Upper Arlington was founded by brothers King and Ben Thompson, who purchased farmland in 1913 from James T. Miller. Inspired by the garden city movement, the Thompsons envisioned an idealistic residential community. The brothers engaged William Pitkin Jr., a prominent landscape architect from Rochester, New York, to provide the most modern concepts of city planning. Over the years, Upper Arlington annexed land to reach its current boundaries. Upper Arlington has had a Native American trail and a military training camp, and its historic district earned a place on the National Register of Historic Places. The community is still known for gracious living, celebrated schools, and the largest noncommercial Fourth of July parade around. Golfing legend Jack Nicklaus, Ohio State University football coaches Woody Hayes, John Cooper, and Jim Tressel,developer John Galbreath, Ohio governor James Rhodes, and United States senator John Bricker have all called Upper Arlington home.
