Arlington Heights

How Arlington Heights began

Arlington Heights is a small village of a quarter square mile in Hamilton County, in Springfield and Sycamore townships north of Cincinnati. It was incorporated in 1889 as Arlington, with 'Heights' added because another Ohio municipality already had that name; its first ordinance, to levy taxes, passed August 19, 1889. The 1890 census counted 222 residents. It became a village on January 1, 1905, its present Village Hall and Arlington School date from 1932, and its population peaked at 1,403 in 1970. Its police department was disbanded in 2016 after a theft case in which two village employees were indicted in 2012.

Incorporated 1889 as Arlington (ordinance of August 19, 1889); village status January 1, 1905, by Board of Trustees headed by C. G. Keeley, with John Gance, W. P. Smith and clerk Louis Steinkoenig.

Where the name comes from

The settlement was originally incorporated simply as "Arlington" in 1889; "Heights" was added to the name because another municipality in Ohio already carried the name "Arlington."

Before the town

No Native American village, mound or trail specific to Arlington Heights is recorded in the sources checked. The village lies in the Mill Creek valley, in Springfield and Sycamore townships. Nelson's 1894 county history says that in October 1793, while General Anthony Wayne's army was at Fort Jefferson, a party of Indians attacked White's Station in the extreme southeastern part of Springfield Township; the station stood near present-day Carthage, not at Arlington Heights. The land was ceded by the Treaty of Greenville (1795).

Timeline

1. 1889-08-19 — Ordinance No. 1, to levy taxes, is passed by the new Board of Trustees (C. G. Keeley, president); the settlement is incorporated as Arlington, with 'Heights' added because another Ohio municipality had the name.
2. 1890 — The census counts 222 residents in Arlington Heights, 165 in Springfield Township and 57 in Sycamore Township.
3. 1894 — A Cincinnati lawyer living at Arlington Heights is the village's solicitor.
4. 1895-02-05 — A citizens' committee proposes a public building and fire equipment; the building at Erkenbrecker and Elliott is occupied June 18 at a total cost of $717.95, and a bell tower and bell follow.
5. 1905-01-01 — The settlement becomes a village, with streets, electric lights, water pipes and telephone lines already in place.
6. 1930 — The census counts 1,214 residents, up from 730 in 1920.
7. 1932 — A new Village Hall designed by Wm. S. Sharpe and built by Frank Feldhaus for about $19,000 is dedicated May 7; the Arlington School is also built.
8. 1937 — The Faith Community Church is founded.
9. 1970 — Population peaks at 1,403.
10. 1989 — The Village Hall gets office space and an elevator in the village's centennial year.
11. 2002-09 — Police Chief Mark Groteke writes to the mayor recommending an independent audit of traffic tickets; no action is taken.
12. 2010-01 — Chief Robert Lawson reports concerns about village funds, opening a two-year investigation.
13. 2012-07 — A Hamilton County grand jury indicts two village employees for stealing about $260,000 between 2007 and 2010; Prosecutor Joe Deters says the village should consider dissolving.
14. 2016-01-01 — The village police department is disbanded and the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office takes over law enforcement; Reading police take over patrols in 2018.
15. 2020 — Census population is 823.

Stories

A name borrowed, then borrowed again

When the settlement here first organized a government in 1889, its founders called it simply Arlington, then added 'Heights' because another Ohio community held the shorter name. The first trustees (C. G. Keeley, John Gance, W. P. Smith and clerk Louis Steinkoenig) passed Ordinance No. 1 to levy taxes on August 19. A building for the volunteer fire company went up in 1895 for $717.95, with a hose reel, 500 feet of hose and a bell tower. By the time the settlement became a village on January 1, 1905, streets, electric lights, water pipes and telephone lines were all in. The present Village Hall, designed by Wm. S. Sharpe and built by Frank Feldhaus, opened in 1932, the same year as the Arlington School.

The police chief who said the numbers didn't add up

In September 2002 Police Chief Mark Groteke wrote to the mayor recommending an independent audit of traffic tickets, and nothing came of it. In 2007 Chief Robert Lawson told the village treasurer her figures did not add up, and again nothing happened until he took his worries to outside authorities in January 2010. A two-year investigation led in July 2012 to the indictment of two village employees, Donna Covert and Laura Jarvis, for stealing about $260,000 between 2007 and 2010. Prosecutor Joe Deters described the village as a speed trap without checks and balances and suggested it consider dissolving. Instead, the village disbanded its police department on January 1, 2016, and the Sheriff's Office and later Reading police took over its patrols.

Local history sources: ahohio.org · archive.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org

13 wells in the Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer along the Great Miami River near Fairfield, Butler Co. The water here

• Cincinnati Public Water System37% of residentsOhio River (Miller Plant, ~88%) plus Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer wells (~12%)
• Reading City32% of residentsOhio River (Miller Plant, ~88%) plus Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer wells (~12%)
• Wyoming City31% of residentsMill Creek valley aquifer (6 city wells)

Fire and EMS stations (1)

Police stations (1)

Facilities reporting toxic releases (2)

Money issues on the ballot since 2025: 1 of 1 passed.

Ballot issues

Elections for office

Winners in bold. Results from the county board of elections' official canvass unless marked.

Auditor of State record

• No fiscal caution, watch or emergency on the Auditor of State's lists.
• Agreed Upon Procedures, 2022 to 2023, released 2024-12-31

Source: Ohio EPA eDocument portal (edocpub.epa.ohio.gov), indexed 2026-10-14. Facilities are placed on the map from Ohio EPA's own map layers, EPA's Facility Registry, coordinates written in the filings, or a geocoded street address. A permit filed under a private person's name (most are household septic systems) is counted but never named, placed or linked; licenses for individual workers and open-burning notices are left out entirely.

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