to
Update
is a village in Bureau County, Illinois, United States. The population was 211 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Ottawa–Streator Micropolitan Statistical Area.
In the early 1900s, Arlington, which was then called 'Lost Grove', was experiencing rapid growth and development. Many companies set up shop to profit from the people flocking to the jobs at the coal mines in this area of Illinois. The businesses included a mattress factory, beer brewery, numerous restaurants, a brothel, and many others. The mayor at the time was from New York, and changed the town's name to Arlington, after the town of Arlington, NY. Arlington was about the size of Peru, Illinois.
On November 13, 1909, a fire in a mine shaft killed 259 miners, young and old, at the Cherry coal mine. Authorities sealed the mine to contain the fire, trapping many rescue workers inside. When the mine was opened a week later only twenty men had survived of the hundreds involved. The 1909 Cherry Mine disaster influenced early worker's compensation laws and labor practices in the coal mining industry. At the time Illinois had no laws governing working conditions for miners. Arlington's growth slowed drastically after this occurrence.
In the 1950s a tornado destroyed most of Arlington. Many people moved away from the town at this time. Today Arlington has a population of about 250. Many of the businesses and most of the homes have been shut down, deserted, or demolished. Many areas previously inhabited are now corn and bean fields. Some of the abandoned homes' foundations, and evidence of their former occupants, are still visible in these fields.