Similar to the 1932 map, the 1944 map was created by the U.S. Department of the Interior and shows the transition of Arlington from a rural community to a more urbanized center.

This map was created in 1900, when Arlington was still part of Alexandria County. It shows how Arlington’s rural character persisted into the 20th century and highlights that, for most of its history, it was not a single community but a collection of farms and small towns.

Because of Virginia’s neutrality during the early phases of the secession crisis, Federal leadership had avoided sending cartographers into Arlington and Alexandria so as not to give the appearance of a pretext to war and invasion. Virgil P. Corbett (1827–1875), a local farmer, lawyer, politician, inventor, and businessman who called Arlington home, saw an opportunity to create a map for the government.