history, click here.  

Everyone here in town refers to our main part of town as Historic Depot Square.  Withe Depot was established as the Memphis and Ohio Railroad developed.  The trains still storm through town square.

This is the center of Historic Depot Square.  The large tree you see in the middle gets a huge makeover during Christmas.  This is our Rockefeller Center.  Everyone in town comes to see the tree lighting as well as the Christmas parade that goes right down the road to the left.  The building you see behind the tree is the old blacksmith.  It is actually still up and running but only on special occasions.  It's a treat for kids to see the blacksmith at work.  Wish I had thought to get a better picture.  Oops.  

This is Murray Gin, an old cotton gin that still stands.  However, it is very vacant.  No activity here these days.  Kind of a shame.  

This cabin is called the Harrell Farm Log Cabin and I can't really find any information on it except that it was built in the 1800s and it was moved here from it's original location.  I have no idea what the original location was or why it was moved.  But inside, there is a spinning wheel on display as well as a rope bed.  You can go inside by appointment only.

This is the original post office that was established in 1900.  It also has items on display and is viewable by appointment only.  I think it's so cool that it's still here in the middle of town.

Love this stuff!

Oliver's Barbershop.  

This is the next street over.  A few little business.  We definitely don't have much in Arlington.  They've kept it small.

Across the street from the picture above.

This is S.Y. Wilson & Company which was where residents of Arlington went for just about anything and everything in the early 1900s.  Now, it is a lovely antique store in the center of our town.  

I truly enjoy living in Arlington, TN because it is a small rural little town.  Growing up in a small town in Kentucky, this place reminds me of home a bit.  The people are friendly and we might not have much but we're just next door to Memphis, TN which I'm sure you'll get to learn a little about as this blog hop progresses.  However, I will try to stick to my little town as much as I can.

Looking forward to learning where y'all live!