703 Area Code 🌍☎️

Arlington, Virginia is the smallest self-governing county in the United States by area, located directly across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. in the Northern Virginia region of the Washington metropolitan area. Originally inhabited by the Nacotchtank people and settled by English colonists in the 1670s, Arlington was part of Fairfax County until 1742, then ceded to form the District of Columbia in 1801 before being retroceded back to Virginia in 1847. The county's economy evolved from colonial-era tobacco plantations worked by enslaved labor to modern federal and private sectors, anchored by major employers including the Pentagon, government contractors like Boeing and RTX Corporation, and tech firms such as Amazon. Arlington is renowned for Arlington National Cemetery, established in 1864 and home to more than 400,000 U.S. Armed Forces members, whose sites including the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier draw thousands of annual visitors. The county became the first in Virginia to desegregate its schools in 1959 and businesses in 1960, following deliberate urban planning centered on Metrorail lines beginning in the 1960s that transformed it into a modern hub for higher education institutions and federal agencies. Alexandria is an independent city in Northern Virginia on the western bank of the Potomac River, bordering Washington, D.C., with a 2020 population of 159,467 making it Virginia's sixth-largest city and the principal city of the Washington metropolitan area. Established in 1749 and incorporated as a town in 1779, Alexandria became one of the country's largest ports in its early decades through agricultural and slave trade before being ceded to the District of Columbia in 1801 and retroceded back to Virginia in 1847. The city was re-chartered as an independent city in 1852, transformed into a manufacturing and railway hub throughout the 19th century, and doubled its land area through major annexations in 1930 and 1952. As the highest-income independent city in Virginia, Alexandria is heavily influenced by proximity to the nation's capital, with major employers including the U.S. Department of Defense's Mark Center and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, alongside numerous federal employees, nonprofits, and private corporations. Old Town Alexandria, home to the third historic district in the United States, drives significant tourism revenue and remains the city's traditional cultural core. Herndon is a town in Fairfax County, Northern Virginia, part of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, with a 2020 census population of 24,655 making it the largest of three incorporated towns in the county. Named in 1858 after Commander William Lewis Herndon, a naval explorer and author who famously went down with the SS Central America while saving over 150 passengers and crew, Herndon developed from rural surroundings into a dairy farming hub along the Alexandria, Loudoun and Hampshire Railroad in the 1870s. The converted W&OD Railroad corridor now serves as a hike-and-bike trail, and the town has preserved its historic charm by converting its train station into a museum and visitors center, featuring a Norfolk Southern Railway caboose in W&OD livery dedicated to George Moore. The Herndon Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the town gained national attention in 2005-2007 regarding a day labor center controversy that influenced local elections. Located at coordinates 38°58′17″N 77°23′19″W with a total area of 4.2 square miles, Herndon is an entirely urban community with 7,900 households as of the 2020 census.