Mechanicsville

History

Part of the area was first settled in the 1660s by early Maryland colonists who were tobacco planters. They established some farms not far from the Patuxent river. In 1819, Cremona Farm, a 750-acre estate and plantation was built in the same location. In about 1850, "Mechanicsville Village" was established on the historic Three Notch Trail. The name "Mechanicsville" is believed to have come from the word "Mechanic" because the area became a center for blacksmiths and other craftsmen. In those days "Mechanic" meant a skilled tradesperson who worked by hands. There was an old railway that passed through Mechanicsville and local residents joined other St. Mary's County residents in purchasing it and saving it from being scrapped in 1918. Farm goods moved along the railroad on train cars and passenger service continued until about 1928. By that time county roads had improved and the railway began to fall out of use. It is a Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, daughter settlement. The Amish left Lancaster County because of a dispute with the state of Pennsylvania over education practices. The Amish people had their own system of one room schoolhouses there and a school year that better accommodated the farm season. But Pennsylvania tried to force them into the state school system. Maryland provided a place for the Lancaster Amish to escape these pressures and, as historian Karen Johnson-Weiner described, avoid “what they saw as a threat to their religious identity”. Many Amish left at the time and one large group moved to Mechanicsville, Maryland. Today, the Amish settlement in Mechanicsville is one of the largest Lancaster daughter communities.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,493
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  4,981
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  4,211
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  3,818
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  3,790
• Eastern Bluebird

  Sialia sialis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,709
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,584
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,366