J.W. Dunlop was a long-time firefighter and avid collector of Arlington photographs.

Born in 1922, James William Dunlop was one of 13 children. He moved to Arlington in 1942 and married Mary Gregory in 1945, whose family had lived here since the early 1900s. J.W. and Mary had two children.

Dunlop joined the Arlington Fire Department in the early 1950s, building a successful career as a firefighter, fire marshal, and assistant fire chief.

Local history became a hobby. He was an expert on local street names, a dedicated caretaker at Arlington Cemetery, and a self-described “history-hunter” through photographs. Dunlop spent decades amassing a unique scrapbook collection of over 1,000 images spanning a century of local history—mostly related to Arlington. He donated the massive collection to UTA Special Collections in 2003, which remains one of the most comprehensive visual records of Arlington in existence.

The J.W. Dunlop Sports Center was named in his honor.

J.W. Dunlop passed away on May 30, 2006, at age 84. He is buried at Parkdale Cemetery in Arlington.

Visit UTA Special Collections to browse the extraordinary J.W. Dunlop Photograph Collection.

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Blog post by Jason S. Sullivan, 05-30-26