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Fresh air, rolling hills
dotted with quilts of agricultural patchwork, beautiful old
Victorian homes, a historic downtown business district, and
friendly townsfolk are some of the attributes that lure visitors
to this quiet little country town.
On the crest of Parr ’s Ridge, at a peak height of
approximately 830 feet, Mt. Airy rests on the highest point
between Baltimore and Braddock Heights. The town is unique in
that it is made up of the corner portions of four
counties—Frederick, Carroll, Howard, and Montgomery. Most of the
town’s area lies in Frederick and Carroll Counties.
Development of Mt. Airy began in the early 1830s when Henry
Bussard built the first house on what is now the town’s
municipal parking lot. Growth was sparked by the coming of the
B&O Railroad in 1831. In order for the trains to overcome the
steep slope of Parr ’s Ridge (an impossible task for the
locomotives of the time), a series of four inclined planes
(ramps) were constructed, which the locomotives and cars
negotiated with the assistance of horses. The passengers
disembarked and enjoyed the scenery while this took place. The
Plane #4 system, as it was called, remained in use until 1839
when more powerful locomotives became available.
Another factor in the growth of Mt. Airy was its proximity to
the National Pike, the early road from Baltimore to the west.
Its route—and the route of the old Indian trails it tended to
follow—was dictated by the availability of fresh drinking water,
which the Mt. Airy/Ridgeville watershed had in abundance from
Parr ’s Spring, the headwaters of the Patapsco River.
The town grew up around the railroad and the wagon road,
despite setbacks dealt by three great fires that wiped out
portions of the town in 1903, 1914, and 1925. The town rebuilt
each time, providing a home for the milling, canning, and sewing
industries that in former times supported Mt. Airy’s economy.
Mt. Airy is host to four annual events—the Spring Fling in
May, Flag Day in June, Festival on the Ridge in October, and
Christmas in Olde Town in December. The events are presented
under the auspices of the town with an all-volunteer staff of
townspeople, indicative of the overall civic pride that binds
the residents, organizations, and government of Mt. Airy.
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