Arlington's History Goes Online

Published on June 03, 2021

A wealth of historical Arlington documents are now more readily available for residents, businesses, and history buffs alike.

A recently completed project from the Arlington County Circuit Court Clerk's Office enables access to an additional 540,000 documents from over 900 deed books via the County's land records search website. The project, initiated by the Circuit Court Clerk Paul Ferguson in May 2019 and launched this month, spans deed records dating from 1869 through 1950.

Prior to the project, land records documents dating from 1951 to the present were available electronically. Documents recorded prior to 1951 were only available for review in-person, onsite at the courthouse.

Chief Deputy Clerk Christina Dietrich managed the project and teamed with Denver-based government technology company Granicus to digitize the older documents and expand the interactive database. Dietrich said that bringing these records online increases access to public information and provides a greater layer of protection for historical documents.

"While the project began as an effort to preserve historical documents, a significant outcome is improved access to important records for County residents and businesses," Dietrich said. "Title searchers and the mortgage industry rely on this information to provide data necessary for property sales and refinancing. Individuals refer to these documents for important information about their property and historians utilize them to research ownership of properties in Arlington. With the completion of this project, those records are available remotely for more convenient access."

The land record management system developed by Granicus created a full index of relevant information for each document image to enhance public search capabilities. Throughout the process, staff members from the Circuit Court Clerk's Office worked with Granicus to ensure image quality, data accuracy and ease of use.

"Circuit Court Clerk Paul Ferguson, Chief Deputy Clerk Christina Dietrich, and the land records leadership team have performed a great service to the businesses and constituents of Arlington," said Brent Blankenship, Granicus GovRecords Director of Sales, who worked closely with the team. "They're providing access to beautiful images of deeds from 1869 forward. And as keeper of those records, Mr. Ferguson has ensured access is safe and reliable. His commitment to the preservation of the books and access to the records is exemplary."

The new database of historical deed documents can be found online at the Arlington Circuit Court County Records Search Page (https://courts.arlingtonva.us/circuit-court/land-records/services/).

For more information, contact the Arlington Circuit Court Office at 703-228-4369 or email at circuitcourt@arlingtonva.us.