Arlington was founded in 1876 along the Texas and Pacific Railroad. The city was named after General Robert E. Lee's Arlington House. Arlington grew as a cotton-ginning and farming center, and incorporated in 1884. The city was accessible to running water, electricity, natural gas and telephone services by 1910, along with the addition of the new public school system. By 1925 the population was estimated to be 3,031 residents, and grew to over 4,000 before World War II.