Laurel, Maryland: Depot to Paddock to Dam

Laurel is an old mill town on the Patuxent river in central Maryland. A 19th century mill town needed two things: a river to dam and a railroad to ship its product. If the railroad depot happened to be next to a thoroughbred race track, all the better. The rail depot sits at the east end of Main Street. The river runs parallel to Main Street and between the depot and the race track. The mill is long gone, but the depot and race track remain. My father grew up in this town and my brother now lives in our grandfather's house in the town's old section. We took a five mile hike around town and along the river this Labor Day morning.

                     The railroad depot at Laurel, built by the B & O, now owned by CSX.

                                       The paddock at Laurel Park, inside and out.

                                      The grandstand and home stretch at Laurel Park.

The Patuxent river near the site of the old cotton mill.

                                          All that remains of the old mill dam.

Mt. Airy - Point of Convergence and Divergence in Central Maryland

Mt. Airy is a small town at the geographical heart of central Maryland. It is the only place in the state where four counties meet, Frederick, Carroll, Howard and Montgomery. It is west of Baltimore and north of Washington. The headwaters of the Patapsco and Patuxent rivers are there only .6 of a mile apart.
The four counties meet at Parr's Spring, the headwater of the Patapsco on the historic Four Counties Farm on Parr's Ridge. The Patapsco river divides Carroll and Baltimore counties on the north and east from Frederick, Howard and Anne Arundel counties on the south and west as well as Baltimore City on the northeast from Anne Arundel county to the southewest The Patuxent river divides Howard,  Anne Arundel and Calvert counties on the east from from Montgomery, Prince George's, Charles and St. Mary's counties on the west. The historic National Pike from Baltimore to Illinois passes along the southern boundary of Mt. Airy, as does the Old Main Line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, now owned and operated by CSX.