In Arlington, the stream passes from the Piedmont through the Fall Line to the Atlantic Coastal Plain in a deep forested valley.

It quickly passes into Arlington County, where its uppermost course is a mix of open stream and two culverts that take it underneath Interstate 66 and a residential neighborhood in East Falls Church.

Located west of the stream between Columbia Pike and 10th Street South in Arlington, the foundation presently supports an automobile repair shop.

[6] General George Washington owned on the southwest side of the stream in the fall line a large parcel of wooded property which he surveyed in 1785, several years after the Revolutionary War ended.

[7] As part of this survey, Washington made a cut in the trunk of an oak tree to mark a corner of his property where a tributary (Long Branch (upper)) entered the main stream.

In the late 19th century, a small resort at Carlin Springs became a favorite respite for Washingtonians who would ride the train out for bathing and dancing.

According to publicity, it was an "architecture fashion plate," featuring ballrooms, restaurants, roller coasters, shoot-the-chutes, circus performances, and exhilarating rides.

In June 1972, rains from Hurricane Agnes caused the stream to overflow its banks, producing extensive flooding which was especially severe in a populated area on the coastal plain.